India’s first indigenously designed & built warship INS Godavari decommissioned

India’s first indigenously designed and built warship Indian Navy Service (INS) Godavari was on 23 December 2015 decommissioned in Naval Dockyard Mumbai. It was commissioned into the Navy on 10 December 1983.

With her decommissioning, INS Godavari (F-20) will complete its full life cycle, meeting all responsibilities and duties assigned, proving the success of Indian ship design and construction.

It was the lead ship of her class of three guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy. The other two warships are INS Ganga and INS Gomati.

Key features of INS Godavari

• Godavari class frigates were armed with potent surface to surface and surface to air guided missiles.
• She was also among of the first frigates in the world capable of carrying two Sea King helicopters (well known as the ‘Flying Frigate’, because of its integral firepower and sensor suite).
• Over the 32 years of the service, it was successfully deployed in numerous operations.
• They operations include Operation Jupiter – 1988 (Sri Lanka), Operation Shield and Operation Bolster - 1994 (de-induction of Indian Army from Somalia) and Patrol of Gulf of Aden (PoG) – 2009, 2011 (anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden).
• In 1988, in an operation called ‘Operation Cactus’, India successfully thwarted a coup d’état against Maldivian Government. Godavari and Betwa intercepted and arrested the mercenaries, who tried to flee Male onboard the Merchant Vessel Progress Light.

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