Navy to commission India-built stealth guided missile destroyer

Mormugao is the second warship under the navy’s Project-15B under which two more warships will be delivered by 2025.

NEW DELHI: India will commission its latest stealth guided missile destroyer, Mormugao, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on December 18, with the navy on Friday saying that the indigenous warship will augment its “mobility, reach and flexibility” to accomplish tasks in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Defence minister Rajnath Singh will attend the commissioning ceremony.

A view of the New P15B stealth-guided missile destroyer 'Mormugao' scheduled to be commissioned into the Indian Navy. (ANI)

Mormugao is the second warship under the navy’s Project-15B under which two more warships will be delivered by 2025, officials familiar with the navy’s modernisation said. The first P-15B warship, Visakhapatnam, was commissioned in Mumbai last November. The Visakhapatnam class destroyers have been designed by the navy’s in-house organisation, Warship Design Bureau.

“The majestic ship measures 163 m in length, 17 m in breadth, has a displacement of 7400 tonnes, and can rightfully be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India,” the navy said in a statement. It is propelled by four gas turbines, and capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Mormugao’s commissioning comes at a time when the navy is working on becoming fully self-reliant by 2047 when India celebrates 100 years of independence. It also comes at a time when China is pushing for greater influence in the far seas and its warships are increasingly foraying into the Indian Ocean region where combat-ready Indian warships are carrying out round-the-clock surveillance for any unusual activity.

Mormugao is packed with sophisticated weapons including surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, equipped with a modern surveillance radar that provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems, and has robust anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities with indigenously developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and ASW helicopters, the navy said. It can fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.

The ship has an indigenous content of 75% and reflects the country’s focus on the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ abhiyan (self-reliant India campaign), the navy said.

“With a clear focus on indigenisation and self-reliance, 42 out of the 44 ships and submarines under construction are being built in Indian shipyards, thus further enhancing our efforts towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. In addition, AoN (acceptance of necessity) has been accorded for 55 ships and submarines which will all be constructed in Indian shipyards,” the statement added.

Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the defence acquisition council is the first step towards buying military hardware.

Indigenisation of military hardware is a top priority for the government. India also imposed a phased import ban on 411 different weapons and systems during the last two years to provide a boost to the indigenous defence manufacturing sector. These weapons and platforms are expected to be indigenised in phases over the next five to six years.

Also, the government has earmarked ₹84,598 crore --- 68 % of the military’s capital acquisition budget for 2022-23 --- for purchasing locally produced weapons and systems. The allocation for local defence purchases has climbed steadily over the last three years – the Centre had earmarked 64% (or ₹70,221 crore) of military’s the capital acquisition budget for the domestic sector in 2021-22, and 58% (or ₹51,000 crore) of the capital budget in 2020-21.