Shardul-class tank landing ship
Indian Navy amphibious warfare vessel
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Shardul-class (lit. 'Tiger') landing ships are large amphibious warfare vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers for the Indian Navy. They are an evolution of the Magar-class amphibious landing ships. Initially, the ship was classified as Landing Ship Tank (Large) or LST(L). The class has an indigenous content of over 90%.[1] The ships also carry four landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP) on board, which can be used for the landing of troops.[2]
INS Airavat (L24) sails out of Visakhapatnam harbour after commissioning | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Shardul class |
| Builders | Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers |
| Operators |  Indian Navy |
| Preceded by | Magar class |
| Completed | 3 |
| Active | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tank landing ship |
| Displacement | 5,650 tons |
| Length | 125 m (410 ft) |
| Beam | 17.5 m (57 ft) |
| Draught | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Propulsion | Kirloskar PA6 STC engines |
| Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 × LCVPs |
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 500 |
| Complement | 11 officers, 145 sailors |
| Electronic warfare & decoys | Decoy: Chaff launchers |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 Sea King/HAL Dhruv |
History
The order for the vessels were placed in December 2001 while the contract was signed in early 2002.[1]
The ship is equipped with WM-18 140 mm rocket launchers, developed by DRDO and manufactured by Larsen & Toubro. Two units of the system is integrated with one each on port and starboard. The rocket launcher has 18 tubes in a configuration of 6×3. These are used for beach clearing operations before initiating amphibious operations. The armament also includes four CRN-91 autocannons for self-defence.[3][4][5]
Shardul was the first vessel commissioned at Karwar Naval Base, INS Kadamba. The second ship Kesari was commissioned at the Visakhapatnam Naval Base,[6] and later moved to Port Blair.[7] The third ship Airavata underwent sea trials in 2008 and was commissioned in 2009.[8][9][10]
Ships
Gallery
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See also
Equivalent landing ships of the same era
