The Visakhapatnam class is the final development of Project 15 and builds directly on Kolkata. Project 15B improves stealth and resilience while using greater automation and mechanization to help a similar-sized crew manage growing complexity. Crew numbers have not really fallen: machinery takes over tasks while personnel check the automated systems and handle the ship's wider workload. Speed rises to at least 33.5 knots and stated cruising range reaches about 9,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. Automation increases what the crew can do as the destroyer's systems become more complex.
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Project 15B automation and 9,000-nautical-mile reach
Project 15B used automation to increase crew effectiveness while pushing the Delhi-Kolkata lineage to a 9,000-nautical-mile cruising range.