Visakhapatnam: Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday commissioned India’s first fully indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette INS Kamorta into the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) of the Indian Navy.
INS Kamorta, the first in its class of four ASW corvettes built by GRSE under Project-28 for the Navy, is the first warship ever built in the country with almost 90 per cent of indigenous content.
The super-sophisticated front line warship was formally handed over by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (Retd) AK Verma to the Navy at a ceremony in GRSE’s Fitting Out Jetty.
It is also the first warship manufactured in India with indigenously developed special grade high-tensile steel produced by state-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
Armed with stealth features, it is the first warship equipped with the new trainable chaff launcher – Kavach.
The INS Kamorta will be the first to integrate a rocket launcher for anti-submarine warfare.
The hull of the ship encompassed the bulk of sensors and weapon systems that were also indigenously manufactured by various Indian Industries.
The foldable hangar door fitted for the first time with a rail-less helicopter traversing system is also a noteworthy first on any Indian naval ship and would give helicopter operations from the corvette deck a significant edge over existing platforms of other warships.
The ASW corvette brought to fruition a significant project in India’s pursuit for self-reliance in indigenous warship building, bringing closer home Indian Navy’s quest to be a ‘Builder’s Navy’ as well as a true ‘Blue-water Navy’ with ships and submarines designed and built within the country.
Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral AK Verma (Retd), CMD, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and various other dignitaries were also present.
Mr Jaitely was received on arrival at the Naval Jetty by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral RK Dhowan.
Addressing the gathering here, Mr Jaitely congratulated the Indian Navy, the GRSE, other Indian PSUs and a host of small scale industries which had contributed towards building this fine ship.
He said the induction of INS Kamorta adds thrust to the nation’s ongoing endeavours at indigenisation with Indian Navy being the fore runner.
He later unveiled the commissioning Plaque and dedicated the ship to the nation.
INS Kamorta is first of the four ASW Stealth Corvettes designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation, the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), under Project 28, with an indigenous component of about 90 per cent.
Measuring 110 meters in length, 14 meters in breadth and displacing 3500 tons, the ship can achieve speed of 25 Knots.
The ship is fitted with Anti-submarine Rockets and Torpedoes, Medium and Close-in Weapon Systems and indigenous surveillance radar Revathi. The ship is also capable of carrying an integral ASW helicopter.
The commissioning of INS Kamorta has added a new dimension to the ASW capability of the Indian Navy and in particular, the Eastern Fleet.
The multifarious missions that can be undertaken by the ship truly reflect the enhanced multi-dimensional capability of the Indian Navy,he added. (UNI)
