Ranjit Mahanti
MAZGAON Dock Limited on Saturday delivered ‘KOLKATA’ the first stealth destroyer of the P15A Class to the Indian Navy. The acceptance document was signed by RAdm R K Shrawat, Chairman and Managing Director, MDL and RAdm S P Lal, Chief Staff Officer (Tech), Western Naval Command at MDL in the presence of MDL Directors and Navy personnel. The warship is scheduled to be commissioned end August 2014.
The 163 meter long vessel with a displacement of around 7500 tonnes will be the largest destroyer ever operated by the Indian Navy.Significantly more versatile than the destroyers that preceded it, Kolkata has all-round capability against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft. It incorporates modern weapons and sensors having advanced information warfare suite, an auxiliary control system with sophisticated power distribution architecture and modular crew quarters. Mazagon Dock is constructing three destroyers in this class namely KOLKATA, KOCHI and CHENNAI.
On completion of the series, these three destroyers are expected to form the mainstay of the Indian Navy.