INS Mormugao, a guided missile destroyer, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in December 2022. This is an important development under the defence & security sections of the UPSC Syllabus. In this article, you can read all about INS Mormugao.
What is INS Mormugao?
INS Mormugao was commissioned into the Indian Navy, under Project 15B. It is a stealth-guided missile destroyer built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL).
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- Destroyers are a category of warships that have high speed, and longer endurance to be part of the escort for larger vessels in a fleet, or a carrier battle group also known as a carrier strike group.
- Destroyers are swift, sleek, and difficult to detect, and primarily protect the fleets and carrier battle groups from short-range surface, air, and sub-surface attacks.
- Guided missile destroyers are capable of anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare, apart from anti-surface operations.
Features of the INS Mormugao
INS Mormugao and the other three ships in the class (Visakhapatnam, Imphal, and Surat) are 163 m long and 17.4 m wide, with a displacement of 7,300 tonnes.Â
- The INS Mormugao class destroyers have multiple fire zones, battle damage control systems, and distributional power systems for improved survivability and reliability in extreme operational and conflict scenarios.
- They have a total atmospheric control system (TACS) that offers protection to the crew from chemical, biological, and nuclear threats.
- They are also accompanied by a state-of-the-art combat management system that can evaluate threats using analytical tools and create a tactical picture that includes available resources on board.
- The destroyer will also be armed with indigenously developed
- torpedo launchers and
- anti-submarine rocket launchers.
- The warships have a secure network for data from their sensors and weapons systems.
- The ship’s firepower consists of vertically launched Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles and BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles for long-range engagement of shore- and sea-based targets.
What is Project 15B?
It is a contract for manufacturing four guided missile destroyers more advanced than the Kolkata class and was signed in January 2011. This came to be known as Project 15 B.
- INS Visakhapatnam was the first to be commissioned into the Navy in November 2021. Know more about INS Visakhapatnam in the link.
- INS Mormugao is the second ship in this category.
- Four ships to be constructed under the Project 15B were to be named after four major cities around the country as under:
- Visakhapatnam
- Mormugao
- Imphal
- Surat
What is the Kolkata class?
The Kolkata class ship was manufactured under Project 15-A. The Indian Navy has commissioned three guided missile destroyers of the Kolkata class namely,
- INS Kolkata,
- INS Kochi, and
- INS Chennai
- These ships were a step ahead of their precursor Delhi class of ships — INS Delhi, INS Mysore, and INS Mumbai.
- All these ships were built by MDSL, one of the country’s most important defence PSUs.Â
- A ship ‘class’ describes a group of vessels of similar tonnage, usage, capabilities, and weaponry.
INS Mormugao:- Download PDF Here
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| Project 75 | INS Vagir | ||
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