New Delhi: The Indian Navy is set to commission the multi-role stealth guided missile frigate Tushil, or ‘shield’ in Sanskrit, at Kaliningrad, Russia, on 9 December with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presiding over the commissioning.
India had in 2016 inked an inter-governmental agreement with Russia for four frigates. According to the deal, two ships are to be built in Russia, while the other two are to be built at the Goa Shipyard in India with technical collaboration from Russia.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine delayed the delivery of the ship.
Tushil, part of the $2.5 billion deal, will be inducted into India’s Western Fleet—known as the Sword Arm. The second ship, Tamal, is expected to be delivered by early next year.
Tushil, according to the defence ministry, will be 125 metres in length and weigh 3,900 tonnes. Indian naval specialists collaborated with Severnoye Design Bureau, a Russian ship designing company, to increase indigenous content in the ship to 26 percent. It has brought the number of made-in-India systems to 33 in the frigate.
The major Indian OEMs involved were BrahMos Aerospace Private, Bharat Electronics, Keltron, Nova Integrated Systems from Tata, Elcome Marine, and Johnson Controls India, among others, the ministry stated.
Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, of which six are already in service with the Indian Navy. Three Talwar-class ships were built at Baltiysky shipyard in St Petersburg, while three follow-on Teg-class ships were built at Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad.
The ship’s construction was closely monitored by an Indian team of specialists from the Warship Overseeing Team stationed at Kaliningrad, under the aegis of the Embassy of India, Moscow, according to the ministry.
The ship is said to have undergone extensive post-construction tests from January this year by a team of Indian specialists who oversaw the proving of all Russian equipment fitted onboard, including weapon firings. During the trials, the ship is said to have clocked a speed of more than 30 knots.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)