It is equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and long-range surface-to-air missiles
Visakhapatnam, the first ship of four Project-15B state-of-the-art stealth guided missile destroyers being built at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL), was delivered to the Navy last Friday. The ships will be commissioned very soon, with a delay of three years.
“The 163-metre-long warship has a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes and a maximum speed of 30 knots. The total indigenous content of the project is around 75%,” the Navy said on Sunday.
The contract for the construction of the ships was signed in January, 2011 at a project cost of approximately Rs 29,643.74 crore. The ship’s design has been developed internally by the Directorate of Naval Design and is a follow-up to the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers. The Navy said the four ships have been named after major cities in the four corners of the country – Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.
The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid in October 2013 and the ship was launched in April 2015. These ships are equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Long Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs).
The Navy said the ship has several indigenous weapon systems like medium-range SAM, indigenous torpedo tube launcher, indigenous anti-submarine rocket launcher and 76 mm super rapid gun mount.
“The induction of the destroyer, despite the Covid challenges, is a tribute to the collaborative efforts of a large number of stakeholders and will enhance maritime prowess in the Indian Ocean region.”
Advanced Stealth Features
Project 15B’s design largely retained the hull form, propulsion machinery, multiple platform equipment and major armament and sensors to benefit from series production as the Kolkata class. However, these ships have advanced stealth features in an earlier class through the use of hull shaping and radar transparent deck fittings that make them difficult to detect and also significant advances in automation and networking.
The Navy had earlier said that these ships are powered by four gas turbines in a combined gas and gas (COGAG) configuration and have a maximum endurance of 4000 Nm at an economical speed of 14 knots.
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