GRSE launches 3 follow-on water jet fast attack vessels for Indian Navy
30 Jun 2015
Three follow-on water jet fast attack crafts (FO-WJFAC) built for the Indian Navy were launched today at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.
The three WJFAC - 'INS Tarmugli', 'INS Tilanchang' and 'INS Tihayu' - are named after Andaman and Nicobar group of islands, and are among the four such warships being built by GRSE.
Medha Murugesan, wife of Vice Admiral P Murugesan, AVSM, VSM, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff launched the three vessels.
GRSE chairman and managing director Rear Admiral A K Verma (retd) said two of the three WJFACs will be delivered for commissioning in the last quarter of the year.
With a displacement of around 315 tonnes, the ships are designed for a maximum speed of 35 knots with an endurance of nearly 2,000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots.
Powered by the latest 4,000-series MTU engines with advanced machinery control system, the ships will be fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm gun with optronic pedestal and have the latest communication equipment and radars to enable effective surveillance.
The WJFACs are ideally suited for interception of fast-moving surface craft and these follow-on ships have higher power generating capacity of 280 kW, enhanced capacity of RO plant from 2 TPD to 4 TPD among many other features as compared to the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft already in service.
Launching of FO-WJFACs Yard 2109, 2110 and 2111 (out of the four contracted), designed in-house, and built by GRSE, Kolkata for the Indian Navy is yet another milestone in India's quest for self-reliance in shipbuilding
Vice Murugesan, who was the chief guest during the occasion, asserted that Indian Navy has been the torch bearer in the drive for indigenous construction of warships and acknowledged the role of GRSE as a reliable partner in pursuing the national goal of 'Make in India'.
He extended warm felicitations to the entire team of the GRSE for their significant contribution towards meeting the Navy's growing requirement of state-of- the art warships.
He said 48 warships for the Indian Navy were currently under construction in Indian shipyards. These include aircraft carriers, frigates, destroyers, submarines, corvettes and fast attack crafts, he added.