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Current Affairs:(Polity, Governance and International Relation)

Navy’s new stealth destroyer ‘Visakhapatnam’ launched:

  • India Navy’s new stealth destroyer, Visakhapatnam, designed indigenously and fitted with advanced features, was launched recently, boosting the maritime force’s firepower capability.
  • The Kolkata-class warship, the first of P15-B stealth destroyers, was launched by Minu Dhowan, wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan, at Mazagaon Docks Ltd (MDL).

About the warship:

  • The ship, weighing approximately 3,000 tons during the launch, is slated to be christened as ‘INS Visakhapatnam’ on commissioning. The 163-metre-long vessel will be propelled by four gas turbines, and is designed to achieve a speed of over 30 knots at a displacement of approximately 7,300 tons.
  • The indigenously designed stealth destroyer will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advance Action Information System, in Integrated Platform Management system, sophisticated Power Distribution System and a host of other advanced features. It will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface missile system. The system enables the ship to engage shore-based and naval surface targets at long range, making it a lethal platform for strike against enemy targets.
  • The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system. Four 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability, while an MR gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.
  • Indigenously developed twin tube torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. The vessel is follow-on of P15A Kolkata-class destroyers with enhanced features.
  • The vessel is expected to be commissioned in the Navy in 2018. The indigenization content in P15-B class destroyers is a notch above her illustrious predecessors in line with the ‘Make in India policy’ of the Government.

The P15-B stealth destroyers:

The P15-B stealth destroyers have been designed by the force’s in-house unit – Directorate of Naval Design. The design of Project 15B destroyers is testimony of the Navy’s firm commitment towards achieving indigenization by using high-end technology in the field of weapons/sensors/machinery and stealth. Mazagaon Docks, the country’s premier warship building yard, is engaged in producing sophisticated world-class warships and submarines. At present four destroyers and six submarines are under various stages of construction at MDL.