INS Kiltan

INS Kiltan (P30) is an anti-submarine warfare corvette of the Indian Navy built under Project 28. It is the third of four Kamorta-class corvettes under various stages of induction with the Indian Navy. The ship was built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, launched on 26 March 2013, and commissioned on 16 October 2017. Kiltan represents a leap forward in the Navy's attempts at localisation with as much as 90% of its content drawn from India itself.[2][3][4]

INS Kiltan commissioning ceremony
History
Name:	INS Kiltan
Namesake:	Kiltan Island
Builder:	Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Laid down:	10 August 2010
Launched:	26 March 2013
Commissioned:	16 October 2017
General characteristics
Class and type:	Kamorta-class corvette
Displacement:	3,000 tonnes (3,307 short tons)
Length:	109 m (358 ft)
Beam:	12.8 m (42 ft)
Propulsion:	4 diesel motors
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:	3,450 mi (5,550 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement:	123 (incl 17 officers)
Sensors and processing systems:	Revati Central Acquisition Radar EL/M-2221 STGR fire-control radar BEL Shikari BEL RAWL02 (Signaal LW08) antenna communication grid - Gigabit Ethernet-based integrated ship borne data network, with a fiber optic cable backbone running through the vessel NPOL HUMSA (Hull Mounted Sonar Array) Bomber Electronic warfare (EW) suites - BEL Ajanta
Electronic warfare & decoys:	Kavach naval decoy system
Armament:	Anti-air weaponry: 1 X 76.2 mm Oto Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) 2 x AK-630M CIWS Anti-submarine warfare: 2 X RBU-6000 (IRL) anti-submarine rocket launcher 2x3 Torpedo tubes[1]
Aircraft carried:	1 × Ka-28PL or HAL Dhruv

History

The keel of Kiltan was laid in August 2010 and it was launched in Kolkata on 26 March 2013 by Chitra Joshi, wife of Admiral D. K. Joshi, the Chief of Naval Staff. The ship cost an estimated ₹1,700 crores.[5][6] The ship takes its name from the Kiltan Island, a coral island that is part of India's archipelagic Union Territory of Lakshadweep.[7] It is the successor ship to the INS Kiltan, which was an Arnala-class corvette which participated in Operation Trident, and was later decommissioned in 1987.[8]

Kiltan was handed over to the Navy by the GRSE on 14 October 2017,[9] and was commissioned into the Navy’s Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on 16 October 2017, in the presence of Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.[4]

Design

The Kamorta-class has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design as part of Project 28.[2] It is capable of fighting under nuclear, biological and chemical environments. It will be a frontline warship of the Indian Navy with advanced stealth features and a low radar signature that enhances its anti-submarine warfare capability. The ship will have a complement of 17 officers and 106 sailors.[5]

INS Kiltan replenishment at sea by USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4)

Features

Kiltan is India's first ship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material that has been integrated with its main hull, resulting in lower top weight and maintenance costs and improved stealth features. GRSE thus became the first defence shipyard in India to successfully fuse the carbon composite superstructure with the hull.[9] The ship is 109 m (358 ft) long and 12.8 m (42 ft) broad and is highly maneuverable with a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).[2] It has a displacement of 3,250 tonnes and a range of about 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[9] It is powered by 4 diesel engines that generate a combined power of 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) and propelled by a main unit of four 3,888 kW (5,214 hp) diesel engines at 1,050 rpm.[5][10]

Kiltan is to be armed with a range of Indian developed cutting-edge weapons and sensors including "a medium-range gun, torpedo tube launchers, rocket launchers and a close-in weapon system".[2] The ship will also contain an integrated communication system and an electronic warfare system.[10]

References

1. "Stealth ASW Corvette INS Kiltan launched in Kolkata". PakistanDefence (web: defence.pk). 26 March 2013.
2. "Third anti-submarine warfare corvette launched in Kolkata". The Hindu. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
3. "India needs vibrant warship building industry". The Statesman. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
4. Gupta, Jayanta (17 October 2017). "Kolkata-built naval ship commissioned". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
5. "Anti-submarine warfare ship launched". The Deccan Herald. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
6. "INS Kiltan launched". Times of India. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
7. "Anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan". Economic Times. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
8. "INS Kiltan reborn". Times of India. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
9. Gupta, Jayanta (15 October 2017). "GRSE hands over third ASW corvette to Navy". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
10. "Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette". Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2013.