Indian Navy’s New Strength INS Kamorta

The Indian Navy fleet has got yet another star in its fleet. This new member of the Naval family will strengthen the Indian Navy and also showcase India’s talent to build its own vessel. The new member in the family is INS Kamorta. It is a stealth corvette. It is India’s first indigenously-built anti submarine warfare corvette. It is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata, it will be the first warship armed with an indigenous rocket launcher for anti submarine warfare.

It is part of Project 28, approved in 2003. It was launched in 2010 and was expected to be commissioned in 2013. But due to some factors its delivery was late so now its all ready to be commissioned by July 2014. The sophisticated front line warship with stealth features will also be the first warship armed with the new trainable chaff launcher - Kavach.

With an approximate displacement of 3400 tonnes, it can achieve a maximum speed of 25 knots. It is powered by four indigenously designed 3888 KW diesel engines at 1050 rpm and can cover nearly 3,500 nautical miles at 18 knots.  The overall length of the ship is 109 meters and is nearly 13 metres wide at its maximum bulge. With about 90 per cent of the ship being indigenous, it is also capable of deploying a helicopter, adding considerable punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. It is also the first naval ship fitted with bow mounted ‘Sonar’ (sound navigation and ranging) for enhanced underwater surveillance. Integration of indigenous surveillance radar (Revathi) for surface and air surveillance is another first on any Indian warship.

Each ship will be manned by 14 officers and 150 sailors. With reverse osmosis plant for fresh water generation, sewage treatment plant with vacuum toilet facilities totally compliant with International Maritime Organisation regulations, the warship measures up to all stringent regulatory needs to operate across oceans of the world. 

The sturdy warship is the first in its class of four ASW corvettes being built for the Indian Navy. Named after islands in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshwadeep archipelago, ASW corvettes Kadmatt, Kiltan and Kavaratti are to follow suit progressively.

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