INS Visakhapatnam is the lead ship and the first of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. The ship, commissioned on 21 November 2021, is one of the largest destroyers in service with the Indian Navy.[6]

Visakhapatnam (D66) during her sea trials
History
India
Name	INS Visakhapatnam
Namesake	Visakhapatnam
Owner	Indian Navy
Operator	Indian Navy
Builder	Mazagon Dock Limited
Cost	Around ₹9,000 crore ($1.2 Billion)
Yard number	12704
Way number	D66
Laid down	12 October 2013
Launched	20 April 2015
Acquired	28 October 2021
Commissioned	21 November 2021[1]
Identification	Pennant number: D66
Motto	यशो लभस्व - Attain Glory
Nickname(s)	The Brave Buck
Status	In Service [2]
Badge
General characteristics
Type	Guided missile destroyer
Displacement	7,400 t (7,300 long tons; 8,200 short tons)[3]
Length	163 m (535 ft)
Beam	17.4 m (57 ft)
Draft	6.5 m (21 ft)
Propulsion	COGAG[4] 2 x Zorya M36E gas turbines, with 4 × DT-59 reversible gas turbines and 2 × RG-54 gearboxes 2 × Bergen/GRSE KVM-diesel engines, 9,900 hp (7,400 kW) each 4 × 1 MWe Wärtsilä WCM-1000 generator sets driving Cummins KTA50G3 engines and Kirloskar 1 MV AC generators
Speed	In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h)
Range	4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Endurance	45 days
Boats & landing craft carried	4 x RHIB
Crew	300 (50 officers + 250 sailors)
Sensors and processing systems	Radar :- IAI EL/M-2248 MF-STAR S-Band AESA radar BEL RAWL-02/LW-08 L-Band air-search radar Terma/Tata Scanter-6002 X-Band surface-search radar Sonar :- BEL HUMSA-NG active/passive sonar BEL "Nagin" active towed-array sonar Combat Suite :- "Combat Management System" (CMS)
Electronic warfare & decoys	DRDO "Shakti" EW suite (equipped with ESM/ECM and "Radar Finger Printing System" (RFPS)) DRDO "Nayan" COMINT suite Decoys :- 4 x Kavach decoy launchers 2 x Maareech torpedo-countermeasure systems
Armament	Anti-air warfare :- 4 × 8-cell VLS, for a total of 32 Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles Anti-surface warfare :- 2 x 8-cell VLS, for 16 BrahMos anti-ship missiles Anti-submarine warfare :- 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers Guns :- 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm naval gun 4 x AK-630M CIWS 2 x OFT 12.7 mm M2 Stabilized Remote Controlled Gun
Aircraft carried	2 × HAL Dhruv (or) Sea King Mk. 42B
Aviation facilities	Enclosed helicopter hangar and flight deck capable of accommodating two multi-role helicopters.
Notes	Modified derivative of the Kolkata-class destroyer.[5]

Construction

The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid down on 12 October 2013 and she was launched on 20 April 2015 at Mazagon Dock Limited of Mumbai.[7][8][9] This was made under Make In India initiative. The ship steering and stabiliser system was manufactured by Larsen & Toubro and hydraulics by Polyhydron Systems.^{[citation needed]}.

On 21 June 2019, a fire that started in the air conditioning room of INS Visakhapatnam resulted in the death of one contract worker. The damage from the fire was reported to be limited.[10]

During Navy Day 2020, Chief of the Naval Staff announced that INS Visakhapatnam has started its sea trials.[11]

Commissioning

Visakhapatnam was delivered to the Indian Navy on 28 October 2021[2] and commissioned on 21 November 2021 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh[1] at the Indian Navy's Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai.[6]

Service History

On 11 January 2022, Visakhapatnam successfully fired an advanced variant of Brahmos missile in sea-to-sea mode validating its extended range and improvements.[12]

Gallery

See also

• Rajput-class destroyer
• Delhi-class destroyer
• Kolkata-class destroyer

References