INS Visakhapatnam, India's first stealth guided-missile destroyer, to be commissioned tomorrow

The Indian Navy will commission INS Visakhapatnam, one of the four stealth guided-missile destroyer ships under Project 15B, on Sunday at the naval dockyard in Mumbai.

According to the Indian Navy, defence minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the commissioning ceremony of INS Visakhapatnam, built by the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).

"We are ready for INS Visakhapatnam's commissioning. Our indigenous content is the highest today. After commissioning, we will continue with a few more trials and will be one with the fleet," Captain Birendra Singh Bains, the commanding officer (designate) of INS Visakhapatnam, told news agency ANI.

The Indian Navy said in a statement that the commissioning of Visakhapatnam will “enhance our capacity and firepower to address the threats both in the above water and underwater domains.”

"Visakhapatnam class ships, built with indigenous steel, are follow-on of the Kolkata class destroyers commissioned in the last decade. Designed by Directorate of Naval Design and built by M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai. The four ships are named after major cities of the country, viz. Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat," the statement added.

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Amongst the largest destroyers built in India, INS Visakhapatnam has an overall length of 164 metre and displacement of over 7,500 tonne.

Visakhapatnam—capable of undertaking multifarious tasks and missions spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare—is equipped with an array of weapons and sensors, which include supersonic surface-to-surface Brahmos missile and Barak-8 long-range surface to air missiles.

It also has medium and short-range guns, anti-submarine rockets, and advanced electronic warfare and communication suits.

The destroyer is fitted with indigenously developed anti-submarine weapons and sensors, prominently the Hull mounted Sonar Humsa NG, heavyweight torpedo tube launchers and rocket launchers.

Visakhapatnam ship can accommodate a crew of 312, has an endurance of 4,000 nautical miles and can carry out a typical 42 days mission with extended mission time in out of area operation.

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The ship is equipped with two helicopters on board to further extend its reach.

The ship is propelled by a powerful combined gas and gas (COGAG) propulsion plant, consisting of four reversible gas turbines, which enables it to achieve a speed of over 30 knots or approximately 55 km/hr.

The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid in October 2013 and was launched in 2015. The second ship Mormugao was launched in September 2016 and is currently in sea trials. It is expected to be commissioned next year.

The third ship Imphal was launched on April 20, 2019, and is at an advanced stage of outfitting. The fourth ship is under block erection and will be launched within the current financial year.

Four days later, the fourth submarine of Project-75 Vela is also scheduled to be commissioned by the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh.