Editorial: China Beware - Here Comes India’s Most Powerful Destroyer

Kolkata class Destroyer: INS Kolkata

By Franz-Stefan Gady

Is this India’s response to China’s Luyang III class?

Yesterday, the Indian Navy, in the presence of Admiral RK Dhowan, India’s current chief of naval staff, launched its latest stealth guided missile destroyer with a ceremony held at Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai. The 7,300 ton Visakhapatnam is the first of four planned Visakhapatnam-class (Project 15B) vessels, based on the older Kolkata-class destroyers design (Project 15A), to enter Indian service.

The other three vessels will be launched at an interval of three years at a total cost of INR 293.40 billion ($4.89 billion). According to Indian naval officials, the 164 m-longVisakhapatnam will be commissioned in July 2018. The Kolkata-class destroyer INS Kolkata (Project 15A) was commissioned in August 2014, with the two remaining vessels of the class to be commissioned by 2016.

According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly:

Vishakhapatnam‘s key differences from the Project 15A class include the relocation of its sonar to the bow from the hull; the design of its mast, which houses its main radar, has also been revised to further reduce its radar cross section. Other changes include reshaping of the hull to accentuate its stealth features and the addition of a rail-less helicopter traversing system.

Indian naval officials claim that over 65 percent of the Vishakhapatnam is indigenously sourced, including 11 of its weapon and associated sensor systems, IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reports.

Read the full story at The Diplomat