The Indian Navy commissioned its third anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan in a ceremony at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam, on Monday, Oct. 16.
INS Kiltan is the third of overall four Project 28 (also known as Kamorta-class) ASW corvettes designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design, and built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited.
According to the Indian Navy, about 80 percent of the ship is indigenous.
INS Kiltan is named after an island near Lakshadweep and was commissioned by India’s new defense minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
P28 corvettes displace 3300 tonnes, measure 109 meters in length and achieve speeds in excess of 25 knots, propelled by four diesel engines.
The fourth ship in the class, INS Kavaratti is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
The corvettes are currently equipped with license-built OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid Gun in a stealth mount and a weapons layout similar to what is found on the Talwar-class and Shivalik-class frigates, two RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers, in addition to torpedo tube launchers and close-in weapon systems (CIWS).