Visakhapatnam, a P15B stealth guided missile destroyer named after the port city of Andhra Pradesh on the East coast, is scheduled to be commissioned into the Indian Navy by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on November 21. The event marks the formal induction into the Navy of the first of the four ‘Visakhapatnam' class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy's in-house organisation Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai, a statement from Eastern Naval Command said.
The ship measures 163 metres in length, 17 metres in breadth, with a displacement of 7400 tonnes, and is regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India. The ship is propelled by four powerful gas turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration, capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots. The ship has enhanced stealth features resulting in a reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved through efficient shaping of the hull, full beam superstructure design, plated masts, and use of radar transparent materials on exposed decks, the statement added.
Visakhapatnam is packed with sophisticated ‘state of the art' weapons and sensors such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles. The ship is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship. The ship's Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities are provided by the…
