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Navy to build four amphibious warships
Aiming at adding more teeth to its amphibious warfare capabilities, the Navy is planning to build four Landing Platform Docks (LPD) to join the fleet alongside INS Jalashwa, a US warship bought by India in 2007.
Aiming at adding more teeth to its amphibious warfare capabilities, the Navy is planning to build four Landing Platform Docks (LPD) to join the fleet alongside INS Jalashwa, a US warship bought by India in 2007.
The Navy is already in the process of getting the design for the LPDs ready in the next year or two and will move the
government for sanction to build these warships.
"The plan is to add four more LPDs to the fleet and these would operate alongside INS Jalashwa, the only LPD currently in service," a senior Navy officer told PTI IN New Delhi on Sunday.
"In the coming year or two, we are going to finalise the design for the LPD, which is somewhat akin to INS Jalashwa.
The government sanction for building these ships would be obtained next," he said.
INS Jalashwa -- a Sanskrit name for Hippopotamus -- is a replenishment and amphibious warfare ship with capacity to
embark, transport and land a 1,000-men battalion along with equipment and tanks to support operations on enemy shores.
Being the second largest ship in the Navy inventory after aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Jalashwa is also capable of undertaking maritime surveillance, special operations, search and rescue, medical support as well as humanitarian aid.
Jalashwa was originally commissioned in the US Navy as USS Trenton and had served for 36 years when India bought it for $48.44 million and commissioned it in its Navy in June 2007.
