The second ship of the proposed three stealth destroyer ships under the Rs 8,459-crore Project 15-A was launched by Madhulika Verma, wife of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Nirmal Verma, at Mazgaon Docks here on Friday. The 6,500-tonne destroyer ship, which will be named INS Kochi, has been designed indigenously by the Directorate of Naval Design.

“Launching the warship is an important milestone in the construction process. Today’s launch has further significance, as this is the first time that a pontoon-assisted launch is being carried out in our country,” Admiral Verma said at the launch ceremony.

The ship is a follow-on of the existing indigenously designed ships from the Delhi class guided missile destroyers — INS Delhi, INS Mysore and INS Mumbai. Once launched, the ship will have advanced stealth features that will make it less susceptible to detection by enemy radars.

The ship will also be fitted with advanced weapons systems that will include the supersonic surface-to-surface BrahMos missile, the Israeli ‘Barak’ Long Range Surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) and the Multi-Function (Mfstar) radar system that would provide accurate data on surface and air targets.

INS Kochi will sail through blue water at a maximum speed of 30 knots. While the hull of the ship was launched on Friday, it is expected to be inducted by the Navy in 2011 after trial runs.

Four AK-630 rapid-fire guns and a medium range gun will be installed on INS Kochi to enhance the ship’s close range defence capability and the ship will be fitted with indigenously developed twin-tube torpedo launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

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