The ''Delhi''-class destroyers are
guided-missile destroyer
A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a pri ...
s of the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. Three ships of this class are in active service.
[ The ''Delhi''-class vessels were the largest vessels to be built in India at the time of their commissioning.] The ships were built by Mazagon Dock Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) ( IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platfo ...
(MDL) at a cost of each.
Development
The design and development of the ship class began as "Project 15" in 1980. Initially, the ships were planned to be follow-on frigates of the with the addition of RBU-6000
The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 (Реактивно-Бомбовая Установка, ''Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka''; reaction engine-bomb installation & Смерч; waterspout) is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. It is ...
ASW ASW, a three-letter abbreviation, may refer to:
* an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) in the state of California
* High-temperature insulation wool#alumino silicate wool
*Asynchronous SpaceWarp, a framerate smoothing technique used on the Ocul ...
rocket launchers and gas turbine propulsion. A Soviet offer in 1983 for reversible gas turbines and modern weapon systems forced a redesign of the ships from 3,500 tonne frigates to 6,300 tonne destroyers. Directorate of Naval Design completed the design around the mid 1980s. Model tests were carried out at SSPA, Sweden in 1985 and parallelly at Krylov Institute, Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1986. Severnoye Design Bureau
The Severnoe Design Bureau (russian: Северное Проектно-Конструкторское Бюро, ''Severnoe Proyektno-Konstruktorsoye Byuro''), founded in 1946, is a Russian ship designing company. It is based in Saint Petersburg wi ...
provided design inputs for weapons and propulsion packages. The mutual interface suppression system for electromagnetic compatibility was supplied by the Soviets. The break-up of Soviet Union affected the supply of weapon systems, contributing to a three-year delay in the construction of vessels.
Design and description
''Delhi'' class has been described as a stretched with some elements incorporated from ''Godavari''-class frigates and s. The fore funnel
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...
is placed on the port side, while the aft funnel is placed on the starboard. The propulsion system consists of two Zorya-Mashproekt
Zorya-Mashproekt ( uk, ДП НВКГ «Зоря» — «Машпроект») is a research and production complex that specializes in a gas turbine construction. The complex is located in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine and is part of the Ukrai ...
M36E gas turbine plants driving two controllable-pitch propellers
In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can al ...
. Each gas turbine plant comprises two DT-59 reversible gas turbines connected to an RG-54 gearbox in a combined gas and gas
Combined gas turbine and gas turbine (COGAG) is a type of propulsion system for ships using two gas turbines connected to a single propeller shaft. A gearbox and clutches allow either of the turbines to drive the shaft or both of them combined.
...
system and is placed in a separate engine room. The vessels are equipped for operation in a nuclear, biological and chemical warfare
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natural ...
environment. ''Delhi''-class vessels are fitted with flag facilities, enabling them to act as command unit in task groups. features better air conditioning facilities to correct heat dissipation issues encountered while operationalising .
Armament
For air defence role, ''Delhi'' class is fitted with 9K-90 ''Uragan'' (NATO: SA-N-7 Gadfly) air-defence
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
system comprising a pair of 3S-90 single-arm launchers and 9M38M1 ''Shtil'' missiles. One launcher is installed forward of the bridge and the other atop the dual helicopter hangar. Each launcher carries a 24 missile magazine for a total of 48 rounds. The missiles have range and feature semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive det ...
. MR-775 Fregat-MAE (NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
: Half Plate) radar provides target designation and six MR-90/3R-90 ''Orekh'' (NATO: Front Dome) illuminators are used for fire control. The system can track twelve targets and engage a maximum of six tracked targets simultaneously. Last-ditch missile defence is provided by AK-630
The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber.
The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and ...
-based close-in weapon system
A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...
, while ''Delhi'' and ''Mysore'' have been upgraded with an additional IAI/Rafael Barak 1
Barak ( he, ברק, ''lightning'') is an Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM) designed to be used as a ship-borne point-defense missile system against aircraft, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs.
Overview
The Barak SAM system is designed to replace o ...
point defence
Point defence (or point defense; see spelling differences) is the defence of a single object or a limited area, e.g. a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. Point defence weapons have a smaller range in ...
missile system. ''Mumbai'' has four AK-630
The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber.
The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and ...
rotary cannons surrounding the aft mast, which are guided by two MR-123-02 (NATO: Bass Tilt) fire-control radars. In ''Delhi'' and ''Mysore'', the two AK-630 mounts ahead of the aft mast have each been replaced by pair of eight-cell Barak 1 vertical launch systems, for a total of 32 missiles. The missiles have a range of and use command line-of-sight guidance provided by a pair of EL/M-2221 fire-control radars that replace MR-123-02 fire-control radars on upgraded ships. A Signaal LW08 radar license produced by BEL BEL can be an abbreviation for:
* The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Belgium
* ''BEL'' or bell character in the C0 control code set
* Belarusian language, in the ISO 639-2 and SIL country code lists
* Bharat Electronics Limited, an Indian stat ...
as RAWL provides long range air search capability.
The surface missile battery of ''Delhi'' class includes 16 Kh-35E ''Uran'' missiles placed in four quadruple sloped launchers. The missiles feature active radar homing
Active radar homing (ARH) is a missile guidance method in which a missile contains a radar transceiver (in contrast to semi-active radar homing, which uses only a receiver) and the electronics necessary for it to find and track its target au ...
and are guided by a Granit Garpun B (NATO: Plank Shave) fire-control radar. They have a maximum range of and are capable of sea skimming
Sea skimming is a technique many anti-ship missiles and some fighter or strike aircraft use to avoid radar, infrared detection, and to lower probability of being shot down during their approach to the target.
Method
Sea-skimming anti-ship missi ...
. The missile battery was initially intended to be eight 3M80E ''Moskit'' cruise missiles as evidenced by large blast deflectors present on the lead ship, INS ''Delhi''. A single AK-100 gun guided by MR-184/MR-145 fire-control system (NATO: Kite Screech), which comprises T-91E radar and Kondensor electro-optical sights, was originally fitted to the ships. The three ships have replaced the 100mm guns with OTO Melara 76 mm
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.
The system is compact enough to be installed on rel ...
naval gun during refits in the early 2020s.
A quintuple trainable torpedo launcher capable of firing SET 65E active/passive homing torpedo and Type 53–65 wake homing torpedo is placed in between the funnels. A pair of 12-tubed RBU-6000 213mm anti-submarine rocket launchers fitted in front of the bridge can engage submarines up to a range of . Detection is provided by BEL HUMVAD, an indigenous hull-mounted sonar with a variable depth transducer that offers better performance in the waters around India. An Indal Model 15-750 handling system manufactured by GRSE
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is one of India's leading shipyards, located in Kolkata. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels. GRSE also builds export ships.
Founded in 1884 as a small privately- ...
is used to deploy the variable depth sonar of HUMVAD. The final ship of the class, , is fitted with an improved ASW suite consisting of BEL HUMSA hull-mounted sonar and Thales ATAS towed array sonar.
The electronic warfare suite originally consisted of BEL Ajanta Mk 2 for electronic support measures
In military telecommunications, electronic support (ES) or electronic support measures (ESM) gather intelligence through passive "listening" to electromagnetic radiations of military interest. They are an aspect of electronic warfare involving ac ...
, Elettronica TQN-2 jammer and two PK-2 chaff launchers of Russian origin. The Ajanta Mk 2 system was later replaced by Ellora, which has an additional capability to provide electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting inf ...
. BEL Shikari combat display and management system, a derivative of Italian IPN-10, integrates weapon systems of diverse origin. Each vessel can carry two Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...
Mk 42B helicopters. The helicopters carry a surface search radar, a dipping sonar, A244-S
The A244-s is an Italian lightweight, fire-and-forget torpedo employed for anti-submarine warfare. It can be launched from surface vessels or from aircraft, and locates the target by means of an acoustic seeker.
Description
The torpedo uses ...
lightweight torpedoes and Sea Eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
anti-ship missiles. Samahé helicopter handling system is fitted on all vessels.
Modernisation
As of April 2022, ''Mumbai'' is undergoing a mid-life refit that includes upgrades for several weapons and sensors. The Kh-35E ''Uran'' missiles will be replaced by BrahMos missiles, which was originally sanctioned in 2015 for two ships of this class. The Shtil-1 air defence system will replace the 9K-90 ''Uragan'', with Fregat M2EM radar replacing the Fregat-MAE. The AK-100 main gun is being replaced by OTO Melara 76 mm
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.
The system is compact enough to be installed on rel ...
along with BEL Lynx U2 FCR. The electronics warfare system will be upgraded to Ellora Mk II, with Kavach Kavach may refer to:
* Kavach (anti-missile system), an Indian anti-missile naval decoy system
* Kavach (train protection system), Indian Railways train protection system
* Kavach (TV series), a Hindi supernatural horror drama television series
* C ...
decoy launchers. Atlas Elektronik ACTAS towed-array sonar will be installed on all three ships.
INS Delhi (D61)
INS ''Delhi'' is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai and commissioned on 15 November 1997. This class is among the largest warships to be designed and ...
is back in service after receiving the mentioned upgrades. In April 2022, BrahMos missile was tested from its new sloped launchers.
Relocation
The ''Delhi''-class destroyers will be re-based to the Eastern Naval Command
The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...
, Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
. Along with , these will form a part of the carrier battle group of . had reached its new base by December 2021 and was undergoing refit.
Ships of the class
Gallery
See also
* List of active Indian Navy ships
List of active Indian Navy ships is a list of ships in active service with the Indian Navy. In service ships are taken from the official Indian Navy website.
* List of destroyers of India
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoueverable, long-distance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers. Seventeen destroyers have served, ...
* List of naval ship classes in service
The list of naval ship classes in service includes all combatant surface classes in service currently with navies or armed forces and auxiliaries in the world. Ships are grouped by type, and listed alphabetically within.
For other vessels, see ...
References
External links
Delhi Class Destroyer – Bharat Rakshak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delhi-class destroyer
Destroyer classes
Destroyers of the Indian Navy
Ships built in India