INS Delhi to be commissioned on Saturday

The biggest and the most powerful warship ever built in an Indian Ocean yard, the state-of-the-art INS Delhi is all set to be commissioned on Saturday.

The impressive commissioning ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat and top defence and naval officials.

The 6,500-tonne destroyer, which is commanded by Captain Anup Singh, was indigenously built at the public sector Mazgaon Dockyard Limited, Bombay, with contributions from the Defence Reserach and Development Organisation.

Work began on INS Delhi in 1982 and a little over Rs 8 billion has been spent on this destroyer class ship.

After being commissioned, the warship will perform command and control functions and spearhead the Indian naval attack. It will also plug the gaps created by the decommissioning of about 50 ships over the last few years.

With a displacement of around 6,700 tonnes, a length of 163 m (more than a football field), a beam of 17 m and shaft of 4.4 m, the ship can generate a horse power of about 64,000. It is capable of a maximum speed of about 32 knots (about 65 km per hour).

Fitted with a variety of weapon systems, the warship's armament includes modular surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, medium range 100 mm anti-multi-barrel ASM rocket launchers. The ship also has Seaking 42B helicopters, Sea Eagle missiles and depth bombs. The choppers are capable of flying 400 km around the ship and provide data to its control room.

INS Delhi has a complement of 380 sailors and 40 officers to manage her defensive and offensive capabilities.

The warship, interestingly, is not the first ship to bear the name. The first INS Delhi had a great past and was the first flagship of the India naval fleet.

According to the archives, the ship was acquired in 1948 from Great Britiain and has served the Indian Navy for over 30 years.

The ship was earlier known as the Achilles, which was a Leander class crusier. During the Second World War, she was manned by a New Zealand crew.

The first INS Delhi distinguished herself in 'Operation Vijay', the liberation action for Goa. In 1973, the ship was converted into a training ship and performed the role till 1978 before it was decommissioned.

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