Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commissioned the third of the four Project 28 anti-submarine warfare corvettes, INS Kiltan, on 16 October in the Visakhapatnam Naval Base.
Built by Kolkata-based Garden Research Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), the INS Kiltan is an anti-submarine stealth warship which draws 90 percent of its content from India, making it one of the first indigenously made warships – catapulting the Indian Navy by leaps and bounds.
Named after an island in Lakshadweep, the INS Kiltan was launched in 2013 in Kolkata by Chitra Joshi, the wife of Admiral DK Joshi, the then Chief of Naval Staff. It is the third of the four Kamorta-class corvettes commissioned by the Indian navy.
The Kamorta-class corvettes are the first anti-submarine warfare stealth corvettes to be built in India. INS Kamorta and INS Kadmatt were commissioned in 2014 and 2016 respectively, while the last of the corvettes — INS Kavaratti will be commissioned by the end of 2017.
According to ANI, INS Kiltan will be capable of “fighting under nuclear, biological and chemical environments.” Packed with advanced stealth features and a low-radar signature, the INS Kiltan will be a frontline warship with the Indian Navy.
It is India’s first major warship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material resulting in improved stealth features, lower top weight and maintenance costs.
The ship hosts a predominantly indigenous cutting-edge weapons and sensors suite which includes heavyweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, 76 mm caliber Medium Range gun and two multi-barrel 30 mm guns as close-in-weapon system (CIWS) with dedicated fire control systems, missile decoy rockets (Chaff), advanced ESM (Electronic Support Measure) system, most advanced bow mounted sonar and air surveillance radar Revathi, the statement released by the Navy said.
The ship in the future would also be installed with short range SAM system and carry an integral ASW helicopter, it added. The ship derives its name from one of the islands in Aminidivi group of the strategically located Lakshadweep and Minicoy group of islands.
According to The Hindu, the warship will also be fitted with state-of-the-art weapons, which will include a “medium range gun, torpedo tube launchers, rocket launchers and close-in weapon system.” It will also have 17 officers and 106 sailors on-board.
The INS Kiltan is the successor ship to the Arnala-class corvette INS Kiltan, which was part of Operation Trident and was later decommissioned in 1987. The ship also boasts of the proud legacy of the erstwhile Petya Class ship of same name 'Kiltan (P79)' built in the USSR, which had actively participated as Task Force Commander in the 'Operation Trident' during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the statement added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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