INS Visakhapatnam ( Image credits- Getty Image) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz- Stefan Gady Yesterday, the Indian Navy, in the presence of Admiral RK Dhowan, India’s current chief of naval staff, launched its latest stealth guided missile destroyer with a ceremony held at Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai. The 7,300 ton Visakhapatnam is the first of four planned Visakhapatnam-class (Project 15B) vessels, based on the older Kolkata-class destroyers design (Project 15A), to enter Indian service. The other three vessels will be launched at an interval of three years at a total cost of INR 293.40 billion ($4.89 billion). According to Indian naval officials, the 164 m-long Visakhapatnam will be commissioned in July 2018. The Kolkata-class destroyer INS Kolkata (Project 15A) was commissioned in August 2014, with the two remaining vessels of the class to be commissioned by 2016. According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly: Vishakhapatnam‘s key differences from th