Navy to launch indigenous stealth destroyer

The first, mostly indigenously built ship of a follow-up project of the Kolkata class warships, is ready to be put to the sea, officials said on Thursday.

The lead ship of its class -- Vishakhapatnam (Project 15 B) -- a stealth destroyer, is 65 percent indigenous and has a number of weapon systems which have been made at home.

"This is the first time virtual designing and 3D modelling have been used largely to design a warship. This ship will be a stepping stone for handling larger warships in future...," Director General Naval Design Rear Admiral A.K. Saxena said.

Vishakhapatnam, a 7,300-tonne destroyer, is the first of four ships that India is making under Project 15 B, a followup of Kolkata class of warships.

Navy officials said the ship is likely to be inducted in the Indian Navy by 2018.

Four ships of this class are being built in a Rs.29,340 crore project.

The other ships are likely to be named after cities from other coastal states -- Marmagoa, Paradip and Porbandar.

The ship, a modified version of INS Kolkata, has a similar hull but with some changes. The sonar, which was mounted on the hull in INS Kolkata, has been mounted on the bow of the ship.

The inner compartments of the ship are also designed to remain insulated from any effect of nuclear, biological or chemical attacks.

Described as one of the "most advanced" stealth ships in the world, Vishakhapatnam will be equipped with the Israeli Multi Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) which will provide targeting information to 32 Barak 8 long-range surface to air missiles onboard the warship.

It will also have the Brahmos anti-ship missile like INS Kolkata and a 127mm gun.

The ship is set to be launched on April 20 in Mumbai.