Indian Navy's indigenous warship INS Imphal commissioned: Capabilities, significance
What's the story
The Indian Navy commissioned its new indigenously developed warship INS Imphal in Mumbai, Maharashtra, on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, among other key people.
INS Imphal is the third of four warships of Project 15B that form the Navy's Visakhapatnam-class destroyers.
It holds the distinction of being the first warship named after a northeastern city, which was approved in 2019 by then-President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
Details
Key features include speed, weapons, indigenous components
INS Imphal is the most advanced stealth guided missile destroyer, which can achieve a top speed of 56km/h.
It is outfitted with cutting-edge weapons and sensors, including the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile—the BrahMos.
Additionally, INS Imphal can carry out anti-submarine warfare operations and features indigenous rocket launchers, torpedo launchers, and modern surveillance radar systems.
With 75% of its components being indigenous, the warship showcases weapon systems such as medium-range surface-to-surface missiles, torpedo tube launchers, and super rapid gun mounts.
What Next?
INS Imphal's record-breaking making, significance of name
The duration of the construction and sea trial process for INS Imphal was the shortest ever for a destroyer.
After the keel-laying in 2017, it was launched into sea in 2019, while sea trials commenced in April 2023 before being delivered to the Navy.
Named after Manipur's capital, Imphal, the destroyer pays tribute to the state's role in India's freedom struggle, the Anglo-Manipur War, and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's historic Indian National Army (INA) flag hoisting in Moirang in 1944.
History
Know about other Visakhapatnam-class warships
The other destroyers in the Visakhapatnam class are INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao, and INS Surat, representing regions of different states.
These destroyers just come second to the aircraft carriers in terms of capabilities and operational relevance in the Navy.
To note, the country's indigenous guided missile destroyer program was launched in the 1990s with Project 15, the Delhi-class destroyer.
It was followed by Project 15A, the Kolkata-class destroyer, and now Project 15B (Visakhapatnam class).
Twitter Post
Navy Chief Admiral Kumar detailing about INS Imphal
VIDEO | "I wish all the best to the crew of INS Imphal. The Imphal is also very significant, this is for the first time that we are naming a major warship after a city in the northeast of Bharat. We have a community of about 400 personnel from Manipur and it just symbolises the… pic.twitter.com/Xq73RNLGEB
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 26, 2023