India’s Next Generation Destroyers (NDG) Project waits for Government Clearance : Report
Vice Admiral DM Deshpande Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition (CWP&A), Indian Navy has confirmed for the first time that India’s Next Generation Destroyers (NDG) Project, which is still at the infancy stage is waiting for principal approval from the government of India.
Sharing his vision for Next Generation Destroyers (NDG), he said NDG will be of 13000-tonne displacement warship with conventional propulsion and will feature next-generation weapons including laser weapons.
Visakhapatnam class (Project 15B) is India’s latest stealth guided missile destroyers currently being built for the Indian Navy. Visakhapatnam class is improved version of Kolkata-class design having 7400-tonne displacement. lead ship “INS Visakhapatnam ” is scheduled to be ready for Sea Trials in mid of 2018 and its sister ship ” INS Mormugao ” by 2020.
INS Porbandar will be forth and last, of the Visakhapatnam class stealth destroyer, which is expected to be delivered by 2024 leading path to the construction of Next Generation Destroyers (NDG) ships.
In terms of Next, Generation Destroyers Project initiated by China and USA, India’s Next Generation Destroyers (NDG) will be in the same league as of Chinese Type 055 destroyer, which is a 13,000-tonne displacement warship still under construction and Zumwalt-class destroyer, which is a class of United States Navy guided missile destroyers have a displacement of over 14000-tonne.
Type 055 and Zumwalt-class both feature much-advanced stealth design with very low radar cross-section and are often described as multi-mission stealth Destroyers. Both Type 055 and Zumwalt-class have Ballistic missile/air defense capability which might be the reasons why Indian Navy also wants to include such capabilities in its Next Generation Destroyers leading to similar displacement.
These Destroyers will be equipped with hundreds of SAM's of different catagory to deal with incoming cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, fighter jets and drones. These Destroyers will be equipped with BrahMos-II Hypersonic Cruise Missiles and the number may be well over 40-50 missiles per ships making it the deadliest Destroyer in the world. It will also have rail guns and laser beams for futuristic warfare to deal with future threats just like US Navy's Zumwalt class Destroyers. Its design will be unique than its predecessor Kolkata and Visakhapatnam class. The final tonnage of this class of ships may exceed 13,000 tonnes due to heavy load of missiles over its deck and other armaments. These ships will be truly a national symbol of pride and glory for India and Indian Navy then.
