 "INS Imphal commissioned today: Why this is significant for the Indian Navy")
In a move that will strengthen India’s naval fleet, the Indian Navy has commissioned its latest stealth-guided missile destroyer, “INS Imphal,” at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard on 26 December. An official release from the Ministry of Defence stated that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest. The event signifies the formal induction of the third of the four destroyers of the “Visakhapatnam” class, which are designed and built in India, into the navy. The naval vessel adheres closely to India’s Atmanirbhar, or self-reliance policy, and is primarily composed of local materials. Let’s take a closer look. What is INS Imphal? The state-of-the-art destroyer INS Imphal is designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB), according to The Times of India (TOI).
The ship, built by Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL), boasts notable contributions from both the public and private sectors, such as DRDO and MSMEs. Imphal was the first naval warship commissioned with accommodations for women officers and sailors. The MDL said in an October release that “it can accommodate a crew of 312 persons, has an endurance of 4,000 nautical miles, and can carry out a 42-day mission with extended mission time in an out-of-area operation.” Like Project 15A (Kolkata class) and Project 15 (Delhi class), it is a part of Project 15B (Visakhapatnam class), which is a lineage of indigenous destroyers. The ship is designed to operate under nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions. Among indigenous destroyers, INS Imphal holds a record for the shortest construction and trial duration, the report said. The ship had a rigorous trial programme in both port and sea from the time the keel was laid on 19 May 2017, until it was launched into the water on 20 April 2019, and then underwent its maiden sea trials on 28 April of the same year, as per Hindustan Times. The trip came to an end on 20 October, when the ship was delivered in an extraordinary six months, marking a significant milestone in the construction of navy vessels, particularly ones of this size. A formidable addition to India’s naval fleet INS Imphal is a powerful naval vessel, measuring 163 metres in length and 7,400 tonnes in displacement. Its remarkable 75 per cent indigenous content highlights India’s prowess in building warships.
Anti-submarine warfare capabilities are provided by indigenously produced medium-range surface-to-air missiles (BEL, Bengaluru), BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, Delhi), torpedo launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai), Anti-Submarine Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai), and a 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar), besides Combat Management System, Integrated Platform Management System, Automated Power Management System, Foldable Hangar Doors, Helo Traversing system, Close-in Weapon System and Bow mounted SONAR, according to NDTV. The Hindu reports with the help of her potent Combined Gas and Gas Propulsion Plant (COGAG), which is made up of four reversible gas turbines, the ship can reach a top speed of more than 30 knots, or roughly 55 kilometres per hour. With advanced digital networks like the Combat Management System (CMS), Gigabyte Ethernet-based Ship Data Network (GESDN), Automatic Power Management System (APMS), and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), the ship exhibits a very high degree of automation, it added. A tribute to Manipur As the first warship named after a northeastern city, the INS Imphal is historically significant and emphasises the critical role that Manipur’s Imphal, and the larger northeastern regions play in maintaining national security, sovereignty, and prosperity. The design of the crest features the Kangla Palace on the left and the “Kangla-Sa” on the right, with the word “Imphal” imprinted in Hindi on it. Kangla Palace, the former royal residence, is a significant historical and archaeological site in Manipur. Symbolic as the protector of Manipur’s people, the mythological “Kangla-Sa” has the body of a lion and the head of a dragon. Additionally, Manipur’s state emblem is the “Kangla-Sa.” “This is a befitting tribute to Manipur’s sacrifices and contributions in India’s freedom struggle, be it the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891; or Netaji Subash Chandra Bose’s hoisting of the INA flag for the first time on 14 April 1944 at Moirang; or the pitched Battle of Imphal between British and Imperial Japanese forces, with Indians on both sides, that turned the tide of the Burma campaign and shaped the outcome of the Second World War and the new world order,” the statement added. There are 132 warships in the Indian Navy’s current fleet, 11 of which are guided missile destroyers belonging to the Delhi, Rajput, and Kolkata Classes. Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief of the Naval Staff, plans to have 170–175 ships in his fleet by 2035, with 67 of those now under construction.