Shardul-class tank landing ship

Shardul-class (lit. 'Tiger') landing ships are large amphibious warfare vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers for the Indian Navy. They are an evolution of the Magar-class amphibious landing ships. Initially, the ship was classified as Landing Ship Tank (Large) or LST(L). The class has an indigenous content of over 90%.^[1] The ships also carry four landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP) on board, which can be used for the landing of troops.^[2]

INS Airavat (L24) sails out of Visakhapatnam harbour after commissioning
Class overview
Name	Shardul class
Builders	Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Operators	Indian Navy
Preceded by	Magar class
Completed	3
Active	3
General characteristics
Type	Tank landing ship
Displacement	5,650 tons
Length	125 m (410 ft)
Beam	17.5 m (57 ft)
Draught	4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion	Kirloskar PA6 STC engines
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	4 × LCVPs
Capacity	11 MBT, 10 armoured vehicles 465.8 m3 (16,450 cu ft) water, 1,292.6 m3 (45,650 cu ft) diesel fuel
Troops	500
Complement	11 officers, 145 sailors
Electronic warfare & decoys	Decoy: Chaff launchers
Armament	2 × WM-18 rocket launchers 4 × CRN-91 AA (Naval 30 mm Medak) guns, MANPAD's.
Aircraft carried	1 Sea King/HAL Dhruv

History

The order for the vessels were placed in December 2001 while the contract was signed in early 2002.^[1]

The ship is equipped with WM-18 140 mm rocket launchers, developed by DRDO and manufactured by Larsen & Toubro. Two units of the system is integrated with one each on port and starboard. The rocket launcher has 18 tubes in a configuration of 6×3. These are used for beach clearing operations before initiating amphibious operations. The armament also includes four CRN-91 autocannons for self-defence.^[3][4][5]

Shardul was the first vessel commissioned at Karwar Naval Base, INS Kadamba. The second ship Kesari was commissioned at the Visakhapatnam Naval Base,^[6] and later moved to Port Blair.^[7] The third ship Airavata underwent sea trials in 2008 and was commissioned in 2009.^[8][9][10]

Ships

Name	Pennant Number	Laid down[1]	Launched[1]	Commissioned	Homeport	Status
Indian Navy
Shardul	L16	16 December 2002	3 April 2004	4 January 2007	Karwar	Active
Kesari	L15		8 June 2005	5 April 2008	Port Blair
Airavat	L24		27 March 2006	19 May 2009	Visakhapatnam

Gallery

• 
  Shardul entering Port Louis, Mauritius.
• 
  Shardul of 1st Training squadron en-route to Sri Lanka.
• 
  Kesari during MILAN 2018 exercise.
• 
  Kesari participating in PASSEX during MILAN 2012.
• 
  Airavat sails out of Visakhapatnam harbor after commissioning on May 19, 2009.

See also

• List of active Indian Navy ships