Rajnath Singh unveils crest of Navy advanced warship ‘Imphal’

The ship — which is the third among the four Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers — was delivered to the Navy last month by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).

The defence minstry statement said the unveiling of Imphal’s crest, adorned with the Kangla Palace and ‘Kangla-Sa’ is a tribute to the sacrifice made by the people of Manipur towards India’s independence, sovereignty and security. ‘Kangla-Sa’ is also the state emblem of Manipur.

The crest design depicts the Kangla Palace on the left and ‘Kangla-Sa’ on the right. “The Kangla Palace is an important historical and archaeological site of Manipur, and was the traditional seat of the past kingdom,” the statement said, adding that with a dragon’s head and lion’s body, the ‘Kangla-Sa’ is a mythical being from Manipur history, and is symbolic as the protector of its people.

Imphal is scheduled to be commissioned into the Navy next month, making it the first indigenous destroyer to have taken the least amount of time to construct and completing its sea trials.

The first ship under P15B, Visakhapatnam, was commissioned on 21 Nov 2021 and the second, Mormugao, on 18 Dec 2022. The fourth ship, Surat, was launched on 17 May 2022 and is at an advanced stage of outfitting.

The ship has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes, an overall length of 164 metres and is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.