Second 'Visakhapatnam' class destroyer to be launched on Saturday

The Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) will launch its second destroyer ship of the Project 15B - Vishakhapatnam Class, with higher level of indigenisation and increased stealth, ahead of schedule here on Saturday, an official said.

Named 'Mormugao', the hull of the 7,300-tonne guided missile destroyer, which is constructed on dry area, will be floated on water for the first time- which is a milestone event for any vessel.

The first vessel in this class was launched in April 2015 and the second will be launched by Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba on September 17.

Fitted with the Barak-8 long-range missiles, it has been named after the picturesque Mormugao port of Goa, the home state of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, and has a higher level of indigenisation, which goes beyond 60 percent.

Indian Navy's Controller, Warship Production and Acquisition, Vice Admiral G.S. Pabby said the ship will "add more teeth" to the force and will also prove to be a stepping stone for future shipbuilding.

After Mormugao, the next in the queue is 'Paradip' followed by another warship to be named after a coastal city of Gujarat.

Since 2010, MDL has delivered one major warship to the Indian Navy almost every year, starting with the high-end stealth frigate, INS Shivalik and later INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri in the same class.

Then came the stealth destroyed INS Kolkata sporting a unique silhouette, followed by INS Kochi.

The third and last destroyer in that series, Chennai was delivered in August this year and will be commissioned shortly.

Besides, during the same period two highly sophisticated MSVs were constructed and delivered to foreign clients as high value export orders.

MDL is also building six Scorpene Class submarined under transfer of technology from France's DCNS, and the first in this class, Kalvari is due for commissioning shortly, followed by a second launch later this year.

Detailed design of the futuristic stealth frigates, P17A is currently in progress and work on it is expected to start early 2017.

This will be the first time MDL will use the integrated construction methodology by leveraging the new infrastructure created in the yard, marking a paradigm shift in the way warships will be built in India in the future.

--IANS

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