A glimpse of Navy's stealth destroyer 'Mormugao' to be launched this Saturday

Come this Saturday and another warship for the Indian Navy will taste sea-waters. This time, it will be Mormugao, a stealth destroyer of the Visakhapatnam Class, that will be launched at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

This 7,300 tonnes Mormugao is the second ship being constructed at MDL under Project 15B, the first was Visakhapatnam, which was launched on April 20 in 2015.

"This Saturday, the second ship that has being named as Mormugao will be launched ahead of its schedule. During the launch ceremony, the hull of the ship, will be floated on water for the first time. It is a milestone event for any vessel," said commander Rahul Sinha, spokesperson of Indian Navy.

MDL is also constructing four follow-on destroyers, christened as P-15B. Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of Naval Staff, will be the chief guest at the function. The destroyer will be fitted with Barak-8 long range missiles after it gets ready.

Post the launch, the bridge will be constructed during the next one year. "Detailed design of the futuristic stealth frigates, P17A is currently in progress. Work on this will commence in early 2017. This will be the first time, MDL will be using the integrated construction methodology by leveraging the new infrastructure in the yard. This will be a paradigm shift in the way ships will be built in India in the years to come," added Sinha.