Two leading warships of the Indian Navy, INS Airavat and INS Kirpan, sailed all the way from the Eastern Naval Command base in Vizag, to Kolkata and have docked at Kidderpore. The initiative has been taken up to encourage school students to visit the ships in a bid to encourage them to consider the Navy as a career choice.

The ship INS Kirpan is the third ship of the Khukri class of missile corvettes and was constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers. The commanding officer of the ship, Captain Charit Kapil, said “It is a medium sized warship whose arsenal comprises surface to surface missiles, a medium range gun, anti aircraft shoulder-launched missiles and close in weapon system. The ship can carry one Chetak helicopter onboard and travels at a speed of 25 knots.”

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Speaking about it capabilities, he said “The missiles can engage targets as far as 85 kms while its two 30mm AK630 anti-aircraft gun can fire 5000 rounds per minute at 15 kms range. The ship is equipped with surface and air surveillance radars along with fire control radar for guns.” The ship is expected to spearhead the Indian Navy’s offensive towards fulfilling any military objective while in peacetime, the ship’s role includes protection of India’s maritime resources, counterterrorism and prevention of piracy.

Asked how bad conditions get on the ship during certain missions, Captain Kapil recalled “Once, during an operation, we had strict instructions to stay away from the shore. Rations on the ship were depleting. We could not get to the harbour where we could de-board to buy rations. It was strictly a clandestine mission. However, food is essential and we had to improvise ways to feed ourselves. All we had was milk powder and rice from which we made curd rice and had it for atleast a week or two till our mission ended.”

The ship is to participate in the naval exercise Milan in 2020. The other ship of the Indian Navy currently at Kidderpore docks, INS Airavat (photo), an amphibious ship that was commissioned in 2009, is capable of landing a force on distant enemy shores.

It is the third ship of the Shardul class with a speed capability of 15 knots. Navy officials onboard the ship mentioned that Airavat’s capability for striking the enemy has been greatly increased because it can carry Sea King 42 C and ALH helicopters which can embark onboard. The IGLA surface-to-air missiles engage aerial targets while the CRN 91 guns can destroy both surface and aerial combatants. The ship also has 18A rocket launchers which can fire a salvo of 18 rockets for beach softening during amphibious operations.

INS Airavatcan carry 500 troops, ten tanks and 11 combat trucks. It can be effectively tasked for humanitarian assistance disaster relief and can operate independently at high seas for as long as 45 days. Students from several schools were brought to the docks for a tour in both the ships and threw a volley of questions towards the navy personnel on board the ships. The naval officer-in-charge, West Bengal, Commodore Suprobho K De, said “Every year, we get two of our warships at the docks so students could visit these, which might stir up curiosity among them about the Navy. We want the young generation to become part of the Indian naval forces.”