Shardul-class tank landing ship

	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

Shardul-class landing ships are large amphibious warfare vessels built at 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]

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.