INS Surat

INS Surat
History
India
Name	Surat
Namesake	Surat
Operator	Indian Navy
Builder	Mazagon Dock Limited
Laid down	7 November 2019
Launched	17 May 2022
Completed	15 June 2024
Commissioned	15 January 2025
Homeport	Mumbai
Identification	Pennant number: D69
Motto	सागरे प्रचंड। "Fierce in the ocean" or "Mighty in the sea."
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Type	Guided missile destroyer
Displacement	7,400 t (7,300 long tons; 8,200 short tons)[1]
Length	163 m (535 ft)
Beam	17.4 m (57 ft)
Draft	6.5 m (21 ft)
Propulsion	COGAG[2] 2 x Zorya M36E gas turbines, with 4 × DT-59 reversible gas turbines and 2 × RG-54 gearboxes 2 × Bergen/GRSE KVM-diesel engines, 9,900 hp (7,400 kW) each 4 × 1 MWe Wärtsilä WCM-1000 generator sets driving Cummins KTA50G3 engines and Kirloskar 1 MV AC generators
Speed	In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h)
Range	8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[3]
Endurance	45 days
Boats & landing craft carried	4 x RHIB
Crew	300 (50 officers + 250 sailors)
Sensors and processing systems	Radar :- IAI EL/M-2248 MF-STAR S-Band AESA radar BEL RAWL-02/LW-08 L-Band air-search radar Terma/Tata Scanter-6002 X-Band surface-search radar Sonar :- BEL HUMSA-NG active/passive sonar BEL "Nagin" active towed-array sonar Combat Suite :- "Combat Management System" (CMS)
Electronic warfare & decoys	DRDO "Shakti" EW suite (equipped with ESM/ECM and "Radar Finger Printing System" (RFPS)) DRDO "Nayan" COMINT suite Decoys :- 4 x Kavach decoy launchers 2 x Maareech torpedo-countermeasure systems
Armament	Anti-air warfare :- 4 × 8-cell VLS, for a total of 32 Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles Anti-surface warfare :- 2 x 8-cell VLS, for 16 BrahMos anti-ship missiles Anti-submarine warfare :- 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers Guns :- 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm naval gun 4 x AK-630M CIWS 2 x OFT 12.7 mm M2 Stabilized Remote Controlled Gun
Aircraft carried	2 × HAL Dhruv (or) Sea King Mk. 42B
Aviation facilities	Enclosed helicopter hangar and flight deck capable of accommodating two multi-role helicopters.
Notes	Modified derivative of the Kolkata-class destroyer.[4]

INS Surat is the fourth ship of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. The ship is the last of the line of destroyers built under Project 15 which includes the Delhi-class (P-15), the Kolkata-class (P-15A) and the Visakhapatnam-class destroyer (P-15B).[5] The commissioning commanding officer of Surat is Captain Sandeep Shourie.[6]

Initially, the ship was speculated to be named after port city Porbandar but later it was changed to Surat. The other warships of this class are INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao, INS Imphal.[7]

Construction

Surat during sea trials

The keel of Surat was laid down in 2018. Built at two different geographical locations using the block construction methodology involving hull construction and joining at MDL. Successor of P-15A destroyers, P-15B destroyers are the next generation of stealth guided missile destroyers.[8]

The keel for Surat was laid on 9 November 2019[5] and was launched on 17 May 2022 by Mazagon Dock Limited.[9] On 15 June 2024, Surat begun her Contractor Sea Trials and completed her Final Machinery Trials on 25 November 2024 taking a time of record low of 6 months. The ship was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 December 2024. The ship was delivered within 31 months from launch which made this the fastest destroyer to be built in India.[5] The ship was initially scheduled to be commissioned in December 2024 but the timeline was later shifted.[10][11]

The ship was commissioned on 15 January 2025 along with INS Nilgiri and INS Vagsheer.[12][13]

The ship has the distinction of being the first Artificial Intelligence-enabled warship of the Indian Navy.[5]

Ship badge

On 6 November 2023, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, unveiled the crest of Surat. The crest depicts the lighthouse at Hazira of Surat which is situated at the southern entrance of the Gulf of Khambhat and was built in 1836 as one of the first lighthouses in India. The state animal of Gujarat, the Asiatic Lion is also depicted in the crest of the ship.[14]

See also

• Delhi-class destroyer
• List of active Indian Navy ships
• List of destroyers of India
• Future of the Indian Navy

References

1. "INS Visakhapatnam', First Ship of Project 15B launched". indiannavy.nic.in. Indian Navy (News). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
2. "Project 15B Guided Missile Destroyers, Mazagon Dock Limited".
3. Shukla, Ajay (21 April 2015). "INS Visakhapatnam shows growing Indian ability to build warships economically". Business Standard. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
4. "Project 15B Guided Missile Destroyers".
5. "YARD 12707 (SURAT) AND YARD 12651 (NILGIRI) DELIVERED TO INDIAN NAVY". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Defence, Government of India. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
6. Pandit, Vinaya Deshpande (15 January 2025). "Red-letter day for the Navy, declare Captains of 3 frontline combatants". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
7. @ANI (16 November 2021). "Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will formally Commission INS Vishakhapatnam on Nov 21 in Mumbai: Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. "Time to Make-for-World, Says Rajnath as Indian Navy Launches Indigenous Warships in Mumbai". MSN. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
9. "Raksha Mantri launches two indigenous frontline warships - Surat (Guided Missile Destroyer) & Udaygiri (Stealth Frigate) - in Mumbai". PIB. 17 May 2022.
10. @Sputnik_India (20 September 2024). "#Surat will be the next major combatant to join the #IndianNavy's arsenal. The ship commenced her maiden sea trials prior induction..." (Tweet). Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via Twitter.
11. "Indian Navy to commission four warships, submarines in a mth". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
12. "Navy gets 'hunter-killer' submarine, warships; PM says emerging as maritime power". India Today. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
13. "PM Modi commissions INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, and INS Vaghsheer: Key points". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
14. "CREST UNVEILING CEREMONY SURAT INDIAN NAVY'S PROJECT 15B WARSHIP". pib.gov.in. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2024.