New Delhi, April 29: India Thursday commissioned its first indigenously-built stealth warship with sophisticated features to hoodwink enemy radars and gained entry into a top club of developed countries having such capability.
Inducting ‘INS Shivalik’, the first of the three-ship Project-17 frigates, at the Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks (MDL), Defence Minister A K Antony called it a red letter day for the armed forces.
The 143-metre-long warship, with 6,000-tonne displacement, has “versatile control systems with signature management and radar cross-section reduction features.”
The other countries having the capability to build stealth warships are the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, Japan and Italy.
“It is a red letter day for the Navy, armed forces and ship building industry of India. We can consider ourselves as a really potent force and the Navy has to maintain eternal vigilance since we have a long coastline,” Antony said unveiling the new warship.
—Agencies