INS Mormugao is set to be commissioned by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the eve of the Goa Liberation Day 2022.
What is INS Mormugao?
- INS Mormugao is the second ship of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
- Named after the port city in Goa, this stealth destroyer is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, with a displacement of 7.400 tonnes and a maximum speed of up to 30 knots (around 55 km per hour).
- The vessel is made of 75 per cent of indigenous content, and fitted with a myriad of indigenous equipment and major indigenous weapons.
- It is the second ship built under Project 15B, which has an overall cost of Rs.35,800 crore.
- The ship is armed with several indigenous weapons like medium-range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles having range between 290 km to 450 km.
- It is also equipped with indigenous torpedo tube launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai), anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai) and 76mm super rapid gun mount (BHEL, Haridwar) in addition to various gun systems having wide-range sensors.
- The stealth destroyer will be capable of operating two multiple-role helicopters, which are armed with various state-of-the-art weapons and sensors like multi-functional surveillance radars and vertically launched missile system for long distance engagement of shore, sea-based and air targets.
What is Project 15B?
The purpose of the Indian Navy’s Project 15B is to develop stealth destroyers having maximised indigenous inputs. A total of four ships are being developed under this project. They are all designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organized, Warship Design Bureau. They are built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd in Mumbai. They will be commissioned in Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat. The project’s first vessel – INS Visakhapatnam – was commissioned into the Indian Navy in November 2021. It is the lead ship and the first of the Indian Navy’s Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers.