Indian Navy launches guided missile destroyer Imphal under Project 15B

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The Indian Navy on Saturday launched guided missile destroyer Imphal at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai.

Imphal, the third ship under Project 15B, successfully slipped into the waters at 12:20 pm, eliciting huge cheers and slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and Vande Mataram from the huge crowd of staffers and officials that had assembled.

In keeping with naval tradition, Reena Lanba, wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and president of Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), broke a coconut on the ship's bow to launch the ship.

Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Sunil Lanba said, "The synergic partnership of MDL, Indian Navy, DRDO, OFB, BEL, other public sector enterprises and the private industry is ensuring that force levels are made available to meet India's national strategic objectives."

He congratulated the entire team involved in the building of the ship and said the team at the Directorate of Naval Design, by designing such state-of-art vessels, was contributing to achieving the Navy's dream of transforming from a "buyers" to a "builders" Navy.

"The Indian Navy stands fully committed and we are extremely proud of the fact that all of our warships and submarines on order today are being constructed within the country," the admiral said.

Warships built under Project 15Bravo, with a length of 163 metres and 17.4 metres at the beam and a displacement of 7.300 tonnes, are propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Ships under this project can carry and operate two multiple role helicopters.

Enhanced stealth features have been achieved through the shaping of hull and use of radar transparent deck fittings which make these ships difficult to detect, a Navy statement said.

The first ship of Project 15B, a guided missile destroyer christened 'Visakhapatnam', was launched on April 20, 2015.