Breaking new grounds in the making of warships in the country, India today commissioned the first indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, INS Kamorta, at an impressive ceremony at Visakhapatnam naval dockyard. The Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley who commissioned the warship, described the development as ‘the coming of age of our ship building industry’. The commissioning of INS Kamorta has added a new dimension to the ASW capability of the Indian Navy and in particular, the Eastern Fleet. The multifarious missions that can be undertaken by the ship truly reflect the enhanced multi-dimensional capability of the Indian Navy.
Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral AK Verma (Retd), CMD, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and various other dignitaries were present during the commissioning ceremony. INS Kamorta is first of the four ASW Stealth Corvettes designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation, the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), under Project 28, with an indigenous component of about 90%. Measuring 110 meters in length, 14 meters in breadth and displacing 3500 tons, the ship can achieve speed of 25 Knots. The ship is fitted with Anti-submarine Rockets and Torpedoes, Medium and Close-in Weapon Systems and indigenous surveillance radar Revathi. The ship is also capable of carrying an integral ASW helicopter.
Jaitley said in the last three months, both the Prime Minister and he had been associated with many an accretions made into the Indian Navy namely, INS Vikramaditya, INS Kolkotta and INS Kamorta. But this one was special because of the high indigenous content. He said, at the moment, 42 warships are under construction in various shipyards of the country which is a welcome sign of the health of the ship building industry. He expressed confidence that the measures taken by the government will infuse healthy competitive spirit between the public and private shipyards. Kamorta also boasts of other “firsts” such as a foldable Hangar Door and a Rail-less Helo Traversing System, which will give helicopter operations from the corvette a significant edge over other warships.
Enhanced stealth features have been achieved by ‘X’ form of Hull, full beam superstructure, inclined ship sides and use of Infrared Signature Suppression system for cooling the Engine and Generator exhausts. The Ship has a ‘Combination of Diesel and Diesel’ propulsion system with 2 Diesel Engines along with one gear box on each shaft. The common raft mounted Gear Box and Diesel Engines give the vessel very low radiated underwater noise. This is well complemented with an efficient propeller which has high cavitation inception speed. The design also incorporates active shaft grounding system and multi zone Impressed Current Cathodic Protection for suppression of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic signature. The very low under water acoustic signature makes it a ‘silent killer on the prowl’.
INS Kamorta has a multitude of systems such as Total Atmospheric Control, Integrated Platform Management, Integrated Bridge, Battle Damage Control and Personnel Locator System. This provides a contemporary and process oriented System of Systems for optimal functioning of the warship. With her state of the art weapons and sensors, INS Kamorta is well equipped to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical warfare conditions. The ship, in essence, showcases the nation’s warship design capability and industrial prowess The ship has a complement of about 15 officers and 180 sailors. The accommodation and living spaces have been designed with special emphasis on ergonomics and habitability. The ship is commanded by Commander Manoj Jha, a Gunnery Specialist.