Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS): The Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has delivered the first ship of the 'Project 15B Class Destroyer', or Yard 12704 (Visakhapatnam) to the Indian Navy, an official said here on Sunday.
The acceptance documents were signed by retired Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad, who is Chairman & Managing Director of MDL and Rear Admiral K.P. Arvindan on Thursday in the presence of top officials of the Indian Navy and MDL.
The ship is constructed using Indigenous Steel DMR 249A and is amongst the largest destroyers built in India, with an overall length of 164 meters and a displacement of over 7500 tons.
It can undertake a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare, with its array of supersonic Surface-to-Surface aBrahmos' missiles and 'Barak-8' Long Range Surface to Air Missiles.
For undersea warfare, the destroyer is fitted with indigenously developed anti-submarine weapons and sensors, prominently the Hull mounted Sonar Humsa NG, Heavy weight Torpedo Tube Launchers and Rocket Launchers.
Significantly more versatile than the previous Destroyers and Frigates, the Visakhapatnam's all-round capability against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft will enable it to operate without a bevy of supporting vessels, and enable it to function as the flagship of a Naval task force.
With a capacity of accommodating 312 crew, it 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.
The ship is equipped with two helicopters onboard to further extend its reach, is propelled by a powerful Combined Gas & Gas Propulsion Plant (COGAG), consisting of four reversible Gas Turbines, which enables her to achieve a speed of over 30 knots (@ 55 kmph).
It also has a very high level of automation with sophisticated digital networks such as Gigabyte Ethernet based Ship Data Network (GESDN), Combat Management System (CMS), Automatic Power Management System (APMS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
The indigenous content in P15B Class destroyers is 72 per cent -- which is a notch higher than its predecessors P15A (59 percent) and P15 (42 per cent) Class Destroyers.
The second ship of P15B 'Mormugao' was launched on September 17, 2016 and is being readied for harbour trials before it commences Sea Trials.
The third ship 'Imphal' was launched on April 20, 2019 and is at an advanced stage of outfitting, while the fourth ship is under block erection and will be launched within this fiscal.