INS Rajput (D51)

Guided-Missile Destroyer Warship

India | 1980

"A left-over from the late-Cold War period, INS Rajput D51 led her five-strong class of guided-missile destroyers in Indian Navy service up until May 2021."

Image of INS Rahput from the Indian Navy; No endorsement should be implied.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/25/2023 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Destroyer warships make up a considerable portion of the modern Indian Navy surface fleet. The service fields three similar types in the Kolkata-class, the Delhi-class and older Rajput-class. The Rajput-class is led by INS Rajput (D51) and she is joined by INS Rana (D52), INS Ranjit (D53), INS Ranvir (D54) and INS Ranvijay (D55). The design of this warship class is based in the Soviet Navy's Kashin-class destroyer form of the Cold War period (1947-1991) and includes modifications made to suit Indian Navy requirements of the 1980s. The ships were constructed in Soviet (now Ukraine) shipyards (the No. 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant).

Commissioned on September 30th, 1980, INS Rajput (D51) continues to serve the Indian Navy today (December 2017) in its designated guided-missile destroyer role. It forms part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command surface force and can supply the service with an airspace denial capability as well as hunt enemy submarines and surface combatants or attack land-based targets inland through cruise missile and gun strikes. The vessel is also well-defended from close-attack by way of guns and an Electronic Warfare (EW) / CounterMeasures (CM) fit as well as modern sensors and radar.

Compared to the original Soviet Kashin-class, the Rajput-class did away with the gun mounting found at the "Y" position (aft) and this was replaced by a helicopter hangar and helipad. The warship also lost its "Owl Screech" fire control director at its aft mounting and SS-N-2D (Mod 2) "Styx" missile launchers were added forward of the bridge section. The Indian version of the ship retained the Kashin's Anti-Aircraft (AA) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities and was the first to introduce the locally-designed and developed "BrahMos" cruise missile for land attacks from the sea - indeed INS Rajput was a considerable part of the missiles development as it served in the missile's trials phase.

As built, INS Rajput displaces 4,000 ton under standard load and 5,000 tons under full load with a length of 482 feet, a beam of 52 feet and a draught of 16 feet. Installed power is made up of 4 x M-3E3 gas turbine engines of 18,000 horsepower each (72,000 hp overall) driving 2 x Shafts under stern. Top speed reaches 35 knots in ideal conditions and range is out to about 4,000 miles. Aboard is a crew of approximately 320 officers and enlisted personnel.

The warship is outfitted with various radar systems and sensors as well as hull-mounted and towed-sonar arrays. Armament is led by the 4 x Brahmos cruise missile fit in noticeably angled launchers at either side of the forecastle with 2 x Styx AShM missiles intended for the AA role. More conventional weaponry includes the 76mm turreted deck gun (leading the armament suite at the extreme head of the forecastle), 4 x 30mm AK-230 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs) for short-range airspace denial / protection and 1 x 533mm quintuple torpedo launcher. There are also 2 x RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine ROCket (ASROC) launchers. The vessel supports a single Kamov-28 (or similar) navalized helicopter equipped for the anti-submarine / anti-ship role.

In profile, INS Rajput sports a stepped deck line with high bow and there is a sole turret over the forecastle with stepped superstructure aft. A weapons control dome is seated over the bridge and the main mast is of an exposed lattice / pyramidal design. All the smoke funnels are of low-profile design giving the ship a rather low silhouette against the horizon. The rest of the superstructure heading aft is of a noticeably low-profile arrangement, ultimately leading to the helicopter deck at the extreme rear of the warship.

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May 2021 - INS Rajput was formally decommissioned on May 21st, 2021 by the Indian Navy.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for INS Rajput (D51).

4 x M-3E3 gas turbines developing 18,000 horsepower each (72,000hp output combined) to 2 x Shafts.
Propulsion

35.0 kts
40.3 mph
Surface Speed

3,476 nm
4,000 miles | 6,437 km
Range

Structure
The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of INS Rajput (D51).

320
Personnel
Complement

482.0 ft
146.91 meters
O/A Length

52.0 ft
15.85 meters
Beam

16.0 ft
4.88 meters
Draught

5,485
tons
Displacement

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of INS Rajput (D51).

1 x 76mm turreted deck gun.
4 x Brahmos Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) launchers.
2 x SS-N-2D "Styx" AShM Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) launchers.
2 x S-125M (SA-N-1) Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers.
4 x 30mm AK-230 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs).
1 x 533mm (21") PTA533 quintuple torpedo launcher.
2 x RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine ROCket (ASROC) launchers.

Air Arm
Available supported fixed-wing / rotary-wing aircraft featured in the design of INS Rajput (D51).

1 x Medium-lift navalized helicopter (typically HAL Chetak) series.

Ships-in-Class (5)
Notable series variants as part of the INS Rajput (D51) family line as relating to the Rajput-class group.

INS Rajput (D51); INS Rana (D52); INS Ranjit (D53); INS Ranvir (D54); INS Ranvijay (D55)

Operators
Global operator(s) of the INS Rajput (D51). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.

[ India ]

1 / 1

Image of INS Rahput from the Indian Navy; No endorsement should be implied.

Similar
Developments of similar form-and-function, or related, to the INS Rajput (D51) Guided-Missile Destroyer Warship.

INS Ranvir (D54)

Going Further...
INS Rajput (D51) Guided-Missile Destroyer Warship appears in the following collections:

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