Indian Navy unveils ‘Amini’: State-of-the-art anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft

Amini, the Indian Navy’s most sophisticated and cutting-edge shallow watercraft for anti-submarine warfare, was unveiled on Thursday.

This Thursday was a ceremonial “ship launch,” in which a recently constructed ship is moved from dry land to the water.

The ship has the name of a strategically significant island located over 400 kilometers off the coast of Kochi, Kerala, in the Lakshadweep archipelago on India’s western coast.

This is the fourth of eight shallow watercrafts designed for anti-submarine warfare that the Indian Navy is having built in India by local shipyards.

This year has seen the launch of four of these ships, all of which include more than 80% indigenous material.

The event was held at the Larsen and Toubro Shipyard in Chennai, southern India, and was presided over by Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani, Chief of Materiel of the Indian Navy, along with other high-ranking dignitaries.

The wife of Admiral Sandeep, Manju Naithani, launched the ship to an invocation from the Hindu holy book the Atharva Veda, in accordance with the maritime custom of the Indian Navy, in which the spouse of the senior officer performs the launching ceremony and a puja (prayer).

The 77-meter-long shallow watercraft designed for anti-submarine warfare can carry 900 tons of cargo and reach a top speed of 25 knots (46.3 kmph). Its endurance is estimated to be over 1800 nautical miles (3333 kilometers).

These boats are built to do minelaying, low-intensity maritime missions, and anti-submarine operations in coastal seas.

In April 2019, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and the Indian Defense Ministry inked a deal for the construction of eight anti-submarine warfare ships.

Four ships are being built at GRSE, Kolkata, in accordance with the construction plan, while the remaining four are being subcontracted to L&T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli, for the hull and partial outfitting.

These contracts, which are being carried out domestically, support Indian industry, create jobs, and improve associated infrastructure.

An unprepared ship is not operationally ready when it is launched. The ship can actually only carry out its float duty at the moment of launch in terms of the Float-Move-Fight requirements.

Following launch, the ship would need to be integrated with a variety of tools, systems, and subsystems, all of which would require thorough testing and validation. The ship’s armaments and weapon systems must then be integrated and tested.

The ship gets commissioned into the Indian Navy during these phases as it approaches the latter stages of preparation and receives the prefix INS, or Indian Navy Ship.

Upon completion of this procedure, it will be able to carry out its extensive range of functions and achieve the Float-Move-Fight goals.

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