India Set To Join Select League Of Nations With Launch Of Its First Satellite, Nuclear Missile Tracking Ship Next Week

In a big boost to India's missile tracking capabilities, the country's first satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship, INS Dhruv, is set to be commissioned on 10 September.

Built by the Hindustan Shipyard in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), the nuclear missile tracking ship is likely to be commissioned by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval from Visakhapatnam .

INS Dhruv has the capability to also map ocean beds for research and detection of enemy submarines, reports Hindustan Times.

The 10,000-tonne ship will reportedly be manned by Indian Navy personnel with the Strategic Forces Command (SFC).

With the commissioning of INS Dhruva, India will become part of select group of countries including France, the US, the UK, Russia, and China that operate such ships.

According to the report, the ship, which is part of a classified project, will act as an early warning system for enemy missiles headed towards Indian cities and military establishments and will thus be at the heart of India’s future anti-ballistic missile capability.

It should be noted that both China and Pakistan have nuclear ballistic missile capability.

It will be an important part of maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific and is being commissioned at the time when the era of underwater armed and surveillance drones has dawned.

Equipped with DRDO developed state of the art active scanned array (AESA), the INS Dhruv will also add to India's capability to understand the true missile capability of the adversary when they test their ballistic missiles.

It will also help the Indian Navy in planning better military operations in all three dimensions- sub-surface, surface and aerial.