India builds 1-2 capital warships every year; China builds 6-9 (Photo: INS Mormugao)
By Vikas Gupta
Defence News of India, 17 Dec 23
Named after the historic port city of Goa, the Indian Navy’s newest and most powerful destroyer, INS Mormugaowill be commissioned into the fleet by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at the Mumbai shipyard on Sunday.
The multipurpose warship undertook its first sea voyage a year ago on December 19, 2021, the day Goa celebrated 60 years of liberation from Portuguese rule.
“Her commissioning on 18th December on the eve of Goa Liberation Day will further increase the mobility, reach and flexibility of the Indian Navy in carrying out its role and tasks in the Indian Ocean and the beyond,” the Department of Defense said in a statement on Friday. .
INS Mormugaois the second of four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers being built under the 15B project. They were designed locally by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL), Mumbai.
Although the navy urgently needs capital warships like these, they are being built so slowly that they barely replace ships that retire at the end of their 30-year lifespan.
INS Mormugaowas launched in September 2016 when it already weighed 2,844 tons. It took another six years to turn her into a fully built 7,400 ton destroyer.
While the Indian Navy barely orders 1-2 capital warships per year, the Chinese Navy orders 6-9 warships.
INS Mormugaois powered by four powerful gas turbines, arranged in a “combined gas and gas” (COGAG) configuration, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 30 knots (55 kilometers per hour).
The destroyer’s gas turbines were supplied by Ukrainian engine manufacturer Zorya Mashproekt and are standard equipment on large Indian warships. However, Ukrainian turbine supplies are now threatened by India’s refusal to criticize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
INS Mormugaois technicallya “guided missile destroyer”. According to the Ministry of Defence,NSIMormugao is packed with state-of-the-art sophisticated weapons and sensors, such as surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missiles. The ship is equipped with modern surveillance radar which provides target data to the ship’s gunnery systems.
The ship also has improved stealth features, which reduces Radar Cross Section (RCS). This makes it difficult to detect at longer distances.
The ship’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities are provided by locally developed ASW rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and helicopters, such as the recently inducted MH-60R Seahawk. The ship is equipped to fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
The Ministry of Defense claims that a unique feature of this ship is the indigenization level of approximately 75%. Because of this emphasis on self-reliance, 42 of the 44 Indian warships and submarines being built are being built in Indian shipyards.
In addition, a tentative sanction has been granted for another 55 ships and submarines, all of which will be built in Indian shipyards.
