According the Navy, “These ships are among the most technologically advanced guided missile destroyers in the world, with state-of-the-art weapons / sensors package, advanced stealth features and a high degree of automation.”

MUMBAI:  India‘s latest destroyer, the Mormugao, is set to be launched for the first time on Saturday at Mumbai’s Mazgaon Docks. The ship will then be fitted out and inducted into the Navy two years later.

The Mormugao is the second of a class of Project 15-B destroyers — slated to be the most advanced destroyers built in India. Four are being built at a cost of Rs. 29,700 crore.

With displacement of 7,300 tonnes, the Mormugao spans 163 metres in length and is powered by 4 Ukrainian gas turbine engines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots, approximately 56 km per hour.

keys facts of INS Mormugao

• Mormugao is the second ship of the Project 15B. It is going to be launched in Mumbai on September 17 by Navy Chief Admiral, Sunil Lanba.
• Named after a Goan port, Mormugao is said to be one of the most advanced destroyer that the Indian Navy has had.
• During launching ceremony the hull of the ship which is constructed on dry area is floated on water for the first time. It is a milestone event for any vessel.
• Majority of the ship has been built in India. The navy aims to take the level of ‘indigenisation’ by the navy to 68 percent with this project.
• Mormugao is a guided-missile destoyer, a kind of warship that can launch missiles whose trajectories can be modified during flight to attack mobile targets. It will also be stealthier than its predecessor in the 15B series of destroyers.
• Vice Admiral G S Pabby said the launch of Mormugao was only a ‘stepping stone’ to even more shipbuilding. The Navy, he explained, has set itself the ‘challenging’ target of increasing its fleet size to 212 by 2027.
• Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) has been supplying the Navy with warships at the rate of one a year since 2010. INS vessels Shivalik, Satpura, Sahyadri, Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai have all been delivered.
• Mormugao has Barak-8 long-range missiles, which have been jointly developed by Israel and India. For Vice Admiral G S Pabby, the new vessel adds “more teeth” to the Navy.
• The first ship in the 15B class – INS Vishakapatnam – which was lauched in April last year. It is expected to be commissioned by the Navy in 2018
• The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had in 2011 had sanctioned four 15 B ships, and had earmarked ₹29,700 crores for the project.
• The next ship in the ‘Vishakapatnam’ series is Paradip, the name of a coastal Gujarati city.
• For the first time in its history, Mazagon Dock in 2015-16 achieved a value of production (VOP) above ₹4,000 crore with an operating profit of ₹218 crore.
• MDL is also constructing six Scorpene class submarines for the Indian Navy under a transfer of technology from DCNS of France. The first boat in this class, Kalvari, will be commissioned into the fleet soon. The launch of the second boat is slated later this year.