NEW DELHI, Dec 9: India and Russia will enter a new era of cooperation by taking advantage of each other’s expertise in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, space exploration and counter-terrorism, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.
He was speaking at the commissioning of stealth guided missile frigate INS Tushil into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad port in Russia.
Mr Singh termed Russia’s support to India’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ as another important example of deep friendship between the two countries. “Made in India content is continuously increasing in many ships including INS Tushil. The ship is a big proof of the collaborative prowess of Russian and Indian industries. It exemplifies India’s journey towards technological excellence through jointmanship,” he said at the commissioning ceremony.
The commissioning ceremony commenced with a joint Guard of Honour presented by the personnel from the ship’s crew and Russia’s Baltic Fleet crew. The Commanding Officer designate of Tushil Captain Peter Varghese symbolically accepted a ceremonial ship’s baton from his Russian counterpart. He read out the Commissioning Warrant of the ship addressed to him by the Chief of the Naval Staff. The ship was commissioned with the hoisting of the ‘colours’ – the Indian Naval ensign.
INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of the Project 1135.6 of which, six are already in service – three Talwar class ships, built at Baltiysky shipyard, St. Petersburg, and three follow-on Teg class ships, built at Yantar shipyard, Kaliningrad. All Krivak frigates are powered by engines from Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine.
INS Tushil, the seventh in the series, is the first of the two additional follow-on ships under construction in Russia. In October 2016, India and Russia signed a deal for four stealth frigates, two to be built in Russia and two to be constructed at Goa Shipyard Limited under technology transfer. The second frigate Tamal is expected to be delivered to Indian Navy in Russia in the first quarter of next year. The construction saw repeated delays initially due to COVID and then the war in Ukraine.
INS Tushil is designed for blue water operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in all four dimensions air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic. It is armed with a range of advanced weapons, including the jointly-developed Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles, vertically-launched Stilt Surface-to-Air missiles with enhanced ranges, upgraded medium-range anti-air and surface gun with advanced stealth features, optically-controlled close-range rapid fire gun system, anti-submarine torpedoes and rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communication suite, the Navy said in a statement.
The ship is also capable of embarking the upgraded anti-submarine and airborne early warning helicopters, the Kamov 28 and Kamov 31. The ship is powered by an advanced gas turbine propulsion plant with state-of-the-art controls and is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.
The ship’s keel was laid on July 12, 2013 and was launched in water in October 2021. The ship sailed out for her maiden sea trials on January 25, 2024, and completed an exhaustive schedule of factory trials followed by State Committee Trials and finally the delivery acceptance trials, both in harbour and at sea, by September 24, 2024. The ship has successfully carried out firing trials of all Russian weapon systems and would reach India in near combat-ready condition, the Navy stated.
(Manas Dasgupta)
