Article Posted on : - Mar 10, 2017

NEW DELHI (PTI): INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC), has been commissioned into the Indian Navy at Karwar naval base in Karnataka.

INS Tillanchang is the third ship of four WJFACs built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.

The first two ships of the class, INS Tarmugli and INS Tihayu, were commissioned in 2016 and are based at Visakhapatnam.

The ship has been indigenously designed and built and is an upgrade from the Chetlat class of Fast Attack Craft that the Indian Navy possesses.

INS Tillanchang was commissioned by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, he said these ships play a vital role in light of security environment in the country and are designed to take on both conventional and asymmetric threats.

He said Tillanchang was able to achieve the fastest speeds among all WJFACs during the speed trials.

INS Tillanchang is about 50 metres long and powered by three waterjet propulsion systems, which give it speeds of over 35 knots.

The ship is armed with a 30 mm main gun and a number of light, medium and heavy machine guns to undertake operations at sea.

INS Tillanchang is an ideal platform for a number of missions like coastal and off-shore surveillance, law enforcement as well as non-military missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the Navy said.