Stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal commissioned into Navy

Mumbai: Stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal, which has an ability to fire extended range supersonic BrahMos missile, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on Tuesday.

INS Imphal is the first warship to have been named after a city from northeast India. INS Imphal was delivered to the navy on October 20 after the completion of a rigorous and comprehensive trial programme both in the harbour and at sea.

"Subsequently, the ship successfully test-fired the extended-range supersonic BrahMos missile in November 2023, a first for any indigenous warship before commissioning, thus demonstrating the navy's thrust on combat effectiveness and confidence in its cutting-edge indigenous weapons and platforms," the navy said.

Project 15B (Visakhapatnam class) is the latest in the lineage of Project 15A (Kolkata class) and Project 15 (Delhi class) indigenous destroyers with upgraded capabilities and greater indigenous content. Measuring 163 metres in length, displacing 7,400 tonnes and with 75 per cent indigenous content, Imphal is "one of the most potent warships" to have been constructed in the country, the navy said.

INS Imphal is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots and is packed with sophisticated 'state of the art' weapons and sensors, such as Surface to Surface Missile and Surface to Air Missiles. The ship is fitted with a modern surveillance radar that provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship. The ship's anti-submarine warfare capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and ASW helicopters.