Mumbai: An indigenously built warship equipped with a range of high-tech missiles was launched today with Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba saying the stealth destroyer can be compared with the best vessels in the world.
Christened ‘Mormugao’, the vessel has been built by government-run Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and belongs to Visakhapatnam class of ships being constructed under Project 15B.
Admiral Lanba’s wife Reena launched the bedecked ship at a function at MDL here at 11.58 AM and it was released into the Arabian Sea for the first time. The vessel will undergo certain testings required by Indian Navy and would be subsequently known as INS Mormugao.
Four more such destroyers would be built and delivered by MDL during 2020-2024, the PSU said in a statement.
The first ship of the Visakhapatnam class was launched on April 20, 2015.
Mormugao has a displacement of 7,300 tonne with maximum speed of over 30 knots. The warship is equipped with surface- to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles and anti- submarine rocket launchers. It is also capable of carrying two anti-submarine warfare helicopters.