INS BRAHMAPUTRA

INS BRAHMAPUTRA

INS Brahmaputra is the second ship of the Indian Navy named after the River Brahmaputra. The first vessel of the name was a Type 41, Leopard class frigate that was commissioned in 1958. The symbol of the INS Brahmaputra is 'The Raging Rhino', for the one-horned rhino native to the Brahamaputra valley.INS Brahmaputra is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkatta.The design and construction of the ship is entirely Indian, and is a modification of the Godavari class of frigates. It is fitted with an array of modern sensor suites and matching weapon systems.

The Brahmaputra Class is armed with sixteen 3M-24E (Kh-35 Uran or NATO: SS-N-25 Switchblade) AShMs, housed in four quadruple KT-184 launchers, angled at 30º, two on either side of the bridge superstructure. Equivalent to the Harpoon Block 1C AShM, these missiles have active radar homing (ARH) out to a range of 130 km at 0.9 Mach, with a 145 kg warhead. All 16 Urans can be ripple-fired in 2-3 second intervals. Fire control is provided by a BEL Aparna (modified Garpun-Bal FC, NATO: Plank Shave) radar. 

The Garpun-Bal FC radar combines active and passive channels and in the active target designation mode, it operates in X-band (I/J-band) and can handle up to 150 targets at ranges between 35 - 45 km, although it is possible to obtain ranges of more than 180 km in wave-guide propagation conditions. The passive channel operates in the ESM mode searching for pulse and CW signals, and accurately identifying the bearing of hostile emitters from a built-in classification library of up to 1,000 signatures. The maximum range of the passive channel is over 100 km depending on the frequency.

OTO Melera Super Rapid 76mm main gun, for use against ship and shore targets, with 65 rds/min to 4.4n miles; 8 km. Four multi-barrelled 30mm AK-630 Gatling guns on either beam, to shoot down incoming anti-ship missiles, with 5500 to 6000 rds/min to 2.5 km. Fire control for these five gun mounts are provided by two BEL Shikari (based on the Contraves Seaguard) opto-electronic trackers that operate in the I- and Ka-bands. Either of the Shikari trackers can control all five gun mounts or any combination thereof. Good minimum ranges, for the 76mm gun, have been largely achieved by advanced software.Six 324mm ILAS 3 (2 triple) tubes with Whitehead A244S anti-submarine torpedoes, with active/passive homing to 3.8n miles; 7 km at 33 knots with a 34 kg shaped charged warhead. Can also fire the AET anti-submarine torpedo, a locally produced version of the A244S.