The Indian Navy is to launch a new warship, a missile destroyer in the Project-15 Alpha class, with the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar scheduled to commission the ship ‘INS Chennai’ into the Indian Navy.
The 7,500-tonne stealth guided missile destroyer is the most advanced Kolkata-class destroyer, and will be the latest addition to the country’s naval arsenal.
Project 15ACommissioning of the ship will mark the completion of Project 15A, indigenously designed and constructed Kolkata-class guided missile destroyers, built by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai. Conceived and designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design, the ships have been christened after major port cities such as Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai. The destroyers (P15A) are designed to be multi-mission ships capable of engaging in anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, land attacks, and air defense. Given their multi purpose role, the destroyers are ideally suited for supporting expeditionary and surface strike groups.
INS Kolkata was the first ship of the class and was commissioned on August 14, 2014, and INS Kochi, the second one, was commissioned on September 30, 2015. INS Chennai is the third ship of the Kolkata-class destroyers and has been under construction at Mazagon Dock.
Built under the code name P15A, the destroyers are a follow-on of the Type 15 Delhi Class destroyers. P15A has advanced weapons and sensors and is technologically far superior to its predecessor Delhi-class destroyers.
Sources indicated that Chennai, the last of the guided missile destroyer, possesses enhanced stealth features and land attack capabilities and is expected to add a new dimension in naval warfare for the Indian Navy.