In a boost to India's naval power, stealth-guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao was commissioned into the Indian Navy by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The warship will boost India's maritime power," said defence minister Rajnath Singh while commissioning the warship. He termed INS Mormugao as the most technologically advanced warship.
"Indian economy is among the top five economies in the world, and according to experts, will be among the top three in 2027," he said.
While speaking at the event, Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said that it is yet another milestone in the indigenous warship building. "Today is yet another milestone in the history of indigenous warship building as we commission the destroyer Mormugao, particularly when our sister ship Visakhapatnam was inducted into the Indian Navy just over a year ago," he said.
"This achievement is indicative of the large strides we have taken in warship design and building capability over the last decade," he added.
CDS Gen Anil Chauhan, Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, Goa CM Pramod Sawant and other dignitaries attended the commissioning ceremony.
INS Mormugao is commissioned amid China's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean region.
INS Mormugao specs
With sophisticated sensors, modern radar and weapon systems including surface-to-surface and air missiles, the warship becomes the most advanced one.
According to the Indian Navy, the majestic ship measuring 163 metres in length and 17 metres in breadth with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes can be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India.
The ship is propelled by four powerful gas turbines and it is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.
The Navy said the ship is equipped to fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions and that it is fitted with a modern surveillance radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems.
The ship's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and ASW helicopters.
Relance of its name
The warship is named after the historic Goan port city Mormugao, the ship undertook her first sea sortie on December 19 last year when Goa celebrated 60 years of liberation from Portuguese rule.
INS Mormugao is the second of the four 'Visakhapatnam' class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd.
India has been focusing on bolstering its maritime capability with a focus on the Indian Ocean in the backdrop of concerns over China's growing forays into the region, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy.
"A unique feature of this ship is the high level of indigenisation of approximately 75 per cent incorporated in the production, accentuating our national objective of 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat'," the Navy said.
"Some of the major indigenised equipment/system onboard Mormugao include surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, torpedo tubes and launchers, anti-submarine rocket launchers, super rapid gun mount," the Navy said in a statement.
With a clear focus on indigenisation and self-reliance, 42 out of the 44 ships and submarines under construction are being built in the Indian shipyards, the Navy said.
