Indian Defense
Indian Navy’s Latest Indigenous Guided Missile Destroyer INS Imphal Fires Brahmos-ER Missile; Hits ‘Bull’s Eye’
Imphal is the third ship of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth-guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy
In her maiden BrahMos firing at sea, the Indian Navy’s latest indigenous guided missile destroyer Yard 12706, also called Imphal, scored ‘Bull’s Eye’ on Wednesday, the first-ever test-firing of the extended-range BrahMos missile by a warship even before commissioning.
Imphal is the third ship of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth-guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy. It is a hallmark of indigenous shipbuilding and is amongst the most technologically advanced warships in the world which is designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai.
The name Imphal was given in recognition of the Indian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Imphal during World War II. It is a potent and versatile platform equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors. The destroyer has an overall length of 164 metres and a displacement of 7,400 tons.
Approximately 75% of the ship is equipped with indigenous content including medium-range surface-to-air missiles (BEL, Bangalore), BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, New Delhi), indigenous torpedo tube launchers (Larsen and Toubro, Mumbai), anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers (Larsen and Toubro, Mumbai) and 76mm super rapid gun mount (BHEL, Haridwar).
The Indian Navy operates 11 guided-missile destroyers from three classes: Kolkata-class, Delhi-class, Rajput-class.
Six other destroyers have been decommissioned and scrapped.