- INS Sumedha (P58) and Kulish (P63) en route to Bangladesh.
- Kulish at sea.
- Kulish underway with U.S Navy during Exercise Malabar 2012.
- INS Kulish and INS Sumedha enroute to Bangladesh.
INS Kulish (P63) en-route to Bangladesh | |
History | |
---|---|
India | |
Name | INS Kulish |
Namesake | Thunderbolt |
Builder | Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers |
Laid down | 4 October 1995 |
Launched | 19 August 1997 |
Commissioned | 20 August 2001 |
Identification | Pennant number: P63 |
Status | in active service |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Kora-class corvette |
Displacement | 1,400 tons full load |
Length | 91.1 m (298 ft 11 in) |
Beam | 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) |
Draught | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Range | 4,000 mi (6,400 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 134 (incl 14 officers) |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 1 HAL Chetak or HAL Dhruv helicopter |
Notes | Home Port-Port Blair |
INS Kulish is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy. She was ordered in October 1994, and the keel was laid in October 1995. The ship was launched in August 1997 and was commissioned on 20 August 2001.
Kulish is the third of the four Kora-class corvettes designed under Project25A. She is armed with the P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles and Strela-2 anti-air missiles.
The word Kulish is of Sanskrit origin and translates to thunderbolt. It is the name of a weapon of Lord Indra. [2]
INS Kulish is primarily designed as a surface combatant. It is armed with four quad launchers for sixteen Kh-35 Uran-E anti-ship missiles with a range of 130 kilometres (81 mi). The anti-air defence is provided by two mobile shoulder based Strela-2 SAM systems. It is fitted with an Otobreda 76 mm (3.0 in) main gun while two AK-630 30 mm (1.2 in) guns act as CIWS. In addition, the ship carries one HAL Chetak or HAL Dhruv helicopter. [1]
The Naval Design Bureau under Project 25A designed the Kora-class corvettes. INS Kulish along with INS Karmuk were ordered in October 1994 by the Indian Navy. Her keel was laid in October 1995 and she was launched in August 1997 [1] before being commissioned on 20 August 2001 by the then Governor of West Bengal, Viren J. Shah, at Kolkata. [2]
During the commissioning ceremony, the Governor of West Bengal stressed the need for the development of indigenous defence equipment. The Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief of the navy's Eastern Naval Command John C. DeSilva said "INS Kulish, suited for picket duties, would act as an effective sentinel in the Eastern Command in the Indian Maritime zone". [3]
INS Kulish visited the Shanghai naval base in 2003 as part of a three-vessel fleet, for a five-day official visit. The fleet was commanded by flag officer Rear Admiral R. P. Suthan of India's Eastern Naval Command. It comprised a guided missile destroyer INS Ranjit, a fleet tanker INS Jyoti and the Kulish. The fleet held airborne and surface search and rescue exercises with China's East Sea Fleet, which were code-named "Dolphin 0311". Before the joint exercise, the Chinese and Indian ships also conducted maritime communication and formation manoeuvres. These were the first joint naval exercises between China and India. The fleet left Shanghai on 14 November 2003. [4] [5] [6]
In May 2010, the navy's Eastern Fleet deployed INS Kulish, along with guided-missile destroyers INS Rana and INS Ranjit and fleet tanker INS Jyoti from Port Blair to South East Asia, where the fleet undertook passage exercises with the navies of Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. The fleet sailed under the command of Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral P N Murugesan and made port calls at Jakarta (Indonesia), Hai Phong (Vietnam), Manila (Philippines), Muara (Brunei), Bangkok (Thailand), Fremantle (Australia), Singapore and Port Kelang (Malaysia). At Port Kelang, the fleet conducted anti-piracy exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy from 20 to 23 June, and left port on 23 June. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
INS Kulish participated in the Malabar 2012 exercise with the United States Navy along with destroyers INS Ranvir, INS Ranvijay, frigate INS Satpura and replenishment oiler INS Shakti. The other ships which participated in the exercise included the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 of the US Navy, comprising [12] USS Carl Vinson, embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey. The Military Sealift Command's fast combat support ship USNS Bridge also provided support for the exercise. [13]
INS Kulish along with INS Rana participated in the Navy Day celebrations in December 2011 when it was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Rajneesh Dalal. Both the ships hosted more than 1,200 people who came to watch the programme in commemoration of Navy Day. [14] Kulish was part of the seven ships that took part in the programme in commemoration of Navy Day 2013. The other ships included the amphibious transport dock INS Jalashwa, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay, frigates INS Satpura, INS Shivalik and corvettes INS Khukri, INS Khanjar. [15]
Kulish was part of a seven-ship fleet which represented the Eastern Naval Command at Indian Navy's annual TROPEX exercise, which concluded on 1 March 2013. TROPEX 2013 was a month-long theatre level exercise which was conducted off India's west coast. The navy conducted manoeuvres, weapon firings and tactical evaluation. [16] The other ships in the flotilla were the destroyer INS Rana, amphibious dock INS Jalashwa, corvettes INS Karmuk and INS Sukanya and fleet tanker INS Jyoti, and it was led by INS Ranvijay under the command of Admiral Ajith Kumar P, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. This flotilla made a port call at Kochi on 4 March 2013, en route to its forward deployment. [17] [18]
INS Delhi is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai and commissioned on 15 November 1997. This class is among the largest warships to be designed and built in India.
The Rajput-class guided-missile destroyers built for the Indian Navy are modified versions of Soviet Kashin-class destroyers. They are also known as Kashin-II class. The ships were built in the former Soviet Union after considerable Indian design modifications to the Kashin design. These included the replacement of the helicopter pad in the original design with a flight elevator, as well as major changes to the electronics and combat systems. Five units were built for export to India in the 1980s. All units are currently attached to the Eastern Naval Command.
INS Rana is a Rajput-class destroyer in active service with the Indian Navy. She was commissioned on 28 June 1982.
INS Ranvijay is a Rajput-class destroyer in active service with the Indian Navy. Ranvijay was commissioned on 15 Jan 1988.
The Shivalik class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role frigates in service with the Indian Navy. They are the first warships designed with low observability features built in India. They were designed to have better stealth features and land-attack capabilities than the preceding Talwar-class frigates. A total of three ships were built between 2000 and 2010, and all three were in commission by 2012.
Kora-class corvettes are guided missile corvettes, in active service with the Indian Navy and the National Coast Guard of Mauritius. Four vessels were built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and outfitted at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).
INS Shivalik (F47) is the lead ship of her class of stealth multi-role frigates built for the Indian Navy. She is the first stealth warship built by India. She was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) located in Mumbai. Construction of the vessel began in 2001 and was completed by 2009. She underwent sea trials from thereon before being commissioned on 29 April 2010.
The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is a integrated tri-services command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca by increasing rapid deployment of military assets in the region. It provides logistical and administrative support to naval ships which are sent on deployment to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
INS Kora is the lead ship of the Kora-Class of 1,350-tonne guided missile Corvettes in active service with the Indian Navy. The vessel was built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and outfitted at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).
INS Kuthar (P46) is a Khukri-class corvette, currently in service with the Indian Navy. It was designed by Indian naval architects and built at the Mazagon Dock in Mumbai. INS Kuthar was part of Western Naval Command till 1998 later it moved to be part of Eastern Naval Command. It was damaged in a mishap that occurred on 15 July 2014. The mishap occurred after the naval ship returned to its base in the Andaman and Nicobar Command in rough weather after completing a mission.
INS Kirch is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy.
INS Karmuk is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy.
INS Satpura (F48) is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy. This class is an improvement over the preceding Talwar-class frigates with increased stealth and land attack features.
INS Kamorta is the first of four anti-submarine Kamorta-class stealth corvettes which has been built for the Indian Navy.
INS Shakti (A57) is a Deepak-class fleet tanker in service with the Indian Navy. She was built by Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. She is the second and final ship of her class. Shakti, along with her predecessor Deepak, is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy.
INS Jyoti (A58) is the third of four Komandarm Fedko-class replenishment oilers. She was modified for naval use and is now being operated by the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Jyoti was the largest ship in the navy until INS Vikramaditya (R33) was commissioned in November 2013. It is the third largest ship in the Indian Navy after the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. Its primary role is fleet replenishment and sustaining blue-water operations. It was later fitted with close-in weapon systems for self-defence.
INS Kiltan (P30) is an anti-submarine warfare corvette of the Indian Navy built under Project 28. It is the third of four Kamorta-class corvettes. The ship was built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, launched on 26 March 2013, and commissioned on 16 October 2017. Kiltan represents a leap forward in the Navy's attempts at localisation with as much as 90% of its content drawn from India itself.
Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) is an inter-service military exercise involving the participation of the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast Guard. The exercise generally commences at the beginning of each year and lasts a month. It is generally carried out in three phrases: independent workup phase, joint workup phase and tactical phase.
Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He last served as the Director General Project Seabird. He earlier served as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor at the Indian Naval Academy from March 2019 to January 2021. He was the commissioning commanding Officer of the Kolkata-class guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata (D63).
Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh, AVSM, NM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He assumed the appointment of Commandant, National Defence Academy on 25 May 2024 from Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar. He earlier served as the Controller Personnel Services and as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.