INS Rajput, Navy's first destroyer, decommissioned after 41 years of service

• Indian Navy's Kashin-class destroyer INS Rajput was decommissioned after 41 yrs of service. INS Rajput was the first warship to be fitted with long-range BrahMos missile. The destroyer was built by the erstwhile USSR & commissioned on May 4, 1980. INS Rajput had the distinction of being part of both the Western & Eastern fleets. A Navy spokesperson said the warship was decommissioned at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. Besides BrahMos, the warship was equipped with an array of weapons & sensors. Ship participated in key missions including Operation Aman off Sri Lanka, Operation Cactus. In addition, the ship participated in numerous bilateral and multinational exercises. It was the first Indian Naval Ship to be affiliated with an Army regiment, Rajput regiment. INS Rajput was constructed in the 61 Communards shipyard in Nikolaev (now Ukraine). The keel of the ship was laid on September 11, 1976 & she was launched on September 17, 1977.