INS Astradharini commissioned

Visakhapatnam — The indigenous torpedo launch and recovery vessel INS Astradharini was commissioned today by Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command at an impressive ceremony held at the Naval base in Visakhapatnam.

The design of the vessel has been a collaborative effort of NSTL, Shoft Shipyard and IIT Kharagpur. It has a unique design of a catamaran hull form that significantly reduces the power requirement. It is built with indigenous steel.

With a length of 50 m, the vessel is capable of moving at a speed up to 15 knots. It can operate at high sea states; it has a large deck area with torpedo launchers for deploying and recovering various kinds of torpedoes during the trials. The ship’s power generation, distribution, navigation and communication systems are all modern.

The unique hull form of the ship demonstrates the country’s ship design and shipbuilding capabilities. India may seek pride in the fact that 95% of the ship’s systems are of indigenous design, demonstrating the Navy’s continued adherence to the ‘Make in India’ philosophy.

At the event of commissioning, chief guest Vice Admiral Satish Soni congratulated the NSTL for its contribution in partnering the shipyard through the processes of building and trials, which contributed towards building this fine ship. He said that the induction of INS Ashtradharini added thrust to the nation’s ongoing endeavour of indigenisation and achieving the nation’s goal of self-reliance in underwater weapons development. He later unveiled the commissioning plaque and dedicated the ship to the nation.

INS Astradharini will be used to carry out the technical trials of underwater weapons and systems developed by NSTL, a naval systems laboratory of DRDO. It is an advanced replacement for INS Astravahini, which was decommissioned on 17 July.

It has a complement of 2 officers and 27 sailors; INS Astradharini can accommodate 13 DRDO scientists and has the capacity to undertake multiple trials during a single sortie. The commissioning of this ship will add a powerful punch to the DRDO’s R&D capabilities and accelerate the development of more underwater weapons and systems.

V Bhujanga Rao, Director General (NS &M) DRDO, CD Malleswar, Director NSTL, Visakhapatnam, Sahay Raj, CMD of Shoft Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Bharuch, Gujarat and various other dignitaries were present during the commissioning ceremony.