Indian Navy commissions INS Kiltan

The Indian Navy has commissioned its third anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan in a ceremony at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam.

The third of four Project 28 (Kamorta-class) ASW corvettes designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design, INS Kiltan was built by Kolkata’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.

One of the most potent warships to have been built in India, INS Kiltan is named after an island near Lakshadweep and a Petya-class ASW ship that served the nation for 18 years before being decommissioned in June 1987.

The ship’s keel was laid on August 10, 2010 and launched on March 26, 2013.

The 109-metre-long ship is propelled by four diesel engines to achieve speeds of more than 25 knots and has an endurance of 3,500 nautical miles.

INS Kiltan is equipped with heavyweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, 76mm calibre gun, close-in-weapon system (CIWS) and an advanced ESM (electronic support measure) system to detect enemy transmissions.

The ship is manned by a team comprising 13 officers and 178 sailors with Naushad Ali Khan at the helm as her first commanding officer.

The fourth ship in the class, INS Kavaratti, is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.