India’s state-backed Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) delivered the first Project (P) 15B stealth guided-missile destroyer to the country’s navy last week.
The first of the four 7,400-ton indigenous naval vessels — commissioned the Visakhapatnam — was built as part of a contract signed in 2011, The Times of India revealed, adding that the vessel’s delivery is over three years late.
The outlet added that all the P15B vessels, including their weapons systems, will cost the government over 350,000,000,000 Indian rupees ($4.6 billion).
Weapons
Last year, the government approved weapons and sensors systems worth 6,150,000,000 Indian rupees ($820 million) for the vessels, including upgraded-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Barak surface-to-air missile systems, 127 mm main guns, and rocket launchers.
According to PSU Watch, the ship is also equipped with indigenously developed anti-submarine weapons and sensors for underwater warfare such as “Hull-mounted Sonar Humsa NG, Heavyweight Torpedo Tube Launchers, and Rocket Launchers.”
The P15B (Visakhapatnam-class) destroyers are an upgrade on the three Project 15A (Kolkata-class) destroyers, which came after the three Delhi-class vessels currently operated by the Indian Navy. The remaining vessels are expected to be inducted by 2025.
Features
The Visakhapatnam-class destroyer can accommodate a crew of 312 and can travel 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers) without refueling, PSU Watch reported, citing MDL. Its top speed is 30 knots (approximately 55 Kmph or 34 Mph).