Visakhapatnam: INS Arnala, the first warship in the anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft series equipped to conduct subsurface surveillance, search and rescue missions and low-intensity maritime operations, was inducted into the Indian Navy on Wednesday.
The commissioning ceremony at the Naval Dockyard here was presided over by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan.
In his address, Gen Chauhan underscored the Navy’s remarkable transition from a “buyer’s navy” to a “builder’s navy”, highlighting this as the backbone of the “country’s Blue Water aspirations”, according to officials.
The 77-metre long warship, with a gross tonnage of over 1490 tonnes, is the largest Indian naval warship to be propelled by a diesel engine-waterjet combination, the Navy said.
The ceremony was hosted by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar.
