INS Surat Begins Sea Trials, Mighty Ship Inches Closer Towards Commissioning

The Indian Navy will soon get a shot in its arm as the ship that will soon be commissioned as the INS Surat has commenced its maiden sea trials. The stealth destroyer, the fourth and last of the Project-15B or Vishakhapatnam Class, is designed in-house by the navy’s Warship Deign Bureau and is being constructed by Mazagaon Dock Limited. The navy has released an image of the ship as it undergoes its maiden sea trials and is expected to be inducted in the frontline fleet of the navy later this year. It will serve with her sister ships as the lead ship of the class that includes INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao and INS Imphal.

The Visakhapatnam class of destroyers is said to be an upgraded derivative of the Kolkata class or Project-15A  destroyers. It differs from its parent class as the new class of ships has a different type of bridge layout. The new bridge layout reduces the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of the ship and is of a sturdier design. The newer vessels also have a greater percentage of indigenous components at 72% as compared to 59% in the Kolkata class of warships.

INS Surat, when commissioned, will have a displacement of 7,400 tons and a length of 163 meters and can rip through at a top speed of nearly 60kmph. The ship has a maximum range of 15,000 km. The ship’s Combat Management System incorporates data from a multi-functional AESA radar made in Israel, radars and sonars made by BEL and a radar built by Tata Advanced Systems Limited in collaboration with Danish firm Terma. The ship also boasts of domestic sonars built by BEL  as well as an Electronic Warfare Suite.

The vessel is also armed to the teeth. It’s biggest punch is the deadly Brahmos cruise missiles, of which it carries sixteen. The ship also carries the potent Barak-8 missile that can target enemy aircraft as far as a 100 km away. The ship is equipped with a 76 mm OTO Melara naval gun and four AK-630M Close-In Weapon Systems for self-defence.

The destroyer is also equipped with torpedoes and countermeasures from both torpedoes and missiles. Besides these, the ship has its own air wing in the form of two helicopters and could carry Sea Kings, ALH Dhruvs or MH-60 Romeos. This class of ships has a rail-less helicopter traversing system. This mechanism secures helicopters in case of adverse conditions at sea.

The crest of the ship had been revealed by Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in November last year in the presence of the then Chief of Naval Stall Admiral R Hari Kumar. INS Surat is the first naval ship to be named after a city in Gujarat. The city has an established maritime heritage and has been a centre for shipbuilding and a port city. Currently it’s the home of the busy Hazira Port. The Crest of the ship depicts the lighthouse of Hazira which also depicts the Asiatic Lion.