On Sunday indigenously designed Mormugao, a P15B stealth guided missile destroyer in the presence of defence minister is set to be commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. With this the Indian Navy’s reach and flexibility and mobility will be further enhanced and help in its tasks in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
This marks the formal induction of the second of the four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers into the navy. This has been by the navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau and has been constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
More about the Stealth Guided Missile Destroyer
It measures 163m in length, 17 m in breadth and has a displacement of 7400 tonnes. This is one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India, says the Indian Navy.
Financial express Online has reported earlier that the ship is propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines and this is in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration. The ship, which has the capability of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots, has enhanced stealth features and this results in a reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS).
Weapons on board
In line with the government’s policy of ‘self reliance’ there is 75 percent of indigenization in production.
This new ship has sophisticated ‘state of the art’ weapons and sensors including Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) and Surface to Surface Missile (SSM) and is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar. This radar provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship, also, the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed Rocket Launchers. According to the Indian Navy there are Torpedo Launchers and ASW helicopters and it is also equipped to fight under Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
This also includes the Combat Management System, Foldable Hangar Doors, Helo Traversing system, Close-in Weapon System, Super Rapid Gun Mount, Integrated Platform Management System, Automated Power Management System, and Bow mounted SONAR.
Original Equipment Manufacturers like BEL, L&T, Godrej, Marine Electrical BrahMos, and MSMEs including Technico, Kineco, Jeet & Jeet, Sushma Marine, Techno Process, etc. have contributed in building Mormugao.
This ship has been named after the port city of Goa on the West coast, and its commissioning is on the eve of the Goa Liberation Day.
