INS ''Chennai'' (D65) is the third and last ship of the stealth
guided missile destroyer
A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...
s of 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 ...
. She was constructed by the
Mazagon Dock Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platform ...
(MDL) at
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. On 17 April 2017, INS Chennai was dedicated to the city of
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
in presence of then
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...
, K. Palaniswamy.
INS Chennai has on her seal a Bull symbolising the
Jallikattu
(or ), also known as and , is a traditional event in which a bull ('' Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's b ...
festival celebrated in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
from where the ship associates its heritage.
Construction
She was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
in February 2006, and was launched on 2 April 2010 by the then
Defence Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
AK Antony
Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian politician and attorney who was the 23rd Defence Minister of India. He was Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, from Kerala from 1985 to 1995 and again from 2005 to 2022. He ...
's wife Elizabeth Antony at a function in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
Manohar Parrikar
Manohar Parrikar (born Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar; 13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 until his death. Previous ...
. INS ''Chennai'' is the first naval ship named after
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, capital city of the state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Features
The India-designed ship is designed to have state of the art weapons and sensors, stealth features, an advanced action information system, a comprehensive auxiliary control system, world class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features. These ships integrate many new features and involve design changes that ensure a far more advanced weapons platforms compared to the earlier Project 15 ships.
The ship's air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, revolve around the vertical launch, long range surface-to-air missile system, co-developed by
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, ...
.
Four
AK-630
The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber.
The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and dir ...
rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an MR gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.
India-developed twin tube torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship's anti-submarine capability.
INS ''Chennai'' is designed to carry the supersonic
BrahMos
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)INS Chennai along with
INS Kochi
INS ''Kochi'' (D64) is the second ship of the stealth guided-missile destroyers built under the code name ''Project 15A'' for the Indian Navy. She was constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. After undergoing extensive sea trials, ...
participated in the maiden cooperative engagement firing through the employment of the full Joint Taskforce Coordination (JTC) mode which implements the MRSAM / Barak 8 'Cooperative Engagement' operating mode.
Notable Deployments
INS Chennai, along with INS Sunayna was sent to the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
and
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا ...
in June 2019 to protect Indian shipping interests amid tensions in the
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...
.
Gallery
See also
* - Sister ship and first of the class.
* - Sister ship and second of the class.
*