On April 20, the Indian Navy launched INS Imphal, a guided missile destroyer, at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai. Imphal is the third ship under Project 15B to have been launched, the first being INS Vishakhapatnam which was launched in 2015.
The indigenously-built destroyer will be commissioned with weapon systems including BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles as well as multi-functional surveillance radars. Though weighing just over 3,000 tonnes at the time of launch, it will weigh over 7,300 tonnes when it gets commissioned.
The warship is propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speeds of over 30 knots (55.56 km/hr). Equipped to operate two multi-role helicopters, the destroyer uses radar transparent deck fittings which makes it harder to get detected.
At the launch, Admiral Sunil Lanba said,
“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.”
Project 15B ships feature cutting edge advanced technology and are comparable to the best ships of similar class anywhere in the world. These ships have been designed indigenously by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design.
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