INS Chennai (D65)

INS Chennai (D65) is the third ship of the stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. She was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) located in Mumbai. INS Chennai is the last of the three ships built under the code name Project 15A. INS Chennai has on its seal a Bull symbolizing the Jallikattu festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu from where the ship associates its heritage. On 17 April 2017, INS Chennai was dedicated to the city of Chennai in presence of its Chief Minister K. Palanisamy.

Construction
She was laid down in February 2006, and was launched on 2 April 2010 by the then Defence Minister Shri AK Antony's wife Smt Elizabeth Antony amidst chanting of Vedic hymns at a function in Mumbai, and is commissioned on 21 November 2016 by the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. INS Chennai is the first naval ship named after Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu.

Features
The indigenously designed ship will have state of the art weapons and sensors, stealth features, an advanced action information system, a comprehensive auxiliary control system, world class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features.

INS Chennai will be fitted with the supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile system. The system enables the ship to engage shore-based and naval surface targets at long range making it a lethal platform for strike against enemy targets. The ship's air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around the vertical launch, long range surface-to-air missile system, which is being co-developed by DRDO. Four AK-630 rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an MR gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support. Indigenously developed twin tube torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship's anti-submarine capability. Indeed, these ships integrate many new features and involve design changes that ensure a far more advanced weapons platforms compared to the earlier Project 15 ships.