The stealth guided missile destroyer, INS Mormugao, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Sunday. It will significantly strengthen the defence capability and enhance the maritime prowess in the Indian Ocean Region.
Five things you need to know about this warship –
1) INS Mormugao is the second stealth-guided missile destroyer under Project 15B. INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned into the Indian Navy on November 21 last year. The contract for four ships of Project 15B was signed in 2011.
2) Named after the Goan city of Mormugao, the naval ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a maximum speed of 30 knots, a statement from the Indian Navy states.
3) Designed by the Warship Design Bureau, the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, the four ships of the Project are named after major cities: Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat. The ship is constructed using indigenous steel DMR 249 A and will rank among one of the largest destroyers built in India.
4) The Indian Navy says the overall indigenous content of the project is around 75 per cent. The destroyer is installed with major indigenous weapons –
i) Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (BEL, Bangalore)
ii) BrahMos Surface-to-Surface Missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, New Delhi)
iii) Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
iv) Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
v) 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar)
5) The keel of Mormugao was laid in June 2015 and the ship was launched on September 17, 2016. It sailed out for the maiden sea sortie on December 19 last year on the Goa Liberation Day anniversary.
