The Indian Navy on Tuesday commissioned its newest guided missile stealth destroyer, INS Imphal, which is able to bolster the nation’s presence within the strategic Indo-Pacific area and its capabilities to reply to an array of regional contingencies together with the rising challenges within the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, the place tensions have escalated following a wave of drone and missile assaults in opposition to service provider vessels by Houthi rebels, officers conscious of the matter stated.

INS Imphal, constructed underneath a ₹35,000-crore challenge for 4 trendy stealth destroyers, comes with a raft of historic firsts, the officers stated.

READ | INS Imphal: Navy’s indigenous destroyer to be commissioned today. 10 facts

It is the primary warship to have fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile earlier than its commissioning; it has separate lodging for ladies officers and sailors, as no lady officer has but been part of a warship’s commissioning crew; and its development time has been the shortest for this class of destroyers. It can also be the primary warship in naval historical past to be named after a metropolis within the nation’s Northeast.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who commissioned the destroyer on the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, stated INS Imphal was a logo of India’s rising maritime may, and it will improve the nation’s energy within the huge Indo-Pacific area in step with the time-honoured naval technique of “One Who Controls the Sea is All Powerful”.

“India plays the role of a net security provider in the entire Indian Ocean region. We will ensure that maritime trade in this region reaches greater heights. For this, together with our friendly countries, we will keep the sea lanes secure. We have full confidence in the ability and strength of our navy,” Singh stated.

Merchant vessel (MV) Chem Pluto, the goal of a drone assault within the Arabian Sea on December 23 and anchored not removed from the Naval Dockyard, is a reminder of the looming risk at sea and underlines the necessity to preserve sea lanes safe.

The Liberian-flagged vessel carrying a crew of twenty-two, together with 21 Indians, was escorted to Mumbai on Monday by coast guard patrol vessel Vikram, and a preliminary evaluation by the navy’s explosive ordnance disposal specialists has confirmed a drone assault. Iran-backed Houthis have been concentrating on business transport within the Red Sea after the Israel-Hamas battle started on October 7, and tensions have spilled over into the Arabian Sea. The Houthi rebels declared their help for Hamas. To be certain, the US blamed Iran for the assault and Tehran denied the cost.

INS Imphal, constructed on the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), is the third of the 4 warships underneath the Project-15B class of guided missile stealth destroyers. The first two destroyers, INS Visakhapatnam and INS Mormugao, had been commissioned into service in 2021 and 2022. Surat, the fourth one, is underneath development at MDL and is predicted to be commissioned subsequent yr.

“INS Imphal will not only tackle physical threats that emanate at or from the seas, but more importantly, through a demonstrated strength of an integrated Bharat, she will deter nefarious designs trying to subvert our national unity. She will breathe fire upon the enemy and demonstrate unflinching resolve in the face of adversity,” navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar stated on the commissioning ceremony.

The destroyer, constructed over seven years, has an indigenous content material of 75%, displacement of seven,500 tonnes, size of 164 metres, breadth of 17 metres, high velocity of 30 knots and a spread of 4,050 nautical miles. It can carry a crew of 360.

The superior weapons and sensors on board INS Imphal embrace BrahMos missiles, Barak-8 medium vary surface-to-air missiles, tremendous fast medium vary weapons, stabilised distant managed weapons for drive safety, AK 630 shut vary weapons, Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets, Israeli-built multi-functional surveillance and risk alert radar, RAWL 02 MK-II A air search radar, floor surveillance radar and digital warfare tools.

INS Imphal is able to blue water operations throughout the spectrum of naval warfare in all 4 dimensions — air, floor, underwater and digital, the destroyer’s commanding officer Captain Kamal Kumar Choudhury stated.

“From the smallest peacetime challenge to fighting under NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) warfare conditions, this multi-mission stealth destroyer is a potent and versatile platform. It is equipped with cutting-edge capabilities, the best that the Indian Navy has today. She has long legs and can operate wherever India’s maritime interest lie, be it the Indian Ocean region or beyond,” Choudhury stated in an interview to HT.

The warship’s development started in July 2016, it carried out its maiden sea sortie in April 2023 and it was delivered to the navy in October.

Singh described INS Imphal as a shining instance of Aatmanirbharta or self-reliance within the defence manufacturing sector and a mirrored image of the dedication of the Indian Navy, MDL and all stakeholders in direction of nationwide safety. He stated the indigenous weapons, sensors and equipment on board the destroyer mirrored the nation’s energy.

“Brahmos Aerospace installed Brahmos missile on the ship. Torpedo tube launchers are from Larsen & Toubro. Rapid gun mount has been installed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and medium range missiles by Bharat Electronics Limited. Many start-ups and MSMEs were involved in its construction. Just like many elements have given a concrete form to INS Imphal, people from all walks of life should work together for us to become ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India),” the defence minister stated.

He reiterated the federal government’s resolve to put equal emphasis on the modernisation of the three providers to safeguard the nation’s pursuits, declaring that earlier governments focussed solely on defending the nation from land-based threats. He stated with the Himalayas to the north and a hostile Pakistan to the west, most of India’s commerce handed by way of seas. This makes India an island nation from the ‘trade’ perspective, he stated, stressing the necessity to repeatedly construct the navy’s capabilities.

INS Imphal will improve the navy’s mobility and attain within the Indo-Pacific area, the defence ministry stated in a press release.

“INS Imphal has enhanced stealth features resulting in a reduced radar cross section, achieved through efficient shaping of hull, full beam superstructure design, plated masts and the use of radar transparent material on exposed decks,” it added.

Separate berthing areas for ladies sailors grew to become a necessity after their entry into the navy’s personnel under officer rank (PBOR) cadre for the primary time earlier this yr. The navy is the primary among the many three providers to induct ladies within the PBOR cadre throughout all streams. It at the moment accounts for greater than 1,000 ladies Agniveers.

Around 40 ladies officers are at the moment serving on board warships with separate berthing amenities for them. But not so for ladies sailors.