What is INS Marmugao

• It is the second of the Project 15B stealth-guided missile destroyers built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL).
• The ship was named after a key port in Goa.

Features of INS Marmugao and other Visakhapatnam ships

• INS Mormugao  and the other three ships in the class are 163 m long and 17.4 m wide, with a displacement of 7,300 tonnes.
• The ship has around 75 per cent indigenous content.
• The Visakhapatnam class destroyers have multiple fire zones, battle damage control systems, and distributional power systems for improved survivability and reliability in extreme operational and conflict scenarios.
• They have a total atmospheric control system (TACS) that offers protection to the crew from chemical, biological, and nuclear threats, as well as a state-of-the-art combat management system
• Visakhapatnam class has largely maintained the hull form, propulsion machinery, many platform equipment, and major weapons and sensors from the Kolkata class to benefit from series production.
• But it incorporates advanced stealth features and a higher degree of automation.
• The sleeker hull design and the radar-transparent deck fittings make the vessels difficult to detect.
• INS Mormugao and other ships of the class are operated by a crew of 350, including 50 officers and 250 sailors.
• Accommodation and working areas have superior ergonomics and habitability compared with its predecessor classes.
• The ship’s firepower consists of vertically launched Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles and BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles for long-range engagement of shore- and sea-based targets. 
• The destroyer will also be armed with indigenously developed 533 mm torpedo launchers and RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers. 
• It can operate two multi-role helicopters — Sea King or HAL Dhruv. 
• The ‘combined gas and gas’ (COGAG) configuration integrates four gas turbines. 
• The propulsion system allows the ship to reach a maximum speed of 30 knots (55 km/h), and a maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km).

What are destroyers

• Destroyers are a category of warships that have high speed, and longer endurance to be part of the escort for larger vessels in a fleet, or a carrier battle group also known as a carrier strike group.

Significance of the Destroyers

• Modern destroyers are swift, sleek, and difficult to detect, and primarily protect the fleets and carrier battle groups from short-range surface, air, and sub-surface attacks. 
• Guided missile destroyers are capable of anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare, apart from anti-surface operations.
• Because of their speed, manoeuvrability, and strike capability, guided missile destroyers are key assets in various types of naval operations, mainly offensive.
• The state of art stealth feature ensures it has the radar signature of a very small ship, and a very high indigenous component gives it a strategic edge.

Related information

Project 15B

• The four ships of Project 15B were to be named after four major cities around the country — Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal, and Surat. 
• The lead ship, INS Visakhapatnam (Pennant D66) was commissioned into the Navy in November 2021

Project 15A

• Over the last decade, the Indian Navy has commissioned three guided missile destroyers of the Kolkata class — INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, and INS Chennai — under the project codenamed 15A. 
• These ships were a step ahead of their precursor Delhi class of ships — INS Delhi, INS Mysore, and INS Mumbai.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/ins-mormugao-indian-navy-new-guided-missile-destroyer-explained-8331519/