INS Rajput Decommissioned
- Indian Navy's first destroyer decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
- The lead ship of the Kashin-class destroyers built by the erstwhile USSR was commissioned on 04 May 1980.
- It was constructed in the 61 Communards Shipyard in Nikolaev (present-day Ukraine) under her original Russian name ‘Nadezhny’ meaning ‘Hope’.
- The ship has participated in several operations, as part of national security.
- Some of these include Operation Aman of Sri Lanka to assist IPKF, Operation Pawan for patrolling duties off the coast of Sri Lanka, Operation Cactus to resolve the hostage situation of the Maldives, and Operation Crowsnest of Lakshadweep.
- In addition, the ship participated in numerous bilateral and multinational exercises.
- The ship was also the first Indian Naval Ship to be affiliated with an Indian Army regiment, the Rajput Regiment.
- In her glorious 41 years, the ship had 31 Commanding Officers at her helm with the last CO taking charge of the ship on August 14, 2019.
- The Kashin class were series of anti-aircraft guided missile destroyers built for the Soviet Navy since the 1960s.