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INS Visakhapatnam Shows Growing Indian Ability To Build Warships Economically

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INS Visakhapatnam shows growing Indian ability to build warships economically
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The Navy’s new destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, with enhanced capability to operate in areas tainted by a nuclear, biological and chemical strike, at its launch at the Mazagon dock in Mumbai on Monday

On Monday, eight months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned the first Project 15A guided missile destroyer, INS Kolkata, the first of its successor class vessels - INS Visakhapatnam - was launched into the water at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai (MDL).

INS Visakhapatnam, the first of four stealthy destroyers coming up under Project 15B, began taking shape on January 23, 2013, when MDL started fashioning 2,800 tonnes of Indian-made warship steel into the warship's hull. With this partly-build structure now floating in water, INS Visakhapatnam will be built up by 2017 into a 7,334-tonne behemoth. After trials, it will be commissioned in 2018 as India's most heavily armed warship.

It will be joined in the fleet at two year intervals by three successors: INS Paradip, INS Marmagoa and a fourth vessel, yet unnamed.

The most remarkable feature of these destroyers is not its 32 world-beating Indo-Israeli anti-ship-missile defences called the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM), or Barak 8; nor its arsenal of 16 Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles that can sink ships or strike land targets 295 kilometres away; nor its heavyweight torpedoes that can destroy enemy submarines 100 kilometres away.

The most remarkable feature of these warships is that, tonne-for-tonne, they are not only one of the world's most heavily armed but also one of the cheapest.

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Underlining the benefits of designing and building combat platforms in the country, the four Project 15B warships will cost the navy Rs 29,348 crore, an average of Rs 7,337 crore per destroyer. Tipping the scales at an estimated 7,334 tonnes, INS Visakhapatnam will cost the navy just about Rs 1 crore per tonne, or $159,750 in 2014 prices.

Three Project 15A destroyers were built even cheaper -at $92,210 per tonne - but the fall of the rupee and inflation in labour and materials cost have raised the price of their successors.

Only China's Guangzhou class destroyers were built cheaper, at $146,870 per tonne in 2014 prices. However, as combat platforms, Guangzhou-class destroyers are not in the same class as INS Visakhapatnam. Their anti-missile defence consists of 48 Russian-origin SA-N-12 Grizzly surface-to-air missiles, which have ranges of under 40 kilometres, depending upon the target. The LR-SAMs on the Visakhapatnam-class, in contrast, shoot down incoming anti-ship missiles - the most significant threat to surface warships - at ranges out to 70 kilometres, and have a far better hit probability.

Similarly, the Brahmos anti-ship/anti-surface missile, which is both supersonic and has a range of 295 kilometres, is regarded as superior to the Guangzhou-class' YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, which have ranges of about 200 kilometres.

The Daring-class destroyers, which is the spearhead of the Royal Navy's surface fleet, and which the United Kingdom boasts is the finest air defence destroyer in the world, costs an estimated 193,650 per tonne to build.

Few would dispute the technological pre-eminence of the US Navy's DDG-51 destroyers, of which USS Rafael Peralta is the newest. Boasting the Aegis Combat System for air defence, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Tomahawk strategic land strike cruise missiles; these Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are the gold standard in multi-role capability. However, this capability comes at a prohibitive estimated $205,000 per tonne, despite the economy of scale that comes from building about 100 of these warships.

Even more expensive is Japan's Akizuki-class destroyer, which Mitsubishi is building for $232,370 per tonne; and Australia's Hobart-class destroyer, designed by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and built in Australia, which will cost the Royal Australian Navy an estimated $333,300 per tonne, more than double the cost of INS Visakhapatnam.

The capabilities that the navy has announced for Project 15B indicates the design of these warships - rooted in the three destroyers of Project 15; and evolved into the three of Project 15A - has continually improved. Although these vessels use the same power plant - four Ukrainian M-36E Zorya gas turbines - INS Visakhapatnam, which is significantly heavier at 7,334 tonnes than the 5,800-tonne Delhi-class destroyers of Project 15, can work up the same speed (30 knots, or 56 kmph).

The Visakhapatnam's crew of 325 officers and sailors, include an air complement that operates the ship's two helicopters. The destroyer carries 1,000 tonnes of fuel, which allows it to patrol the oceans for 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 miles) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). For entering an area that has undergone a nuclear, chemical or biological (NBC) strike, the Visakhapatnam has a "total atmosphere control system", which cleans the air through a filter system.


Source:- INS Visakhapatnam shows growing Indian ability to build warships economically | Business Standard News
 
It's a hull right now... Talk when it's completely out and ready timely.
what about the hull...was it completed in time....how do you rate progress in last 8 months post commission?...because that will give us some idea of velocity...
 
what about the hull...was it completed in time....how do you rate progress in last 8 months post commission?...because that will give us some idea of velocity...

India never really had a probably bring out hulls, but managing all of the different subsystems and the integration work.

Once you that going smoothly, then things are getting better for sure.
 
what about the hull...was it completed in time....how do you rate progress in last 8 months post commission?...because that will give us some idea of velocity...

The hull was completed on time - The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid down on 12 October 2013 and was launched yesterday as planned earlier.

Warship projects in India are mostly delayed due to the subcontractors - like in the case of INS Kolkata - it was planned to be inducted by 2010 but actually was in 2014 due to persistent design changes made by the Indian Navy to incorporate new weapons systems and sensors, failure by a Ukrainian shipyard to deliver the ship's propellers and shafts, delay in supply of warship-grade steel by Russia and finally the delay in finalization of cost of weapons and sensors.

Though in the case of P15-B as no major re-designing has been done and there's an increase in localisation and then we have a DM who has a habit to review such high-profile defence projects every month regularly - this warship would be inducted well within the schedule.
 
The hull was completed on time - The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid down on 12 October 2013 and was launched yesterday as planned earlier.

Warship projects in India are mostly delayed due to the subcontractors - like in the case of INS Kolkata - it was planned to be inducted by 2010 but actually was in 2014 due to persistent design changes made by the Indian Navy to incorporate new weapons systems and sensors, failure by a Ukrainian shipyard to deliver the ship's propellers and shafts, delay in supply of warship-grade steel by Russia and finally the delay in finalization of cost of weapons and sensors.

Though in the case of P15-B as no major re-designing has been done and there's an increase in localisation and then we have a DM who has a habit to review such high-profile defence projects every month regularly - this warship would be inducted well within the schedule.

First P 15 B will be indutced before 2020, it will not face delays like INS Kolkata faced.
 
India never really had a probably bring out hulls, but managing all of the different subsystems and the integration work.

Once you that going smoothly, then things are getting better for sure.
sir,did IN have any plan for next gen destroyers other than P15B?
 
Nice

But we need at least one more naval dock and expansion of existing ones as all the docks are almost saturated with orders
 
Nothing official after P15B destroyers or P17A frigates, but the naval design team are looking at trimaran concepts.

But this is a frigate right? no news on next destroyer types. I think Kolkata & Vishakhapatnam having very less land attack capability when compared to Burk class.
 
But this is a frigate right? no news on next destroyer types. I think Kolkata & Vishakhapatnam having very less land attack capability when compared to Burk class.
yeah so called "frigate" at 7000 tonne :disagree:

and about land attack capability ......p15b (and maybe in future p15a) will have LACM nirbhay
 
Nothing official after P15B destroyers or P17A frigates, but the naval design team are looking at trimaran concepts.


Trimaran is a foolish and childish design and is creation of a fan boy. Such design is unstable at high sea and has horrible sway and roll.

There is a reason historically ships have been Narrow and long. That is the MOST Stable design.
 
yeah so called "frigate" at 7000 tonne :disagree:


That's what I am not understanding,Kolkata is just only 2000t short when compared to Burk but later one carries 96 vls where our Kolkata having just 48( I am not telling that p15 is useless,it can easily take out Pakistani surface fleets)
 
INDIAN NAVY TO LIMIT SHIP BUYS TO DOMESTIC YARDS

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The Indian Ministry of Defence has directed future warship and submarine building orders be given only to domestic shipyards. The Navy has potential orders worth more than US $50 billion over the next 10 years for ship and submarine builds, said a Defence Ministry source.

However, the $12 billion purchase of six conventional submarines with air independent propulsion, for which a request for proposals is being prepared, will still allow foreign participation in the design phase, although the subs will be built only by domestic shipyards, the MoD source added.

As state-owned shipyards have their hands full, private sector yards, which have the facilities but fewer orders, are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries under the new directive, analysts said.

"Private shipyards have not been given adequate opportunity to prove their mettle. There is no doubt that they are more modern and perhaps more efficient and given an opportunity will perhaps outperform the state-owned shipyards. It is too early to judge them as the state-owned shipyards have a five-decade lead in shipbuilding," said Anil Jai Singh, retired Indian Navy commodore.

Navy officials and defense analysts said India has the capability to build warships from the design stage, but will have to rely on imports to meet its weapon needs.

"We have enough first-rate shipyards in India to deliver the ships and submarines that the Navy and Coast Guard need. There is no case for buying from abroad at all," said Sujeet Samadda, a retired Indian Navy commodore. MoD has asked the Navy to upgrade its design facilities so it can effectively build submarines in the future, the MoD source said.

"It is little known that the Indian Navy has its own in-house warship design organization whose capability has been refined over the years from 1960 onward. Today, the Indian Navy can design and supervise the construction of the most sophisticated warships, all done in-house. Our capability is the envy of other world-class navies," said retired Adm. Sushil Kumar, former chief of the Indian Navy.

An Indian Navy official said 17 different designs, ranging from small craft to destroyers, have been developed by the warship design organization from which more than 80 warships have been built. These include stealth frigates under the Project 17 Shivalik class, three destroyers of the Kolkata class under Project 15A, and anti-submarine warfare corvettes.

In February, the government cleared a proposal to build seven stealth frigates and six nuclear attack submarines worth $16 billion to be designed and built in India. In addition, the Navy will build 16 anti-submarine warfare craft worth $2.5 billion and 12 mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) for $5 billion; all of these orders will be placed with domestic yards, the Navy official said.


Last year, MoD scrapped the proposal to award the MCMV deal to Kangnam of South Korea and instead gave the order to state-owned Goa Shipyard when it was found that the South Korean company had used defense agents in pursuing the deal, which is not allowed under Indian defense procurement law.

Indian warship building traditionally has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, but deliveries have improved in recent years, analysts said. Delays related to imports of special steel from Russia have been eliminated because India has begun producing the steel for warship building itself.

"It is not only the Indian Navy which has the problem of delays and cost overruns," said S. Navaneetha Krishnan, a retired Indian Navy commander and naval architect. Timely decisions and delivery of material also are key for shipbuilding projects, he added.

Despite its ability to build ships and subs, India will need to import several systems, especially weapons, analysts said. "Indigenization [in warship building] has been in the field of hull and metal work, power generation and distribution, motors and pumps, and communication systems," said Shyam Kumar Singh, retired Indian Navy captain. "BrahMos [supersonic anti-ship cruise missile] is the only indigenous missile system. Considering all of this, my guess would be that indigenization would be around 50 percent in warship building."

According to Krishnan, the degree of indigenization is increasing ship after ship being built in India. Birinder Singh Randhawa, a retired Navy vice admiral, said that while he favors restricting orders to domestic yards, even the homemade systems have some imported content.

"Systems and equipment supplied by Indian suppliers have imported content of varying amounts, especially in the case of weapons and sensors and propulsion systems. Hence the content imported can vary substantially. In the case of destroyers being built under Project 15-B, the propulsion system, main gun, radars and surface-to-air missile systems would have substantial imported content."

Adm. Sushil Kumar admits that shipbuilding will continue to have imported content, but said the Navy is fully capable of ship and sub design and construction.

"No Navy in the world equips its warships with exclusively indigenously developed weapon systems. This is because technology in weapon systems is rapidly changing. So there is need for the Indian Navy to also depend on certain imported systems," he said. "But the Indian Navy can integrate these imported systems because we have our own design capability. If the Indian Air Force or state-owned military aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. had the type of capability which the Indian Navy has developed over the past 50 years, then the need to purchase a Rafale fighter from France would have been a different story."

Source:- Indian Navy To Limit Ship Buys to Domestic

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As of now, India has achieved 90% indigenisation in the "float" (hull, superstructure) component of a warship through the development of high-grade steel by DRDO and SAIL, among other things. But the "move" (propulsion) and "fight" (weapons and sensors) components lag behind at 50-60% and 30%, respectively.

Source:- Navy for ‘made in India’ tech, gives DRDO list of 100 wishes - The Times of India
Navy’s wish list: 6 nuke subs, N-powered carrier
 

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