Article Posted on : - Sep 22, 2010

Indian Navy’s latest Fast Attack Craft (FAC) INS Kalpeni being received at Southern Naval Command South Jetty in Kochi, Kerala. Photo: PTI.

KOCHI (PTI): The indigenously built Fast Attack Craft (FAC), 'Kalpeni', is expected to be commissioned in the Indian Navy in a month, naval sources said Tuesday.

The vessel built at the Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, arrived here on Monday.

'Kalpeni' can be used mainly for search and rescue operations, naval patrol duties, detection and destruction of fast moving craft and other targets, the sources at the Southern Naval Command here said. It can also be used for anti-smuggling operations.

The ship, which has four officers and 40 sailors, is fitted with 30 mm CRN 91 gun built by the Ordnance Factory, Medak along with light, medium and heavy machine guns.

Weighing 320 tonnes, the ship is 52 metre long. Kalpeni belongs to the Car Nicobar class in the FAC series and is the seventh vessel among the 10 similar ships of the same class.

Two similar vessels - INS Cankarso and INS Kondul - were recently commissioned in the Navy at Vishakapatnam.

Nathan said the new vessel with its high speed and high manoeuvrability and ability to be in the outer sea for a long time will contribute to the coastal security efforts of the Navy.