On Thursday, the Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T80 was decommissioned by the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai after 23 years of its service.
The patrol boat was the first of the Super Dvora Mk II class which was specially designed for shallow water operations and had its active participation in various coastal security operations. The boat was extensively used to patrol and provide security to Mumbai High along with the coasts of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Super Dvora Mk II class
Developed by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the boast has been derived from the Dvora class fast patrol boats. The Super Dvora Mk II is meant for a variety of naval missions from typical off-shore coastal patrol mission profiles to high-speed, high-manoeuvre littoral warfare and could achieve speeds up to 45 knots for intercepting any intruder craft.
As per sources, the 25.4 metres longboat is equipped with a marine aluminium alloy planing hull to maintain high standards of sea-keeping, manoeuvrability and static stability in adverse environments.
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon was originally the main armament of the Super Dvora Mark II design. Currently, all the Mark II type boats have been modified to equip the Typhoon 25-30 mm stabilized cannon manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel while depending on the operational requirements, Dvora Mark IIs are capable of carrying heavy or light machine guns in addition to the main armament.
On the other hand, additional weapon systems like Automatic Grenade Launchers, GPMGs & HMGs are carried by the Sri Lankan Navy Super Dvora Mark IIs.
Earlier story
India had purchased Ramta two Super Dvora Mark II attack boats from IAI and got the licence to build the remaining at Goa Shipyard in collaboration with Ramta in 1997 while as per reports, back in 2003, India had procured three Super Dvora Mk II fast attack craft for the Indian Navy at a cost of around $4.30 million.
Earlier this year, the Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 of the Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned at the same Dockyard.
The T-81 was commissioned into the Navy on 05 Jun 1999 and the vessel with 60 tonnes displacement was developed at Goa Shipyard Ltd in collaboration with M/s Ramta of Israel. The ship was equipped with the capability of day/night surveillance and reconnaissance along with Search & Rescue, beach insertion ane extraction of Marine Commandos. It was also capable of high-speed interception of intruder craft like the T-80.
Ongoing status
Currently, the Super Dvora Mk II is being operated by nations like Eritrea, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, India and Israel.
Earlier this year, a ₹65-crore contract was bagged by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) to build 12 anti-ramming patrol boats to be deployed at Pangong Lake in Ladakh to thwart Chinese aggression while in the previous year, Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) were commissioned by the Indian Coast Guard designed to patrol long distances, with endurances of 10-11,000 km. These vessels were made capable to participate in full-fledged naval combat.