INS Dhruv (A40) is a

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

and missile range instrumentation ship built by

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 ...

's Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL). The ship was earlier only known by its shipyard designated yard number as VC-11184. The ship can gather

electronic intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

and will be used to track missile and satellites to aid India's strategic weapons and

anti-ballistic missiles An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajec ...

. It will be jointly operated by

National Technical Research Organisation The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, India. It was set up in 2004. It has the same "norms of conduct" as the Intelligenc ...

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, ...

and 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 si ...

. The development span of ships has remained largely secretive with little information in public domain. The ship had reportedly started sea trials in early 2019, and had entered service in October 2020 without a public commissioning ceremony. The ship was officially commissioned on 10 September 2021 at Visakhapatnam in the presence of senior officials from the Indian Navy, the

(DRDO), and the

(NTRO).

Development

The purpose of the ship is to support the development of India's strategic weapons and the

Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Program is an initiative to develop and deploy a multi-layered ballistic missile defence system to protect India from ballistic missile attacks. It was launched in 2000 after Kargil War by the Atal Bihari Vaj ...

. The ship can also track strategic missiles and satellites. In addition, it can also gather electronic intelligence. The keel of the ship was laid on 30 June 2014 at Hindustan Shipyard Limited. It is being built under a classified and confidential programme which is directly under the control of the Prime Minister's Office and the National Security Advisor, similar to the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme of the Indian Navy. The ship started harbour trials in July 2018 and was expected to undergo sea trials by the end of 2018. , sea trials were ongoing. The ship was delivered to the

in October 2020 quietly meanwhile official induction expected on first half of 2021.

Design and description

The ship cost around and has been designed in India by Vik Sandvik Design India. It has a displacement of more than 10,000 tonnes, length of 175 metre, beam of 22 metre, draught of 6 metre and can attain a speed of 21 knots. It is powered by two imported 9,000 kilowatt combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) configuration engines and three 1200 kilowatt auxiliary generators. The ship will be fitted with a primary X band and a secondary S band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. In addition, it has a long open deck with ample space for installing multiple missile tracking antennas. It will have a crew complement of 300 personnel and will carry a single helicopter. The ship will also have a special team from

on board.

Commissioning

The ship was commissioned by

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

Ajit Doval Ajit Kumar Doval KC (born 20 January 1945) is a bureaucrat & spymaster, serving as the fifth and current National Security Advisor (NSA) to the Prime Minister of India, with the precedence equivalent to Cabinet Minister. He previously served as ...

on 10 September 2021 in

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

. The ship will be jointly operated by

(NTRO),

(DRDO) and the

. INS Dhruv will be under Strategic Forces Command (SFC) and based in Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy.

References

External links

Official website of Indian Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhruv Auxiliary ships of India Ships built in India 2014 ships Missile range instrumentation ships

Development

Design and description

Commissioning

See also

References

External links