The Indian Navy’s latest indigenous guided stealth destroyer Mormugao – which is armed with surface-to-surface BrahMos missiles and Barak-8 long range surface-to-air missiles – was commissioned.
INS Mormugao was built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL) as part of the Project 15B destroyers or the Visakhapatnam-class.
The ship is constructed using Indigenous Steel DMR 249A and is amongst the largest destroyers constructed in India, with an overall length of 164 meters and a displacement of over 7,500 tons. The ship is a potent platform capable of undertaking a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare. It is armed with supersonic Surface-to-Surface ‘BrahMos’ missiles and ‘Barak-8’ Long Range Surface to Air Missiles. Towards undersea warfare capability the Destroyer is fitted with indigenously developed anti-submarine weapons and sensors, prominently the hull mounted Sonar Humsa NG, heavy weight torpedo tube launchers and ASW rocket launchers.
The ship can accommodate a crew of 312 persons, has an endurance of 4,000 nautical mile and can carry out a typical 42 days mission with extended mission time in out of area operation.
Enhanced stealth has also been achieved, making the ships difficult to detect. With a significantly increased indigenous content, P15B destroyers are a hallmark of self-reliance in warship design and building, and a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The indigenous content in P15B class destroyers is 72per cent which is a notch above their predecessors P15A (59per cent) and P15 (42per cent) Class Destroyers, reaffirming the Government’s focus in the ‘Make in India’ programme.
The first Ship of P15B – INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned last year on 21 November, 2021.
