New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) | The Indian Navy’s warship and a Scorpene-designed submarine, built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai, will be commissioned by the end of November, adding to the Navy’s firepower. Project 15B’s first ship ‘Visakhapatnam’ will be commissioned on November 21 and Submarine Vela, the fourth submarine of the Kalvari class, will be commissioned on November 25 at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. Both are built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai.
Vice Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral S. N. Ghormade said, “We all know that the maritime environment is complex and this only increases with the involvement of more players. We live in a time when the global and regional balance of power is changing rapidly and at the fastest rate. The area of change from that is undoubtedly the Indian Ocean region.”“Therefore, continuous efforts are on to ensure that our force continues to grow in order to enhance the capability of the Indian Navy to meet the emerging challenges,” he said.He spoke about the Navy’s full and focused emphasis on strategic independence in line with the Government’s Self-Reliant India initiative.
Vice Admiral Ghormade said the Navy’s in-house design organization – Directorate of Naval Design has been developing indigenous designs for over 57 years, building over 90 ships ranging from small carriers to aircraft carriers.He said that the commissioning of ‘Visakhapatnam’ and ‘Vela’ are major milestones showcasing the indigenous capability to build complex combat platforms.This will enhance our capability and fire power to address threats both over water and underwater, the naval official said.He further added that the commissioning of these two platforms further strengthens the partnership between the Indian Navy, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and Indian industry in pursuit of self-reliance in both warship and submarine design and construction.He said currently 39 Navy ships and submarines are being built in various Indian shipyards.
These projects have not only created employment opportunities for the personnel employed by the ancillary industries but around 343 MSMEs have benefited from the construction activities by MDL in the last year alone.Vela is the fourth submarine of the Kalvari class. The submarine ‘Vella’ was launched on May 7, 2019 and has completed all major port and sea trials, including weapon and sensor tests, despite the COVID restrictions.Thus the Indian Navy will get another powerful platform in its arsenal. Submarine construction is a sophisticated exercise that involves placing small components sequentially and logically inside a submarine, as the space inside is extremely limited. Very few countries have mastered this in their industrial capacity.
The Vice Admiral said, “India has proven its ability to manufacture submarines over the past 25 years. Both warship and submarine manufacturing have immensely benefited the Indian industry as they are also able to align stringent quality control standards. who demand these platforms.”The Visakhapatnam-class ships, which are made of indigenous steel, are a follow-up to the Kolkata-class destroyers commissioned in the last decade. Designed by Directorate of Naval Design, an internal organization of the Indian Navy and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai; The four ships are named after major cities of the country – Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.The commissioning of Visakhapatnam will confirm India’s presence among an elite group of nations with the capability to design and build advanced warships.
This magnificent ship measures 163 meters in length, 17 meters in width and has a displacement of 7,400 tons and can be said to be one of the most powerful warships built in India.The ship is propelled by four powerful gas turbines, capable of achieving speeds of over 30 knots.Visakhapatnam is well equipped with sophisticated state-of-the-art weapons and sensors such as surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missiles. The ship is also equipped with a modern surveillance radar and is designed to fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
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