Stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal, which has an ability to fire extended range supersonic BrahMos missile, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar were present at the event that marked the formal induction into the Navy of the third of four 'Visakhapatnam' class destroyers, indigenously designed by the navy's in-house organisation, Warship Design Bureau and constructed by defence PSU Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai.
INS Imphal is the first warship to have been named after a city from the northeast, said Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command. INS Imphal was delivered to the Indian Navy on October 20 after completing a rigorous and comprehensive trial programme both in the harbour and at sea.
