India's latest entrant to the Navy-warship, INS Kochi, was inaugurated on Friday. This is the second warship from the Mazagaon Dock Limited, which has been inducted to the Naval Service. 

 

According to the Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, for a long time, the Navy was in an ardent need of such a warship, which could be a forefront defence in Indian defence.

 

Admiral Verma told, "Fluctuating funding in the past has compelled the Navy to resort to (warship) building in abroad, but now there is an urgent need to emulate worldwide trends in warship building (in the country)." 

 

The destroyer, INS Kochi, which weighs about 6,500-tonne and equipped with modern warfare systems, is the dream project from Mazagaon Dock Limited. It will also carry three guided-missile destroyers with stealth and multi-role features. 

 

"The destroyer has been launched using pontoon-assisted technique, employed for the first time in the history of indigenous warship building. The technique helps in overcoming slipway constraints which hinder heavier vessel movement into deeper waters for fitting its superstructures such as decks," chairman and managing director of Mazgaon Dock H S Malhi explained. 

 

INS Kochi has the entire modern weapon capabilities including nuclear capable supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile, which makes it less susceptible to enemy radars.