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INS Nirbhik
Class overview
Name	Veer class
Builders	Mazagon Dock Limited Goa Shipyard Limited
Operators	Indian Navy
Preceded by	Abhay class by antecedence Durg class by role
Succeeded by	Khukri class
Planned	15
Completed	13
Cancelled	2
Active	7
Lost	1
Retired	5
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Corvette
Displacement	455 tons or 477 tons (K91 and K92)
Length	56.1 m (184 ft)
Beam	11.5 m (38 ft)
Draught	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	COGAG: 2 × Nikolayev Type DR77 (DS71 in K92) gas turbine, 16,016 PS (11,780 kW); 2 × Nikolayev Type DR76 gas turbines, 4,993 PS (3,672 kW) coupled to two shafts
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h) 400 nmi (740 km; 460 mi) at 36 kn (67 km/h)
Complement	41 (5 officers)
Sensors and processing systems	Granit Garpun B (NATO: Plank Shave) E-band air and surface search radar or MR-352 (NATO: Cross Dome) E/F-band air and surface search radar (K91 and K92) Mius I-band navigation radar MR-123 (NATO: Bass Tilt) H/I-band fire control radar or BEL Lynx fire control radar (K91 and K92) BEL Aparna fire control radar
Armament	4 × P-15 Termit (NATO: SS-N-2D Mod 1 Styx) missiles or 16 × Kh-35 Uran (NATO: SS-N-25) missiles (K91 and K92) 1 quad SA-N-5 Grail launcher for air defence missiles 1 × 76 mm 60-cal main gun or 1 × 76 mm 62-cal OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid gun (K91 and K92) 2 × AK-630 30 mm gun

The Veer-class corvettes of the Indian Navy are a customised Indian variant of the Soviet Tarantul class. They form the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron (Killer Squadron).

Service history

Eight vessels of this class inherit their names from the 25th Killer missile boat squadron, which attacked and sank two destroyers, a minesweeper and various other support vessels off Karachi during Operation Trident and Operation Python of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

The last two vessels of this class were built as the upgraded Tarantul V with 16 SS-N-25 'Switchblade' / URAN E Missiles, 1 OTO Melara 76 mm instead of the AK-176, and MR 352 Positiv-E (NATO: Cross Dome) Radar.

On 28 April 2016, INS Veer and INS Nipat were the first Veer-class corvettes to be decommissioned from the Indian Navy.

Ships of the class

INS Veer

INS Veer was the lead ship of her class and served in the Indian Navy from 26 March 1987 to 28 April 2016. INS Veer was commissioned at Poti, Soviet Union (now in Georgia) on 26 March 1987. Lieutenant Commander Anup Singh was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the ship. The ship has also been forward deployed off the coast of Gujarat, and India's maritime border on numerous occasions to protect offshore assets. After completing 29 years of commissioned service, INS Veer was decommissioned on 28 April 2016. At the time of decommissioning, the ship's commanding officer was Cdr B Charish K Pal, and the ship was assigned to the 22nd Killer Squadron. Veer and Nipat, which was also decommissioned on the same day, were the first Veer class corvettes to be decommissioned from the Indian Navy.

INS Nirbhik

INS Nirbhik served in the Indian Navy from 21 December 1987 to 11 January 2018. She was commissioned at Poti, Soviet Union (now in Georgia) on 21 December 1987 with Commander V R Naphade as the commissioning Commanding Officer. During her three decades of service, she was forward deployed along the Gujarat coast for patrolling and she participated in numerous operations including Operation Parakram and Operation Vijay. The ship was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 11 January 2018 and her decommissioning Commanding Officer was Commander Anand Mukundan.

INS Nipat

INS Nipat served in the Indian Navy from 5 December 1988 to 28 April 2016. INS Nipat was commissioned at Poti, Soviet Union (now in Georgia) on 5 December 1988. Lieutenant Commander GV Babu was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the ship. The ship was crewed by a complement of about 100 officers and sailors. The ship was propelled by four gas turbine engines, and was designed to attain a maximum speed of 42 knots. These ships were designed to carry four Surface to Surface Guided Missiles, one Medium Range Anit-Aircraft Gun (an AK 176) and a Close in Weapon System with two AK 630 Guns and associated Radar. The original INS Nipat served as a frontrunner, alongside sister ship INS Veer during the naval offensive on Karachi harbour in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The ship has also been forward deployed off the coast of Gujarat, and India's maritime border on numerous occasions to protect offshore assets. After completing 28 years of commissioned service, INS Nipat was decommissioned on 28 April 2016. At the time of decommissioning, the ship's commanding officer was Cdr D Chakrapani, and the ship was assigned to the 22nd Killer Squadron. Nipat and Veer, which was also decommissioned on the same day, were the first Veer class corvettes to be decommissioned from the Indian Navy.

INS Nirghat

INS Nirghat served in Indian Navy from 15 December 1989 to 11 January 2018. She was commissioned at Poti, Soviet Union (now in Georgia) on 15 December 1989 with Commodore S Mampully as the commissioning Commanding Officer. During her three decades of service, she was forward deployed along the Gujarat coast for patrolling and she participated in numerous operations including Operation Parakram and Operation Vijay. The ship was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 11 January 2018 and her last Commanding Officer was Commander Mohammed Ikram.

INS Pralaya

INS Pralaya is currently in active service with the Indian Navy. INS Pralaya is an upgraded Veer class corvette of the Indian Navy, the Veer class are based on the Tarantul Class (Project 1241.1) with the last vessels being based on the Project 1241.8. The INS Pralaya (K91) was Laid Down on 2 May 1998, Launched on 14 December 2000, and commissioned on 18 December 2002. She was built at the Goa Ship Yard from plating and a CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kit supplied by the Russians. Her sister ship the INS Prabal (K92) is of the same configuration but was built by Mazagaon Docks Limited. Modified with Russian input, the weapons & sensor fit is similar to that of the Project 25A Class corvette, INS Kirch. Radars include a MR 352 Positiv-E radar, a Garpun Bal E, MR-123 AK-630 directors and a BEL Lynx gunfire control radar. The vessel is armed with four KT-184 quad launchers for the sixteen 3M24E anti-ship missiles with a range of 130 km. The AK-176 of the original Tarantul has been replaced by an Oto Melara 76/62 Compact, the vessel also has two AK-630s and one Strela 2M MANPAD with 12 reloads for air defence.

Surviving ships

One Veer-class corvette has been preserved as of September 2024.

INS Nishank (K43) was transferred to the National Maritime Heritage Complex, Lothal, India in 2023 following her decommissioning in June 2022. She is now open for visitors at the museum.

See also

• List of active Indian Navy ships
• List of ships of the Indian Navy

References

1. ^ Commodore Stephen Saunders, ed. (2005). "India". Jane's Fighting Ships 2005-2006 (108th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. p. 323. ISBN 0710626924.
2. Indian Naval Ships-Corvettes-Veer Class Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
4. Indian Navy Celebrates `Killers Nite' Archived 9 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Veer (Tarantul I) Class". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
6. "K91 INS Pralaya". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
7. ^ "Indian Naval Ships Veer, Nipat decommissioned". The Economic Times. 11 July 2018. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
8. ^ Pandey, Munish Chandra (12 January 2018). "After serving country for three decades, INS Nirbhik and Nirghat decommissioned". India Today.
9. "INS Nishank and INS Akshay Decommissioned". Press Information Bureau of India. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
10. ^ "Veer Class, Abhay Class | Indian Navy".
11. ^ "Surface Ships of Indian Navy". Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
12. "Transfer Of Nishank To Lothal And Conversion To Museum". 31 March 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
13. "INS NISHANK assembly at NMHC Lothal site". 16 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.

v t e Ship classes of the Indian Navy
Aircraft carriers	Vikrant (1961) Viraat Vikramaditya Vikrant (2013) Vishal
Destroyers	Hunt Q and R Rajput Delhi Kolkata Visakhapatnam Project 18
Frigates	River Blackwood Whitby Leopard Nilgiri Godavari Brahmaputra Talwar Shivalik Nilgiri Project 17B
Corvettes	Bathurst Arnala Durg Veer Abhay Khukri Kora Kamorta ASW-SWC Next Generation Missile Vessels
Fast attack craft	Vidyut Chamak NGFAC
Nuclear submarines	Attack Charlie Akula-II Indian SSN Ballistic missile Arihant S5**
Conventional submarines	Kalvari Vela Sindhughosh Shishumar Kalvari Project 75I
Midget submarines	Indian Navy Swimmer Delivery Vehicle
Amphibious warfare ships	Kumbhir Magar Shardul Jalashwa Indian MRSV
Research and survey vessels	Makar Sandhayak Sagardhwani Dhruv GRSE class
Patrol craft	Ajay Seaward Sukanya Super Dvora Mk II Trinkat Bangaram Car Nicobar Saryu
Minesweeper	Bangor Ton Ham Mahé Pondicherry GSL Mine Counter-Measure Vessels
Replenishment ship	Ambika Komandarm Fedko Aditya Deepak HSL
Tugboats	Anand Anjan Arga Balram Bahadur Bhim Gaj IRS Bhishm Madan Singh
Ferries	GSL Manoram Shalimar
Barges	Poshak Puran Vipul Modest Corporated Hooghly Sahayak GSL
Torpedo recovery	Astravahini Astradharani
Dredgers	Nikaraksha
Training	Tir ABG
Decommissioned Under construction Planned List of active Indian Navy ships Submarines of the Indian Navy List of ships of the Indian Navy Future of the Indian Navy

v t e Corvettes of the Indian Navy
Commissioned ships	Kamorta class Kamorta (P28) Kadmatt (P29) Kiltan (P30) Kavaratti (P31) Kora class Kora Kirch Kulish Karmuk Khukri class Kuthar Kirpan Khanjar Abhay class Abhay Veer class Vibhuti Vipul Vinash Vidyut Nashak Prabal Pralaya
Decommissioned ships	Flower class HMIS Gondwana HMIS Sind HMIS Mahratta HMIS Assam Bathurst class HMIS Punjab HMIS Bombay HMIS Bengal HMIS Madras Arnala class Arnala Androth Anjadip Andaman Amini Kamorta (P77) Kadmatt (P78) Kiltan (P79) Kavaratti (P80) Katchall Amindivi Durg class Vijaydurg Sindhudurg Hosdurg Veer class Veer Nirbhik Nipat Nirghat Prahar Nishank Abhay class Ajay Akshay Agray Khukri class Khukri Basset class HMIS Agra HMIS Ahmedabad HMIS Amritsar HMIS Baroda HMIS Berar HMIS Calcutta HMIS Cochin HMIS Cuttack HMIS Karachi HMIS Lahore HMIS Lucknow HMIS Madura HMIS Multan HMIS Nagpur HMIS Nasik HMIS Patna HMIS Peshawar HMIS Poona HMIS Quetta HMIS Rampur HMIS Shillong HMIS Travancore
Future ships	ASW-SWC INS Mahe INS Malwan INS Mangrol INS Arnala (P68) INS Androth (P69) 11 more ships NGMV 6 vessels
Footnotes Renamed as INS Bombay post republic. Renamed as INS Bengal post republic. Renamed as INS Madras post republic. Classified as Anti-Submarine Naval Trawlers

• Veer-class corvettes
• Corvette classes
• India–Soviet Union relations