INS Kochi, India's latest stealth warship, commissioned

The ship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, seakeeping and manoeuvrability.

September 30, 2015 10:20 am | Updated November 16, 2021 04:11 pm IST - Mumbai

The warship is propelled by four gas turbines and designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The warship is propelled by four gas turbines and designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Naval warship INS Kochi was commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Wednesday.

INS Kochi is the second ship of the Kolkata-class (Project 15A) Guided Missile Destroyers.

The warship is designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design, and constructed by Mazagon Dock Ship builders Ltd. in Mumbai.

Although conceived as follow-on of the earlier Delhi class, the ship is vastly superior and has major advancements in weapons and sensors.

Enhanced stealth features

The ship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, seakeeping and manoeuvrability.

With a displacement of 7,500 tonnes, the ship spanning 164 metres in length and 17 metres at the beam, is propelled by four gas turbines and designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Enhanced stealth features have been achieved through shaping of hull and use of radar-transparent deck fittings.

A bow mounted sonar dome, the second of its kind in an indigenous naval platform, has been introduced to enhance sonar acoustic performance, a defence spokesperson said.

State-of-the-art weapons

INS Kochi is packed with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors.

The ship includes a vertical launch missile system for long distance engagement of shore and sea-based targets.

The ship is the second in the Indian Navy to have Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar(MF-STAR) to provide target data to Long Range Surface to Air Missile system (LR-SAM).

The MF-STAR and LR-SAM systems were jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. To protect against incoming air borne and surface threats, at medium and close in range, the ship has 76 mm and 30 mm gun mounts.

Top features

1 INS Kochi weighs over 7500 tonnes and is designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.
2 The ship is loaded with BrahMos surface-to- surface missile.
3 It has 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) and AK 630 Close In Weapon System (CIWS) designed to take on air and surface targets.
4 INS Kochi's anti-submarine arsenal consists of Indigenous Rocket Launchers (IRL), Indigenous Twin-tube Torpedo Launchers (ITTL) and bow-mounted new generation HUMSA Sonar Dome.
5 It is equipped to operate two Sea King or Chetak helicopters.

Watch: All you need to know about INS Kochi in less than a minute

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.