INS Delhi (D61) is the lead ship of the Delhi-class of guided-missile destroyers current serving the Indian Navy. The class numbers three total and all were constructed at the Mazagon Dock Limited shipyard. The group has been used to succeed the Rajput-class but have since, themselves, been succeeded (at least on paper) by the newer Kolkata-class (detailed elsewhere on this site). Nevertheless, the three warships of the Delhi-class, including INS Delhi, remain in active service as of this writing (December 2017).
INS Delhi was laid down on December 12th, 1992, was launched on March 20th, 1995 and saw official commissioning on November 15th, 1997. The warship homeports out of Mumbai.
Aboard is a crew of up to 350 officer and enlisted personnel. Various systems are installed for various tasks including the Bharat RAWL surface-search radar, a trio of MR-212/201 Vaygach-U ("Palm Frond") navigation radars, the Bharat APSOH/HUMSA hull-mounted sonar and the "Garden Reach" Model 15-750 variable depth sonar.
The armament suite is comprised of 1 x 100mm AK-100 turreted deck gun aided by 2 x 30mm AK-630 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs). At the heart of the suite, however, is the 4 x KT-184 quadruple missile launchers for the Kh-35 "Switchblade" missile family (NATO: SS-N-25). There are also 2 x "Shtil" Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers. Beyond this, the vessel carries 2 x RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine ROCket (ASROC) launchers and 1 x Quintuple torpedo launcher.
The profile of the warship sees an elevated bow with a continuous line running from bow-to-stern. The turreted deck gun takes its usual place at the forecastle and various missile fits are installed ahead of the bridge superstructure. The main maid is integrated into the bridge superstructure with the first low-profile smoke funnel leading the secondary mast. Aft of the secondary mast is another low-profile smoke funnel. A hangar and helipad complete the warships look. The helipad is set over the aft-section and can service a pair of medium-lift helicopters (typically the Westland Sea King).
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.
