INS Chennai adds to navy's arsenal, defence capabilities
The INS Kolkata, the first ship of the class was commissioned on August 16, 2014 and INS Kochi was the second vessel commissioned September 30, 2015.
Chennai: Chennai has a reason to rejoice in the commissioning of INS Chennai at a gala function in Mumbai on Monday. INS Chennai, the third ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy, is said to be the largest-ever warship built in India. This indigenously built vessel fitted with the supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile system, is the last of the three ships built under the code name Project 15A.
This is also the first vessel of the Indian Navy named after Tamil Nadu’s capital city. The INS Kolkata, the first ship of the class was commissioned on August 16, 2014 and INS Kochi was the second vessel commissioned September 30, 2015.
A unique feature of INS Chennai is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ programme. Some of the major indigenised equipment \ system onboard this vessel include combat management system, rocket launcher, torpedo tube launcher, automated power management system, foldable hangar doors, Helo traversing system, auxiliary control system and the bow-mounted sonar.
This guided missile destroyer was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. It was commissioned into the Indian Navy by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Its construction began in February 2006 when the keel was laid. It was launched on April 2, 2010 amidst the chant of Vedic hymns at a function in Mumbai. Keel laying, launching, commissioning and decommissioning are the four celebrated events in the life of a ship and on Monday it entered the crucial phase to serve the nation.
Its addition enhances Indian Navy’s operations and defence capabilities at sea, as it can undertake a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare since it is also equipped to fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions. It will demonstrate India’s naval defence arsenal especially at a time of heightened tension across the countries’ borders with Pakistan and China.
The formidable missile power (BrahMos, Barak-8), anti-submarine warfare (HUMSA-NG, heavyweight torpedo tube launchers, rocket launchers) and state-of-the-art decoy systems to defend against the enemy’s missiles (Kavach chaff decoy system) and torpedoes (‘Mareech’ torpedo decoy system) are among the other features. With an overall length of 164 meters and displacement of over 7,500 tons, the surveillance radar fitted to it provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship and its anti submarine warfare capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed rocket launchers and torpedo launchers.