Context: Recently, MAZAGON Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has delivered the first ship of the Project 15B Class Destroyer Visakhapatnam to the Indian Navy.

• The Project 15B ships are a follow-on of the Kolkata-class destroyers (Project 15A).
• They are also known as the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers.
• The ships are designed by the ‘Directorate of Naval Design’.

Project 15B features overall indigenous content of nearly 75%.

• It is built with DMR-249A grade steel developed by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Under this project, the Indian Navy will receive a total of four of the Visakhapatnam class of destroyers, the deal for which was signed in January 2011.
• The 4 warships have been named after major Indian cities, namely Visakhapatnam, Imphal, Surat and Mormugao.
• With a full load displacement of 7,400t, each 15B ship features advanced technology and is designed to cruise at a maximum speed of 30k.
• They are equipped with indigenous weapons, including BEL’s medium-range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles, and indigenous torpedo tube launchers and anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers.