Navy's first destroyer INS Rajput decommissioned after serving nation for 41 years

NewsBharati    22-May-2021
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New Delhi, May 22: In a solemn ceremony, INS Rajput , the first destroyer of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned after over 41 years of service. The lead ship of the Kashin-class destroyers built by the erstwhile USSR, the destroyer was commissioned on May 4, 1980.
 
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The ship was decommissioned in a solemn and low-key event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when the National Flag, Naval Ensign, and the Decommissioning Pennant were lowered at sunset time.
 
 
In her glorious service to the nation, the ship has been helmed by 31 Commanding Officers. The ship since its commissioning has sailed a distance of over 7,87,194 nautical miles which is equivalent to navigating around the world 36.5 times and 3.8 times the distance from Earth to Moon.
 
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The ship was equipped with an array of weapons and sensors which included, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft guns, torpedoes, and anti-submarine rocket launchers. INS Rajput was also the first ship to be fitted out to fire the supersonic cruise and long-range BrahMos missile. She was also the first Indian Naval ship to get affiliated with an Indian Army Regiment ‘the Rajput Regiment’.
 
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Apart from participating in various naval operations like Op Pawan, Operation Aman, Operation Cactus, and various multinational exercises, the ship was a flag bearer of the Indian Navy's benign role by participating in various relief operations. The operations included cyclone relief operations off Odisha Coast in 1999, relief operations post Tsunami in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in 2004 and HADR mission after the earthquake at Jakarta.