INS Kavaratti launched in Kolkata

The Navy's latest anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvette, the INS Kavaratti, was launched in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Chief of Naval staff Admiral Robin K Dhowan said Kavaratti was indigenously built and was well equipped to fight in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare conditions.

Kavaratti's weapons and sensor suite were also predominantly indigenous, added Admiral Dhowan.

"This is a momentous occasion of the launch of yard 3020, the fourth ship of project 28 to be named as 'Kavaratti'. The launch of a ship is indeed a historic, an auspicious as well as a touching moment because it marks the first tryst of the ship with the sea, a medium in which she would spend the rest of her operational life," said Admiral Dhowan.

Kavaratti is the last of the four anti-submarine warfare class stealth corvettes being built by India under Project 28. The corvette, with a displacement of 3,300 tonnes, has a length of 109.1 metres and

measures 13.7-m at beam.

The ship is propelled by four diesel engines to achieve speeds in excess of 25 knots and has an endurance of more than 3,400 nautical miles.