INS Visakhapatnam, a P15B stealth guided missile destroyer, was recently commissioned into the Indian Navy, built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai.
INS Visakhapatnam is one of the four stealth guided-missile destroyer ships under Project 15B. It is propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration. It’s a 7,500-tonne battleship with the BrahMos surface-to-surface missile as its main offensive weapon. It’s armed to the teeth with medium and short-range weapons, anti-submarine missiles, and superior electronic warfare and communication equipment.
India’s indigenous Destroyer construction programme commenced in the late 1990s with the three Delhi class (P-15 class) warships and this was followed by three Kolkata class (P-15A) destroyers commissioned a
decade later.
Presently, under the P-15B (Visakhapatnam Class), a total of four warships are planned (Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal, Surat).