New Stealth Destroyer INS Imphal Joins Fleet

The Indian navy on Tuesday commissioned its latest guided-missile stealth destroyer, INS Imphal, which will bolster the country’s presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region and its capabilities to respond to an array of regional contingencies including the emerging challenges in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, where tensions have escalated following a wave of drone and missile attacks against merchant vessels by Houthi rebels, officials aware of the matter said.

- Rahul Singh

INS Imphal, built under a ₹35,000-crore project for four modern stealth destroyers comes with a raft of historic firsts, the officials said.

It is the first warship to have fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile before its commissioning; it has separate accommodations for women officers and sailors, as no woman officer has yet been a part of awarship’s commissioning crew; and its construction time has been the shortest for this class of destroyers. It is also the first warship in naval history to be named after a city in the country’s Northeast.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who commissioned the destroyer at the naval Dockyard in Mumbai, said INS Imphalwas a symbol of India’s growing maritime might, and it would enhance the country’s power in the vast Indo-Pacific region in line with the time-honored naval strategy of "One Who Controls the Sea is All-Powerful".

"India plays the role of a net security provider in the entire Indian Ocean region. We will ensure that maritime trade in this region reaches greater heights. For this, together with our friendly countries, we will keep the sea lanes secure. We have full confidence in the ability and strength of our navy," Singh said.

Merchant vessel (MV) Chem Pluto, the target of a drone attack in the Arabian Sea on December 23 and anchored not far from the Naval Dockyard, is a reminder of the looming threat at sea and underlines the need to keep sea lanes secure.

The Liberian-flagged vessel carrying a crew of 22, including 21 Indians, was escorted to Mumbai on Monday by coast guard patrol vessel Vikram, and a preliminary assessment by the navy's explosive ordnance disposal specialists has confirmed a drone attack.