INS Rajput decommissioned after 41 years of service

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INS Rajput, the Indian Navy's Kashin-class destroyer, the first warship to be fitted with a long-range BrahMos missile, was decommissioned on 21st May after 41 years of service.

About

The warship, built by the erstwhile USSR and commissioned on May 4, 1980, had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern fleets.

Apart from BrahMos, the warship was furnished with a range of weapons and sensors including anti-aircraft guns, torpedoes, and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

The ship took part in various key missions in the last four decades, including operation Aman of Sri Lanka that was launched to help the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) and Operation Cactus to settle a hostage situation of the Maldives.

Furthermore, the ship participated in innumerable bilateral and multi-national exercises. This was the first Indian Naval Ship to be associated with an Army regiment named as the Rajput regiment.

INS Rajput, whose original Russian name was ‘Nadezhny’, meaning ‘hope’ was constructed in the 61 Communards shipyard in Nikolaev (now Ukraine). The keel of the ship was laid on September 11, 1976, and was launched on September 17, 1977.

The ship was commissioned as INS Rajput at Poti, Georgia by I K Gujral, the then Indian Ambassador to the USSR, with Captain Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani as her first commanding officer.