Indian Navy corvette commissioned in 1991
For other ships with the same name, see
INS Kirpan .
Kirpan (P44) entering Cam Ranh International Port,
Vietnam
Name INS Kirpan
Namesake Ceremonial dagger worn by Khalsa Sikhs
Builder Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Laid down 15 November 1985
Launched 16 August 1988
Commissioned 12 January 1991
Decommissioned 22 July 2023[ 1]
Identification Pennant number : P44
Status Decommissioned & handed over to the Vietnamese Navy
History
Vietnam
Acquired 22 July 2023
Identification Ship 26[ 2]
General characteristics
Class and type Khukri -class corvette
Displacement 1350 tons (full load)
Length 91.1 metres
Beam 10.5 metres
Draught 4.5 metres
Propulsion
2 diesel engines with 14,400hp
2 shafts
Speed 25 knots (50 km/h)
Range 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement 79 (incl. 10 officers)
Sensors and processing systems
MR 352 Pozitiv-E radar
Garpun-Bal radar
Bharat 1245 navigation radar
Armament
Aircraft carried 1 helicopter (HAL Chetak )
INS Kirpan is the name of a Khukri -class corvette formerly commissioned by the Indian Navy .[ 3] It was recently decommissioned and handed over to Vietnam People's Navy in a ceremony presided over by Adm. R. Hari Kumar and Rear Adm. Pham Manh Hung, Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff, Vietnam People's Navy.[ 4]
History
It is the first active warship that India has ever gifted to another country, that is the Vietnam People's Navy, which will use it in the future with as Ship 26. The warship was gifted to Vietnam after a visit by Vietnam's Defence Minister Gen Phan Van Giang in June, 2023.[ 5]
It is another in a long list of warships gifted by India to other countries. The indigenously built missile corvette INS Kirpan entered Cam Ranh International Port on July 8 after sailing out of Visakhapatnam on 29 June 2023 [ 6] and was to be officially handed over to Vietnamese People’s Navy by month end.[ 7]
Kirpan was transferred to Vietnam People's Navy and was decommissioned from Indian Navy service on 22 July 2023 after 32 years of service.[ 1]
It is the namesake of INS Kirpan that was a Type 14 Blackwood-class frigate commissioned in 1959 into the Indian Navy, that participated in 1971 India-Pakistan War and was almost sunk by PNS Hangor .[ 8]
References
^ a b "VISIT OF ADM R HARI KUMAR, CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF, TO VIETNAM" . PIB (Press release). 21 July 2023.
^ "Hải quân Việt Nam tiếp nhận chiến hạm 26, mong bạn nốt cho 27, 28" . YouTube . 23 July 2023.
^ "Navy Gifts Active Warship To Vietnam, First By India To Any Country" .
^ on%20Wednesday%2C%20the%20navy%20said. "Missile boat Kirpan decommissioned from Indian Navy, handed over to Vietnam as gift" .
^ "In a first, India gifts active warship INS Kirpan to Vietnam" .
^ "INS Kirpan sets sail from Visakhapatnam to Vietnam" .
^ "NINS Kirpan reaches Vietnam" .
^ "Torpedoed By Pakistan In 1971 War, Indian Navy Warship Namesake, INS Kirpan, Hogs Global Limelight" .