New Delhi: In a boost to its capabilities, the Indian Navy is all set to commission its latest stealth-guided missile destroyer “Surat”.
The ship was delivered to the Navy on 20 December by the Mumbai-based shipyard Mazagon Dock Ltd.
“Surat” is the fourth ship of the Visakhapatnam class, also known as the Project 15B ships. The ship’s three predecessors—INS Visakhapatnam (commissioned in 2021), INS Mormugao (2022) and INS Imphal (2023)—are already in service with the Navy. The tag of INS is given to warships after they are commissioned into the Navy.
The Indian Navy commissioned the third ship, INS Imphal, in December last year. Project 15B is a makeover of Project 15A Kolkata-class destroyers with significant capability enhancements.
The destroyer will join Indian Navy’s frontline stealth frigate Nilgiri and submarine Vagsheer in being commissioned in January as reported by ThePrint.
“Surat” is the first naval ship to be named after a city in Gujarat, which is known for its maritime heritage. The stealth-guided missile destroyer has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and an overall length of 164 metres.
A versatile platform, “Surat” is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. Surat is powered by a combined gas and gas (COGAG) propulsion set, comprising four gas turbines. The destroyer has achieved speeds in excess of 56 km per hour during sea trials.
What stands out about it is that it is the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled warship utilising indigenously developed Al solutions which would enhance its operational efficiency.
Last ship of destroyer project
The delivery and commissioning of “Surat” is significant given it is the last ship of the indigenous destroyer-building project of the Indian Navy, which began with Project 15.
This included the three Delhi-class destroyers (1997-2001) and were followed by Project 15A (three Kolkata-class destroyers between, 2014-2016) and Project 15B (four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, 2021-2024). These ships are designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau.
The “Surat” warship’s keel was laid on 7 November, 2019, and launched on 17 May, 2022.
The ship has been delivered to the Indian Navy in 31 months from launch to delivery. This is the fastest that a destroyer has been developed and built indigenously.
In a period of six months, the ship started contractor sea trials on 15 June, 2024, and completed her final machinery trials on 25 November.
With the commissioning of “Surat” and “Nilgiri”, the Indian Navy will get an additional frontline warship in a matter of only a month.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned INS Tushil on 9 December, 2024, in Kaliningrad, Russia. The warship was built in that country.
Only days after it was commissioned, the frigate set sail from Kaliningrad for India on 17 December. This marked the beginning of the frigate’s maiden operational deployment.
The ship will traverse the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and finally, the Indian Ocean. It will make port calls at several friendly foreign countries along the way.
The ship will also carry out joint patrolling and maritime partnership exercises with a number of navies, including in piracy hotspots in the region, as per a press statement. The ship’s first port of call was London.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)