INS Surat


INS Surat is the fourth ship of the stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. The ship is the last of the line of destroyers built under Project 15 which includes the , the and the . The commissioning commanding officer of Surat is Captain Sandeep Shourie.
Initially, the ship was speculated to be named after port city Porbandar but later it was changed to Surat. The other warships of this class are,,. The ship has the distinction of being the first Artificial Intelligence-enabled warship of the Indian Navy.

Construction

The keel of Surat was laid down in 2018. Built at two different geographical locations using the block construction methodology involving hull construction and joining at MDL. Successor of P-15A destroyers, P-15B destroyers are the next generation of stealth guided missile destroyers.
The keel for Surat was laid on 9 November 2019 and was launched on 17 May 2022 by Mazagon Dock Limited. On 15 June 2024, Surat begun her Contractor Sea Trials and completed her Final Machinery Trials on 25 November 2024 taking a time of record low of 6 months. The ship was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 December 2024. The ship was delivered within 31 months from launch which made this the fastest destroyer to be built in India. The ship was initially scheduled to be commissioned in December 2024 but the timeline was later shifted.

Service history

The ship was commissioned on 15 January 2025 along with and INS Vagsheer.
On 24 April 2025, INS Surat conducted a missile test of MRSAM which intercepted a sea-skimming target in the Arabian Sea through precision cooperative engagement.
The ship arrived at Hazira Port near Surat on the occasion of Gujarat Day on 1 May 2025. Surat was involved in the rescue operations of a container vessel that had caught fire off the coast of Beypore along with the Indian Coast Guard In early June 2025. The ship later took the 18 crew members injured in the fire to Mangalore on June 9.
On 28 August 2025, Surat arrived in Jeddah Port of Saudi Arabia a day after.
On 28 August 2025, INS Surat undertook her maiden overseas port call at Jeddah Port of Saudi Arabia, a day after called at the same port, i.e., on 27 August. The ships' crew will also interact with the Royal Saudi Navy and Border Guards as part of a goodwill visit along with diplomatic talks, sports fixture and exploring "avenues for further engagement". On 7 September 2025, Surat participated in a Passage Exercise with ITS Caio Duilio.

Exercise Konkan 2025

and its Carrier Battle Group, including Surat, took part in the biennial Exercise Konkan 2025 with the Royal Navy's UK Carrier Strike Group 2025, a formation centred on, between 5 and 12 October 2025 off the Western Coast of India. This is the maiden instance of a dual carrier operation between the countries. While the UK CSG included and RFA Tidespring along with of the Royal Norwegian Navy and of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Indian Navy's CBG included,,, and. The 2021 edition, named Konkan Shakti, was the largest exercise in the series in which all three services of both countries participated. On 8 October, the Indian Air Force deployed its Su-30MKI and Jaguar aircraft for a one-day exercise with the group.

Ship badge

On 6 November 2023, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, unveiled the crest of the ship in Surat. The crest depicts the lighthouse at Hazira of Surat which is situated at the southern entrance of the Gulf of Khambhat and was built in 1836 as one of the first lighthouses in India. The state animal of Gujarat, the Asiatic Lion is also depicted in the crest of the ship.