INS ''Anvesh'' (formerly known as the DRDO Technology Demonstration Vessel), is a

missile range instrumentation ship A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for ...

(also termed as a "Floating Test Range" (FTR)) built for the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. Designed by the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...

(DRDO) and built by

Cochin Shipyard Limited Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is a shipbuilding facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Of the services provided by the shipyard are building platform supply ...

(CSL), the ship was conceived to serve as a sea-based platform for India's ballistic missile defence program. The ship was designed b
Vik-Sandvik Design India Pvt Ltd
(“VSDI”).

Construction

The construction of the then-DRDO Technology Demonstration Vessel was awarded to the

(CSL) by the

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

- India's premier agency for R&D in defence, in August 2015. This vessel has a length of 118.4 metre, 20 metre width and 7.1 metre draft and having a steel weight of approximately 3900 tons. The original contract for the construction of the vessel was with

Bharati Shipyard Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Limited (formerly Bharati Shipyard Limited) is one of the largest shipbuilding companies in India. History Bharati Shipyard Limited (BSL) was founded in 1973 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra by Prakash C. Kapoor an ...

, but time overruns forced by the yard's poor finances led to termination of the contract. Subsequently, the Cochin Shipyard won the bid to execute this project. Steel plate cutting of the vessel was started on 10 August 2016. Dr S Christopher, Chairman, DRDO and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, launched the mega block assembly of hull blocks of the ship (Ship No.20) on 27 January 2016 at CSL. The ceremonial event of commencement of Mega Block Assembly of hull blocks of Ship No.20, the Technology Demonstration Vessel, being built for the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Government of India was held on 27 Jan 2017 at CSL. It is now being reported that the ship will commence the sea trial in September 2021 and will be commissioned by the end of 2021. DRDO has specific plans to use the vessel, equipped with electro-optical missile tracking, S-band radar tracking, telemetry devices apart from a launch pad, control and mission control center, for testing its phase II of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) interceptor missiles. The phase II of the BMD envisages intercepting and destroying enemy missile up to range of 5000 kilometers by kinetic force with the FTR allowing live testing of the

interdictor An interdictor is a type of attack aircraft that operates far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of air interdiction of the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. Interdiction prevents or delays enemy for ...

missiles and not computer simulations.

Commissioning

The ship had been quitely commissioned by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on unknown date. A photo of the commissioning ceremony has been made public for the first time in the Indian Navy Song 2022: 'Hum Taiyyar hain'.

References

{{reflist Missile range instrumentation ships Maritime vessels related to spaceflight Research vessels Research vessels of India Rockets and missiles Signals intelligence Defence Research and Development Organisation

Construction

Commissioning

See also

References