Mumbai, Nov 20 : Giving a boost to the strength of Defence sector of the country, the stealth guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam is set to join the Indian Navy on Sunday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the commissioning ceremony of Visakhapatnam, the first ship of Project 15B. It is first of the four Guided Missile Destroyers under construction at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai under the project.

The 163-mt-long, 17 meters wide ship has a displacement of 7400 tonnes and can be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India, Navy officials said.

According to the Indian Navy, the ship has been constructed using indigenous steel DMR 249A and is among the largest destroyers constructed in India. Around 75 per cent content of the ship is indigenous.

A potent platform capable of undertaking multifarious task and missions spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare, Visakhapatnam is equipped with array of weapons and sensors, which include supersonic surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, medium and short-range guns, anti-submarine rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communication suits.

An Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) System ‘Shakti’, designed and developed by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) Hyderabad has also been installed on the warship. The system was formally handed over to Indian Navy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday during the Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv in Jhansi.

The ship is propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration, capable of achieving speeds above 30 knots. It has enhanced stealth features resulting in a reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved through efficient shaping of hull, full beam superstructure design, plated masts and use of radar transparent materials on exposed decks.

The ship is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship. The ship’s Anti Submarine Warfare capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed Rocket Launchers, Torpedo Launchers and ASW helicopters. The ship is equipped to fight under Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.(UNI)