The class comprises three ships – Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai, all of which were built by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in India, and are the largest destroyers to be operated by the Indian Navy.

Due to delays in construction and sea trials, the initial commissioning date of the first ship of the class was pushed back from 2010 to 2014.

The ships incorporate modern weapons and sensors, and have an advanced information warfare suite, an auxiliary control system with a sophisticated power distribution architecture, and modular crew quarters.

The ship's main air-defence armament is composed of four eight-cell vertical launching systems (VLS) allowing for up to thirty-two Barak 8 / MRSAM air defence missiles.

In May 2019, 2 ships of the class conducted the maiden cooperative engagement firing of the Barak 8 / MRSAM by using the Joint Taskforce Coordination (JTC) mode to intercept several simultaneous aerial targets involving two complex scenarios at extended ranges.

[6] Forty lakh (four million) lines of codes have been written to develop the advanced combat management system onboard INS Kochi.

[26] In 1986, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) approved a follow-on class of the earlier Project 15 Delhi-class destroyers.

[32][33] A Comptroller and Auditor General of India report published in 2010 blamed the Navy for delays, criticising the late decisions for replacement of surface to air missile system with Barak, change of gun mount, inclusion of a sonar dome and modification of helicopter hangar to accommodate HAL Dhruv.

The delays in the construction programme have been attributed to persistent design changes made by the Indian Navy to incorporate new weapons systems and sensors, failure by a Ukrainian shipyard to deliver the ship's propellers and shafts, and the contract later being awarded to a Russian firm,[35] and finally the delay in the delivery of the Barak 8 anti-air missiles.