INS Akshay (2024)

Arnala-class has a displacement of 900 tonnes^[20] with a gross tonnage of 1,490 tonnes.^[21] The class is considered as the largest warship of the Indian Navy to be designed and propelled by pump-jet technology. The warship is equipped with three marine diesel engines, developing a power output of 6 MW,^[22] coupled with a water jet each. By dimensions, the ship measures 77.6 m (255 ft) by length and 10.5 m (34 ft) by width. It offers a maximum speed of 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) and a maximum range of 1,800 nmi (3,300 km) at a speed of 14 kn (26 km/h). The ship has a standard accommodation for seven officers and 50 sailors and has a provision to carry an RHIB.^[23]

The ship has an indigenous content of over 80% with equipment from Bharat Electronics, Mahindra Defence, and Larsen & Toubro among others.^[24] The class of warships are designed and developed as per the classification rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).^[25]

The weapons suite of Arnala-class is designed to support its intended anti-submarine warfare operations in shallow waters. The anti-submarine weapons that equip the ship includes a forward-mounted RBU-6000, a triple 324 mm lightweight torpedo tube each on port and starboard equipped with Advanced Light-Weight Torpedo (ALWT) at the aft and anti-submarine mine-laying rails. Behind the torpedo tubes, two Mahindra Defence Systems-supplied^[26][27][28] torpedo decoy launching systems (DLS), as a part of the Integrated Anti-Submarine Warfare Defence Suite (IADS).^[23]

For surface warfare and self-defence, the ship employs a Naval Surface Gun (30 mm),^[29][30] which serves the role of main gun as well as two OFT 12.7 mm M2 Stabilized Remote Controlled Gun (SRCG) as general-purpose machine guns. The SRCG is the Indian variant of Elbit Systems' Remote Controlled Naval Weapon Station (RCNWS).^[23]

As part of their sensor suite, the Arnala-class ships are equipped with Abhay compact active hull-mounted sonar (HMS), a towed low-frequency variable-depth sonar (LFVDS) procured from a joint venture firm between Indian CFF Fluid Control Ltd. and German Atlas Elektronik, a division of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) along with an underwater acoustic communication system (UWACS).^[23]

The Abhay active sonar system — developed by DRDO's Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) — includes transducer array, data acquisition system, power amplifier and the dual multi-function console (DMFC). The system utilises advanced adaptive signal and information processing techniques to detect, track and classify of targets.^[23] The compact system helps in the application of the systems onto smaller category of naval warships like Shallows Water Crafts, Light Frigates & Patrol Vessels by replacing legacy Russian sonar. Earlier, hull-mounted sonars were only limited to frigates and destroyers.^[31]

Additionally, the corvette is equipped with two navigation radars, an electronic warfare suite which employs Radar Electronic Support Measures (R-ESM) and Communications ESM (C-ESM) or COMINT and is equipped for Satellite Communications (SATCOM). As part of its network-centric warfare suite, the entire sensors and weapon suite is integrated into the combat management system (CMS) and the ship is equipped with integrated bridge system (IBS), an expadable bathy theromograph (XBT), an automatic identification system (AIS), an echo sounder and an automatic weather observation system (AWOS). The ship employs an integrated ASW complex (IAC) which computes fire control solutions and facilitates firing of ASW weapons including torpedoes and rockets. The IAC was developed by BEL and DRDO.^[23]