India plans to create a maritime hegemon! Third brother's destroyer! With a displacement of more than 14,000 tons?

The global naval arena has ushered in an epoch-making change. India has a bold idea, a brand-new giant ship, the P18 destroyer, with its unprecedented scale and strength, is about to unveil the veil of mystery and show its majestic posture on the magnificent ocean. Its majestic momentum not only attracts global attention, but also indicates that the strategic pattern of the Indo-Pacific region is about to usher in profound changes.

How did this P18 destroyer, known as the supremacy of the seas, stand out from many active warships and surpass the high-profile Ali Burke III destroyer? Is it its astonishing full load displacement, up to more than 14,000 tons, that can demonstrate its unparalleled strength? Or is it its amazing cutting-edge technology, whether it's cutting-edge electronics or incredibly powerful weapon systems, that makes it so powerful in the oceans?

Today, we will take an in-depth look at this P18 destroyer, which may lead the future development trend of the Navy, explore the scientific and technological mystery and strategic significance behind it, and look forward to what kind of glorious chapter it will write on the future marine stage.

The key to the successful implementation of the P18 stealth destroyer project lies in obtaining stable financial guarantees. The grand blueprint of the P18 program aims to increase the destroyer's displacement to an unprecedented 14,000 tons, a feat that did not come out of nowhere, but is based on an in-depth analysis and reference to the performance of the current P15B Visakhapatnam-class destroyers.

The P15B guided missile destroyer, as an upgrade of the Kolkata-class destroyer, was carefully built by India's famous Mazagaon shipyard. With a full load displacement of up to 7,400 tons, a hull length of 163 meters and a width of 17.4 meters, the destroyer has successfully launched one and three have been officially commissioned since the start of construction in 2013.

In terms of armament, the P15B destroyer showed great firepower. Its main gun is a 76 mm naval gun manufactured by the Italian company Otto Melera, which is powerful in firepower, and it is also equipped with four vertical launch systems with 8 firing cells, capable of carrying 32 Israeli-made Lightning 8 anti-aircraft missiles, providing a solid air defense barrier for the warship, and two UVLM vertical firing systems, each equipped with 8 firing units, which can carry 16 cruise missiles developed by the German company Brahms, further enhancing its long-range strike capabilities.

In addition to a powerful firepower configuration, the P15B destroyer should not be underestimated in terms of anti-submarine warfare. Two 12-pack RBU6000 anti-submarine rocket depth launchers and four quadruple 500-mm varunastra torpedo launchers allow it to respond quickly to submarine threats.

In terms of carrier-based aviation equipment, the P15B destroyer also performs well, with the ability to carry two helicopters, further expanding its combat radius and search range, and the promotion of the P18 stealth destroyer project is based on the successful experience of the P15B destroyer, aiming to build a warship with larger displacement and better performance to meet future maritime security challenges.

The P15B destroyer is undoubtedly a shining jewel in the region, and its powerful firepower configuration makes it an indisputable combat weapon. Focusing on regional air defense missions, it is equipped with the high-profile Lightning 8 anti-aircraft missile, which has excellent performance.

The uniqueness of the Lightning 8 anti-aircraft missile lies in its flexible guidance mode, which can seamlessly switch between three modes of data link guidance, active radar guidance and infrared guidance in actual combat to cope with various complex battlefield environments. What is particularly striking is that the missile is equipped with an advanced active radar seeker, which gives it the advanced capability of active radar guidance. Once the missile is launched from a warship, the subsequent tracking and strike tasks can be completed automatically without human intervention, greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of the operation.

The Lightning 8 missile also features innovative dual-section pulse solid-state rocket thruster technology, a revolutionary design that significantly increases its range to an astonishing 90 kilometers. This distance is enough to cover a vast sea area, providing a broader security guarantee for the P15B destroyer, and with its excellent combat effectiveness and advanced air defense missile system, it will undoubtedly become an important guardian of maritime security in the region.

With its Lightning 8 missiles, the P15B destroyer has already demonstrated a strength that cannot be ignored in regional air defense operations. What is even more remarkable is that it is equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which give the warship a powerful external attack capability, making it a leader in maritime power.

The BrahMos missile is a masterpiece of in-depth research and development and improvement based on Russian Ruby missile technology. It not only has the ability to fly at supersonic speeds, but also has the characteristics of multi-ballistic travel, which makes it excellent in breaking through enemy defenses, resisting electronic jamming, and countering anti-missile interception.

According to open sources, the BrahMos missile has an extremely wide range, covering distances from 50 km to 300 km, allowing it to play an important role in a variety of combat environments. Its cruising altitude is as high as more than 14,000 meters, giving the missile a very high concealment and penetration capability, and its maximum flight speed can be close to 2.8 times the speed of sound, which is the top level in the active missile, ensuring the missile's strike efficiency and survivability.

The BrahMos missile can also carry various warheads weighing about 250 kilograms, including high-explosive warheads, armor-piercing warheads and submunitions, etc., so that it has a variety of strike capabilities, and can choose the right warhead according to the needs of different tasks, with its equipped Lightning 8 missiles and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, it not only has a strong regional air defense combat strength, but also has a strong external attack capability, becoming an important warship in modern naval warfare.

The P15B missile destroyer, with its cutting-edge weaponry, has demonstrated unrivaled prowess in both the rough waters of the Bay of Bengal and the vastness of the Arabian Sea. In contrast, the Hamilton-class patrol ship, a classic ship that has been in service with the U.S. Coast Guard since 1967, despite its long role in maritime patrol, search and rescue, and law enforcement, pales in comparison to the P15B in terms of size and firepower.

While the Bangladesh Navy may attempt to upgrade the Hamilton-class patrol ships in hopes of improving their combat capabilities, this effort will be unlikely to change the significant gap between them and the P15B. With its advanced missile system, powerful firepower configuration and excellent combat performance, the P15B missile destroyer has become a leader in maritime power, and can show its unrivaled strength in any sea area.