TSAMTO, November 25. On November 24, the Ministry of Defense of India announced the handover ceremony of the second URO destroyer "Project 15B" held at the Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) company in Mumbai.
The new destroyer "Mormugao" was built at the MDL enterprise in Mumbai according to a project developed by the Directorate of Naval Design of the Indian Navy (Directorate of Naval Design – DND). The ship was delivered to the customer almost 3 months earlier than the deadline specified in the contract.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Security Committee of the Government of India approved the construction of four inconspicuous destroyers under the "Project-15B" program in December 2010. The contract for their supply to the Indian Navy was signed on January 28, 2011. The cost of the order was 293.4 billion ind. rupees ($4.89 billion). The design of the ship was developed by the Design Directorate of the Indian Navy with an emphasis on low visibility.
The launch ceremony of the lead ship of the series, named Visakhapatnam, took place on April 20, 2015. The destroyer was transferred to the Indian Navy on October 28, 2021 and entered the fleet in November 2021.
The keel of the second destroyer of the series, Mormugao, was laid in June 2015, the launching ceremony was held on September 17, 2016.
The third ship of the series, Imphal, was launched on April 20, 2019, and the fourth, Surat, was launched on May 17, 2022. It is planned that Imfal will be put into service in 2023. The full construction of the destroyers of the series is planned to be completed by 2024.
The Visakhapatnam-class destroyers are a development of the Project 15A destroyer squadron, the first of which, the Calcutta, was put into service in August 2014. The key differences between the new ship and the destroyers "Project 15A" are the transfer of the GAS to the bow, modified in order to reduce radar visibility, the design of the mast on which the main radar is located. Other changes include an improved hull for low visibility and a trackless system for towing the helicopter to the hangar. The ship is designed for basing and using two multi-purpose helicopters.
The length of the destroyer "Project 15B" is 163.9 m, the maximum width is 17.7 m, displacement is 7,400 tons. The COGAG-type power plant with four DT-59 gas turbine engines allows the Project-15B destroyer to reach a speed of more than 30 knots. The range is 4,500 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots. The crew consists of 360 people, including 50 officers.
The ship is equipped with a multifunctional radar EL/M-2248 E/F-band of the Israeli company Elta, an air control radar RAWL-02 Mk.3 (LW08) D-band, Terma's SCANTER 6002 I-band radar, HUMSA-NG GAS.
The destroyer is armed with a 76-mm Super Rapid Oto Melara AU, four 30-mm AK-630M ZAK, a PU with 16 Brahmos anti-ship cruise missiles of Russian-Indian design and 32 Barak-8/Barak-ER missiles, RBU-6000 Smerch-2, 4 torpedo tubes with 533 mm torpedoes. Two Sea King helicopters can be placed on board.
