The Indian Navy’s firepower will get a boost with a new warship and a submarine all set to be commissioned this month. Visakhapatnam, an indigenous stealth-guided missile destroyer and submarine Vela, also made in India, will be commissioned on November 21 and 24 respectively in Mumbai.
The latest additions to the Indian Navy come as the force is ramping up its capabilities for the emerging challenges including China’s increased presence in the Indian Ocean region.
Speaking about the significance of these new platforms, Vice Admiral SN Ghormade said the maritime environment is a complex one and it only increases with more players involved.
Without naming China, Vice Admiral Ghormade said, “We live in a time when global and regional balances of power are shifting rapidly and the region of most rapid change is undoubtedly the Indian Ocean region. Continuous efforts are, therefore, on to ensure that our force levels grow progressively to enhance the capability of Indian Navy to meet the emerging challenges.”
Vice Admiral Ghormade added that commissioning of ‘Visakhapatnam’ and ‘Vela’ are major milestones showcasing the indigenous capacity to build complex combat platforms.
“This will enhance our capacity and fire power to address the threats both in the above water and underwater domains,” he said.
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is the first of the four ships of this category which are a follow up of the Kolkata class destroyers. These are named after major cities of the country, Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.
By February 2023, Murmugao is expected to be commissioned followed by Imphal in 2024 and Surat in 2025. The overall indigenous content of the project is approximately 75 per cent.
The ship measures 163m in length, 17m in breadth with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and can be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India.
The destroyer is packed with sophisticated ‘state of the art’ weapons and sensors such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles. It is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship. The ship’s Anti Submarine Warfare capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed Rocket Launchers, Torpedo Launchers and ASW helicopters. The ship is equipped to fight under Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
The construction of the ship is under the Project 15 B plan which has a thrust on better surveillance radars, enhanced capabilities of electronic warfare and superior stealth characteristics.
Submarine Vela
Submarine Vela is the fourth submarine of the Kalvari Class under Project75 that includes the construction of six submarines of Scorpene design. These submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, in collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
Three submarines under Project 75 that are functional are INS Karanj, INS Kalvari and INS Khanderi. INS Vagir was launched last year and the sixth one, INS Vagsheer, is under construction.
Vagir is expected to be commissioned next year by October-November while Vagsheer should be commissioned by 2027.
This class or category of submarines is considered superior as they include several aspects of naval combat performing anti-ship, anti-submarine, intelligence, mine laying, and area surveillance operations.
Indian Navy’s fleet
The Indian Navy has a fleet of 130, including its ships and submarines that needs to be increased to 170 by 2027, as per the maritime capability perspective plan. However, there could be a few delays.
The Navy has also included a third aircraft carrier in its future plans for more balanced role even though there are reservations on it within the government but the navy is pushing for it. Currently, the Navy has one functional aircraft carrier and another one is ready and going through different phases of sea trials.
