PM Modi will induct THIS ship on Saturday

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Mumbai to induct the country's largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan will also be present at the ceremony.

The warship is constructed by the Mazagon Dockyards Limited and has been designed by Navy’s design bureau.

The 6,800-tonne warship is a technology demonstrator and will showcase a giant leap in shipbuilding technology in the country.

With an operating range of 15,000 kilometre, INS Kolkata, first of the three such ships that will join the Indian Navy in the next few years, is equipped to play a varied role. It has an in-built anti-submarine capability and can take on an anti-ship missile and fighter aircraft. It will also be the first Indian ship to be armed with the land attack, anti-ship Brahmos missile, also manufactured in India with Russian collaboration.

With an integral hanger and a landing deck for a helicopter, the guided missile destroyer will add teeth to the 140-ship strong Indian Navy, currently undergoing a massive expansion.

Image: The INS Kolkata is first of the three such ships that will join the Indian Navy in the next few years.