Indian Press Information Bureau, INS Beas, the latest Guided Missile Frigate built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata is being commissioned into the Indian Navy on 11 Jul 05 at Kolkata by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash.
BEAS, a 3600 tonne warship, is 125 metres in length and a draught of 4.5 metres. The platform is densely packed with state-of-the-art weapons like Barak Anti Missile Defence system, four quad-packs of the URAN Surface-to-Surface missiles, one medium range 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount, four Close range 30mm AK 630 Guns, two Triple tube Torpedo launchers, Sonar and the sophisticated Ellora Electronic Warfare suite.
The ship has an advanced Computerised Action Information system for Command and Control of all weapons and sensors. The ship is propelled by two 15,000 BHP steam turbines and is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.
BEAS is the third of the series of the 'P-16A' class built by GRSE. The ship, like her predecessors INS Brahmaputra and INS Betwa, has been designed with a sophisticated indigenous weapon and sensor suite to enhance the Indian Navy's future combat capability. The commissioning of this ship reinforces the Navy's sustained commitment to indigenisation and reflects the technological strides made by the Indian shipbuilding and support Industry.
The ship has been designed by the Directorate General Naval Design, Naval Headquarters and is yet another addition to the series of successful projects like the 'Delhi' class destroyers, 'Godavari' class frigates and the 'Kora' class corvettes, which have gained worldwide recognition over the years. Presently, the Design Organisation of the Navy is involved in design and production of five major projects including the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, the P-17 Stealth Frigates, Gas Turbine Frigates of P-15A and the ASW Corvettes.
Majority of the Weapon Fire Control Systems, Sonar, Electronic Warfare, Navigational and Communication suites onboard the 'BEAS', have been supplied by PSUs like M/s BEL/ ECIL/ HAL/ Keltron. The Propulsion turbines, Turbo Alternators, Diesel Alternators and Steam Auxiliaries have been manufactured indigenously by M/s BHEL , HAL and a number of private sector firms. The Indian industry has amply demonstrated its technological prowess and capabilities in building state-of-the-art equipment conforming to stringent defence standards and which are capable of withstanding the extremely hostile marine environment.
The name BEAS brings back nostalgic memories of its earlier incarnation, which saw over 32 years of glorious service in the Indian Navy from 24 May 1960 to 23 Dec 1992, during which she covered herself with glory. During this period, Beas earned the unique distinction in Indian Naval history of having been in the thick of all war campaigns that the Indian Navy has been involved in, post independence. The first BEAS was a 'Leopard' class frigate built by M/s Vickers Armstrong, New Castle-upon-Tyne in the UK. The new BEAS signifies the coming of age of the indigenous ship building industry in the Indian Navy's goal of becoming a builder
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