Breaking news
Indian Navy Commissions Second Kolkata Class Guided Missile Destroyer INS Kochi.
| 2015
INS Kochi during gun trials. Picture: Indian Navy |
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Kochi
is packed with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, with
a significant indigenous component. The ship thus has many lethal weapons
to her credit which include the successful fitment of vertically launched
missile system for long distance engagement of shore and sea based targets.
The ship is one of the few warships of the world and the second in the
Indian Navy to have Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar
to provide target data to Long Range Surface to Air Missile system. The
MF STAR and LR SAM systems are jointly developed by DRDO (Defence Research
and Development Organisation) and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. To
protect against incoming air borne and surface threats, at medium and
close in range, the ship has 76 mm and 30 mm gun mounts. The ship can truly be classified as a ‘Network of Networks’ as it is equipped with Ship Data Network (SDN), Combat Management System (CMS), Automatic Power Management System (APMS) and Auxiliary Control System (ACS). The SDN is the information highway on which data from all the sensors and weapons ride. The CMS performs threat evaluation and resource allocation based on the tactical picture compiled and ammunition available onboard. While propulsion and power management is done using the APMS, remote control and monitoring of machinery is achieved through the ACS. The ship is equipped to store and operate two helicopters (Seaking 42B or Chetak). In consonance with the national vision of achieving Maritime Security through Self-Reliance, the ships have significantly higher level of indigenization as compared to the Delhi class. Some of the major equipment/systems developed indigenously and fitted onboard include; Ship’s Data Network (M/s BEL, Bangalore), Combat Management System (M/s BEL, Ghaziabad), Bow Mounted Sonar (M/s BEL, Bangalore), Electronic Warfare Suite (M/s BEL, Hyderabad), Close-in weapon System (Gun Shell Factory and M/s BEL, Chennai), Indigenous Rocket Launcher (M/s L&T), Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launcher for ASW (M/s L&T) Boat Davits (M/s L&T) and Automated Power Management System (M/s L&T). |
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