Navy Gets First Kolkata-class Destroyer Today, Commissioning Soon



Good news just in: India's first indigenous P15A destroyer has completed delivery acceptance trials (DAT) and will be officially handed over to the Indian Navy today. The ship will be commissioned soon, likely later this month in Mumbai by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.

During DATs last month, a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test-fired from the Kolkata on June 9 off the coast of Karwar. The P15A destroyers will deploy 16 BrahMos in vertical launch config. The Kolkata-class has had its share of turbulence: originally slated for delivery in 2010, the project was slapped back by technical issues, including construction and unusual noise levels during operations. When all of those issues were sorted over three years, a Navy officer was killed in a tragic freak accident in March this year, casting gloom over one of India's most promising indigenous warship lines. With DATs done, she's fully ready for operations. Will post new photos as soon as I get them.

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