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Further Reading

Project 15B

As of late 2007 the Navy reportedly planned to order three more destroyers under Project-15B . As of December 2008 the Russian shipbuilding industry was in line for for the co-design and joint fabrication of five guided-missile destroyers under Project 15B (for which the 4,500 ton Project 22350 Gorshkov DDG was said to be offered). The follow-on Project 15B, with a reported displacement of 8,000 tons, could be delayed if more units are ordered under Project-15A. In November 2008 Vice Admiral Dilip Deshpande, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, said that while three destroyers (Project 15A) are under construction, "four more (Project 15B) are expected to be ordered shortly on MDL."

To bolster the Navy's combat capability, in February 2009 the government was reported to have approved building of four new power-packed destroyer warships. Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) would soon get the "follow-on orders" for building the new destroyers of the 'Kolkata' class. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave in-principle approval to the Navy's proposal for construction of four new Kolkata class destroyers. The construction of the sophisticated ships under "Project 15B" would begin soon after the MDL completes building of the first three destroyers of the Kolkata class under "Project 15A". These would be indigenous combat vessels built with advanced stealth features and would have land attack capabilities. In all, the Navy proposes to have seven Kolkata class destroyers.

By March 2009 the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) - the top procurement body in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - had cleared Project 15-B, the construction of four 6800-ton destroyers by Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai (MDL). There was no competitive bidding for Project 15-B, since MDL is the only Indian shipyard large enough to build destroyers, which are significantly larger than frigates. Project 15-B, MDL hopes, will have fewer design challenges; it will differ from its predecessor only in weaponry and sensors. The navy wanted the first destroyer to roll out within four years, with the others completed at one-year intervals. By that ambitious timeline, if the order is placed on MDL by end-2009, the first 15-B destroyer would be commissioned in mid-2015.