INS Chennai and INS Kesari

INS Chennai and INS Kesari Latest News

Indian Navy ships INS Chennai and INS Kesari successfully carried out manoeuvring exercises and Visit, Board, Search & Seizure (VBSS) drills during the sea phase of Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) 2025.

About INS Chennai

• It is the third and last ship of the Kolkata-class stealth-guided missile destroyers (Project 15A) of the Indian Navy.
  • The first two ships to be manufactured under Project 15A were INS Kolkata and INS Kochi.
• INS Chennai was constructed by the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) at Mumbai.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on November 21, 2016.
• It is placed under the operational and administrative control of the Western Naval Command.

INS Chennai Features

• It is 164 metres long and weighs over 7,500 tonnes. 
• It sails at a top speed of over 30 knots (around 55 km) per hour.
• It is powered by four reversible gas turbine engines.
• It can carry 350 to 400 people.
• It is armed with supersonic surface-to-surface BrahMos missiles and Barak-8Long Rang Surface-to-Air missiles.
• It is fitted with the chaff decoy system ‘Kavach’ for defence against enemy missiles.
• For protection from enemy torpedoes, the ship has been equipped with the torpedo decoy system ‘Mareech’. 
• Both ‘Kavach’ and ‘Mareech’ have been developed in India.
• The ship is designed to carry and operate up to two multi-role combat helicopters.
• The multi-mission ship is highly suited for expeditionary and surface strikes.
• The ship is equipped to fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
• It is fitted with a modern Surveillance Radar, which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship.

About INS Kesari

• INS Kesari (L15) is a Shardul Class Landing Ship Tank (LST) of the Indian Navy.
• The ship was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 5 April 2008.
• The ship is capable of carrying troops, tanks, armored vehicles, and other military equipment.
• It is designed to support amphibious operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions.

Source: TRIBUNE