The Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile destroyer, Mormugao, was launched on Saturday with Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba claiming that it can hold its own against the best stealth destroyers in the world.
Mormugao was built by the Mazgaon Shipyard and is the second ship which belongs to the Visakhapatnam class of ships constructed under Project 15B. It will be one of the most advanced warships of the force and has been named after the Mormugao port of Goa.
Admiral Lanba’s wife Reena launched the ship at 11:58am during a function at Mazagaon Docks with the ship being released into the Arabian Sea for the first time. The vessel is set to undergo certain tests required by the Indian Navy and would subsequently be known as INS Mormugao.
The Project 15B missile destroyers are modern warships equipped with the latest weapons, continuing the lineage of the highly successful Delhi and Kolkata Class ships. Four more such destroyers would be built and delivered by the government-run Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) during 2020-2024, said the Public Sector Unit (PSU) to PTI.
Mormugao has a displacement of 7,300 tonne with maximum speed of over 30 knots. It is equipped with surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles and anti-submarine rocket launchers. The warship can also carry two anti-submarine warfare helicopters.
“It secures the sea in a better way. Contract for this ship was signed on January 2011. It can be compared with the best ships in the world and has been developed by our own designers at DRDO as well as other government agencies and private companies,” Admiral Lanba said.
There is a pressing need to build more such ships and reduce the construction period of future vessels, the he added.
