Second guided missile destroyerdelivered 3 months early to Navy
   Date :25-Nov-2022
 
Second guided missile
 
 
NEW DELHI, 
 
THE second ship of Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers ( Y 12705 (Mormugao) being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), was delivered to the Indian Navy on Thursday, defence officials said. The ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, displaces 7400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a maximum speed of 30 knots. Apart from myriad indigenous equipment in the ‘Float’ and ‘Move’ categories, the destroyer is also installed with major indigenous weapons.
The overall indigenous content of the project is approximately 75 per cent, a Defence Ministry official said. The Defence Ministry said that the destroyers’ indigenous equipment includes the medium-range surface-to-air missiles (made by BEL), BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles (BrahMos Aerospace), indigenous torpedotubelaunchers (Larsen & Toubro), anti-submarine rocket launchers (Larsen & Toubro), and 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL) The Indian Navy said that theshiphadsailedoutforher maiden sea sortie on December 19 last year to coincide with the Goa Liberation Day and has now been delivered. The delivery of Mormugao isanaffirmation of theimpetus being given by the Government and the Indian Navy towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ as part of celebration of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The early induction of the destroyer, almost three months prior to the contractualdate, despite the COVID challenges, is a tributetothecollaborativeefforts of large number of stakeholders and would enhance the maritime prowess of the country in the Indian Ocean region, the Navy added.
According to a Defence Ministryofficial,thecontract for ships of four Project 15B - a follow-on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers commissioned in the last decade - was signed on January28,2011.Itsleadship - INS Visakhapatnam has already been commissioned into the Indian Navy on November 21 last year. Designed by theNavy’s inhouse Warship Design Bureau,andbuiltbyMazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai,thefourshipsofthe Project are christened after majorcities fromallfourcorners of the country, viz. Visakhapatnam,Mormugao, Imphal and Surat, the Defence Ministry official added.TheMinistrysaidthat Mormugao’s keel was laid in June 2015 and the ship launched on September 17, 2016. The design has largely maintained the Kolkata class’s hull form, propulsion machinery, mosy platform equipment and major weaponsandsensorstobenefit from series production.