VC 11184, a naval vessel with a mystery name, has been built at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) at Visakhapatnam, at a cost of about Rs 725 crore, reported the Times of India
The vessel is the product of a classified project that kicked off four years back.
The Navy and HSL continue to maintain complete secrecy on the missile-range instrumental ship, which is said to be the country’s most advanced and the largest ocean surveillance ship that can even track ballistic missiles.
Sources at the HSL and Navy told the Times of India that the ship will be delivered to the Navy in the coming months and that the vessel is in its trial phase. The ship will house a special team from the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). The NTRO reports directly to the National Security Advisor.
We bagged the prestigious project three years ago and began construction at our ship-building yard. The ship is almost ready and once the trials get over, it will be officially handed to the Navy in 2018. Secrecy has been maintained on the project which is being monitored by PMO.TOI’s High Profile Source in HSL.
According to the information available on defence websites, the vessel (VC 11184) will support India’s strategic weapons programme.
HSL got assigned the project in 2013 and the ship was to be delivered by August 2015 but had been stuck in logistical delays. The warship will be 175m long and have a displacement of 10,000 tonnes.
(With inputs from Times of India)
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)