INS ''Imphal'' is the third ship of the ''Visakhapatnam''-class

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. She was being constructed at

Mazagon Dock Limited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Shipbuilders Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a company with shipyards situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian ...

(MDL) and was launched on 20 April 2019. The ship started sea trials on 28 April 2023, and was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 October 2023. It was commissioned on 26 December 2023. The ship was named in recognition of Manipur's sacrifices and contribution to India's freedom struggle including the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891 or the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

under leadership of

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

raising the Indian flag on 14 April 1944 at Moirang. It is the first Indian Navy ship named after a city in

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

Construction

The keel of ''Imphal'' was laid down on 19 May 2017, and she was launched on 20 April 2019 at

of Mumbai. She began her sea trials on 28 April 2023. She was subsequently delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 October 2023. She was commissioned on 26 December 2023 in the presence of the

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...

at Mumbai.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Kamal Kumar Choudhury is the commissioning

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

Ship badge

The badge depicts the on the left and

Kanglā Shā In Meitei mythology and Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur, Kanglā shā is a sacred guardian beast with a lion's body and a two-horned dragon's head. It is a royal symbol of the Ningthouja dynasty, Meitei royalties (Ningthouja ...

on the right, two of the most remarkable cultural heritages of the Meitei civilization. The Kangla Palace is situated in Imphal and is an important historical and archaeological site of

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. It was the traditional seat of the

Ningthouja dynasty The Ningthouja dynasty, also known as Mangang dynasty, comprises the descendants of the kings of Manipur. Ningthouja literally means progeny of King (''Ningthou'' means king and ''cha'' or ''macha'' means progeny in which ''ja'' is a corrupted ...

. The Kanglā Shā is a mythical being from

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology (or Manipuri mythology) () is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with traditional Meitei religion of Sanam ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. Considered sacred to Meitei heritage, it has a dragon's head and lion's body, and is the guardian/protector of its people. Kanglā Shā is also the state emblem of Manipur.

Deployment

The ship was deployed in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

immediately after commissioning as part of a task force meant to deter

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

attacks on commercial shipping in the area. On 10 March 2025, INS Imphal made a port visit to

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, keeping with the tradition of Indian warships and aircraft participating in Mauritius National Day celebrations.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imphal, INS Visakhapatnam-class destroyers Destroyers of the Indian Navy 2019 ships Ships built in India

Construction

Ship badge

Deployment

Gallery

See also

References