Indian Navy takes delivery of first Project 15B stealth destroyer

The Indian Navy has taken delivery of the first stealth guided missile destroyer to be built under Project 15B, also known as the Visakhapatnam-class.

The future INS Visakhapatnam was built by state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) as the first of a planned four ships that are improved variants of the Project 15A or Kolkata-class destroyers.

The new destroyer has a length of 163 metres, a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes, and a maximum speed of 30 knots. Armament includes surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, and a 76-millimetre rapid fire gun.