INS Kirpan (P44)

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Kirpan (P44) entering Cam Ranh International Port, Vietnam
NameINS Kirpan
NamesakeCeremonial dagger worn by Khalsa Sikhs
BuilderGarden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Laid down15 November 1985
Launched16 August 1988
Commissioned12 January 1991
Decommissioned22 July 2023[1]
IdentificationPennant number: P44
StatusDecommissioned & handed over to the Vietnamese Navy
History
Vietnam
Acquired22 July 2023
IdentificationShip 26[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeKhukri-class corvette
Displacement1350 tons (full load)
Length91.1 metres
Beam10.5 metres
Draught4.5 metres
Propulsion
  • 2 diesel engines with 14,400hp
  • 2 shafts
Speed25 knots (50 km/h)
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement79 (incl. 10 officers)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • MR 352 Pozitiv-E radar
  • Garpun-Bal radar
  • Bharat 1245 navigation radar
Armament
Aircraft carried1 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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ a b "VISIT OF ADM R HARI KUMAR, CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF, TO VIETNAM". PIB (Press release). 21 July 2023.
  2. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dDsrr_Fe_U
  3. ^ "Navy Gifts Active Warship To Vietnam, First By India To Any Country".
  4. ^ "Missile boat Kirpan decommissioned from Indian Navy, handed over to Vietnam as gift".
  5. ^ "In a first, India gifts active warship INS Kirpan to Vietnam".
  6. ^ "INS Kirpan sets sail from Visakhapatnam to Vietnam".
  7. ^ "NINS Kirpan reaches Vietnam".
  8. ^ "Torpedoed By Pakistan In 1971 War, Indian Navy Warship Namesake, INS Kirpan, Hogs Global Limelight".