The "INS Mormugao," a heavily armed stealth guided missile destroyer and the most modern warship in the Indian Navy, will be launched Sept. 17. She will then be fitted out and commissioned into the Navy in 2018.
The Mormugao is the second ship of the Visakhapatnam-class (or Project 15B), the first of which, the INS Visakhapatnam, was launched in April 2015.
The third ship in this class, the INS Paradip, is due for completion in 2022 while construction of the fourth and last warship, the INS Porbandar, is expected to be completed by 2024.
The sharp end of the Mormugao will be 32 Indian-made Barak 8 (LR-SAM) surface-to-air missiles and 16 BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles, the fastest cruise missiles in the world.
The key sensor system on the Mormugao is its Israeli-designed Multi-Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) designed to track aerial targets hundreds of kilometers away.
The Mormugao weighs 7,300 metric tons and is 163 meters long. Its four Ukrainian-made gas turbine engines can propel her to speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h). It carries a crew of 300 officers and men.
"These ships (the Visakhapatnam-class) 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," said the Navy.
The Indian Navy has been developing indigenous weapons, systems and sensors as part its modernization and expansion of its maritime forces. Its first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-1), the INS Vikrant, is expected to begin sea trials later this year. INS Vikrant, which displaces 40,000 metric tons, will join the Eastern Naval Command in 2018.
But more attention is being paid to a final decision to build or not to build "IAC-2," the project name for the "INS Vishal," India's first nuclear-powered supercarrier to displace 65,000 metric tons. INS Vishal will have an aircraft launch system almost similar to those aboard the U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
The Indian Navy targets 212 ships in its fleet by 2027, said Vice Admiral GS Pabby, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition, who also said this goal will be a "real challenge."
The Indian Navy commissioned three warships and two other ships over the past year. In the last six years, Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai, which bills itself as "Ship Builder to the Nation," has delivered one major warship to the Indian Navy almost every year. Mazagon is India's premier shipyard.