Imphal commissioned into Navy
Date :27-Dec-2023
MUMBAI,
STEALTH guided missile destroyer Imphal, which has an ability to fire extended range supersonic BrahMos missile, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on Tuesday. Apart from Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attended the event that marked the formal induction into the Navy of the third of four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation, Warship Design Bureau, and constructed by defence PSU Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai. INS Imphal is the first warship to have been named after a city from North-East India. INS Imphal was delivered to the Navy on October 20 after the completion of a rigorous and comprehensive trial programme both in the harbour and at sea. “Subsequently, the ship successfully test-fired the extended-range supersonic BrahMos missile in November 2023, a first for any indigenous warship before commissioning, thus demonstrating the Navy’s thrust on combat effectiveness and confidence in its cutting-edge indigenous weapons and platforms,” the Navy said. Project 15B (Visakhapatnam class) is the latest in the lineage of Project 15A (Kolkata class) and Project 15 (Delhi class) indigenous destroyers with upgraded capabilities and greater indigenous content.
Measuring 163 metres in length, displacing 7,400 tonnes and with 75 per cent indigenous content, Imphal is “one of the most potent warships” to have been constructed in the country, the navy said. INS Imphal is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots and is packed with sophisticated ‘state of the art’ weapons and sensors, such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles. The ship is fitted with a modern surveillance radar that 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 and has a high degree of automation and stealth features further enhancing her combat capability and survivability, the Navy said. It added that some of the major indigenised equipment/system onboard Indigenous Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles, surface to surface missiles, torpedo tubes, anti-submarine rocket launchers, super rapid gun mount, besides combat management system, integrated platform management system, automated power management system, foldable hangar doors, helo traversing system, close-in weapon system and bow mounted sonar.
Proud moment for India: PM Modi on INS Imphal’s commissioning into Navy: PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the commissioning of INS Imphal into the Indian Navy as a proud moment for India and said it is a testament to the country’s growing self-reliance in defence. “It epitomises our naval excellence and engineering prowess. Compliments to everyone involved in this milestone for Aatmanirbharta. We shall keep securing our seas and strengthening our nation,” Modi said in a post on X. His remarks came after the Navy’s post of the warship being commissioned. True to the motto ‘Always Ready’, the warship and its crew will meet any challenge and every mission in service of the Navy and the nation, the Navy said. Earlier, stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal, which has an ability to fire extended range supersonic BrahMos missile, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai. INS Imphal is the first warship to have been named after a city from northeast India. It was delivered to the Navy on October 20 after the completion of a rigorous and comprehensive trial programme both in the harbour and at sea.