|
New
Delhi, 13 July 2005
INS
BEAS commissioned on 11 July 2005
INS
Beas, the latest guided missile frigate built by
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata,
was commissioned on 11 Jul 05 by the Chief of the
Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash. The lead ship of
the Type 16A class INS Bramahputra took over 11
years in construction at GRSE and now INS Beas has
taken over 5 years to build, with massive cost
escalation, calculated by the cost plus system
adopted for naval contracts with the PSUs.
In
the photograph above, professionals may recognize
that the EL/M-2238 STAR radar (for the BARAK) has
replaced the Signaal DW-08 radar installed on the
Brahmaputra and Betwa. The IN has been shifting the
Barak system from ship to ship and recently INS
Ganga carried out some very successful firings.
Ganga and INS Viraat have the Barak as the long
awaited DRDO built Trishul did not materialize in
time. However the DRDO is conducting trials to prove
the Trishul. The Barak radar appears below the
Ajanta Mk3 ESM mast.
'The
BEAS', is a steam driven 3600 tonne warship, 125
metres in length, with a draught of 4.5 metres. The
platform has weapons like Barak Anti Missile Defence
system, four quad-packs of the URAN 16
surface-to-surface missile, a medium range 76 mm
Super Rapid Oto Melara Gun Mount, four Close range
30mm AK 630 Guns, two Triple tube Torpedo launchers
for WASS A 244 S, BEL supplied HUMAS Sonar and the
BEL/DRDO made Ellora Electronic Warfare suite. A
ecent news report suggested that Whitehead of Italy
(now a part of Finmeccanica) were to make light
weight torpedoes with BDL ( perhaps the MU 90 the
later version of the A 244S), and we wonder whatever
happened to the DRDO/DSTL light weight torpedo? The
Beas has an advanced computerised Action Information
system for Command and Control of all weapons,
(possibly the EMKA designed with copies of IPN 10
and inputs from WEESE) the Indian Navy’s captive
software house. The ship is propelled by two 15,000
BHP steam turbines and is capable of 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
Brahmaputra and Betwa, has been fitted 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. If the Scorpenes
are ordered as the French have buckled to play to
the Congress Government demands, there will be
greater impetus for Indian companies.
The
ship was designed by the Director General Naval
Design, at 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 Project 71 Indigenous
Aircraft Carrier, the P-17 Shivalik Stealth
Frigates, Gas Turbine Frigates of P-15A class and
the Project 28 ASW Corvettes.
The
majority of the Weapon Fire Control Systems, Sonar,
Electronic Warfare, Navigational and Communication
suites onboard the 'BEAS', have been supplied by
PSUs like BEL/ECIL/HAL/ Keltron. The Propulsion
turbines, Turbo Alternators, Diesel Alternators and
Steam Auxiliaries were manufactured indigenously by
BHE, HAL and a number of private sector firms. The
Indian industry has amply demonstrated its
technological prowess and capability in building
state-of-the-art equipment conforming to stringent
defence standards and which are capable of
withstanding the extremely hostile marine
environment. 
The
'BEAS' was first commissioned under the command of
Captain B R Kapoor in UK and 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 of having been in the thick
of all the war campaigns that the Indian Navy had
been involved in, post Independence. The first 'BEAS'
was a 'Leopard' class frigate built by M/s Vickers
Armstrong, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK. The new 'BEAS'
signifies the coming of age of the indigenous
shipbuilding industry in the Indian Navy's goal of
becoming a builders Navy.
We
wish the Commanding Officer Capt Jamwal and his crew
a very happy Commission.
|