NEW DELHI: The country’s latest warship INS Tushil, the 3,900-tonne multi-role stealth frigate packed with weapons and sensors, was commissioned at Kaliningrad on Monday, with defence minister Rajnath Singh stating that not only will India and Russia further strengthen their extensive defence ties but also give priority to collaboration in ‘new and unexplored areas’.
“India and Russia will enter a new era of cooperation by taking advantage of each other’s expertise in areas such as AI (artificial intelligence), cyber-security, space exploration and counterterrorism,” Singh said, adding that INS Tushil’s commissioning was ‘a significant milestone’ in the long-standing strategic partnership between the two nations.
The bilateral “technical and operational collaboration is constantly touching new heights” under leadership of PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin. “The ‘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,” he added.
Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, in turn, congratulated all those involved in the frigate’s construction, especially the Yantar shipyard workers and all Russian and Indian original equipment manufacturers for their “exceptional work, flawless integration of Indian systems with Russian systems and contribution to the quality capability upgrades” achieved in the project.
The 125-metre long INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak-III class frigate designed for blue-water operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in all four dimensions of air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic, will be followed by the commissioning of the second warship built in Russia as INS Tamal early next year.
“The frigates are armed with a range of advanced weapons, including the jointly-developed Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles, vertically-launched Shtil surface-to-air missiles with enhanced ranges, upgraded medium-range anti-air surface guns, anti-submarine torpedoes and rockets, as also advanced electronic warfare and communication suites,” the Navy said.
Capable of achieving speeds of over 30 knots, the frigates can also carry upgraded anti-submarine warfare and airborne early-warning helicopters, the Kamov-28 and Kamov-31, which are potent force multipliers in themselves.
India in Oct 2018 had inked the umbrella agreement with Russia for four upgraded Krivak-III class frigates, with the first two to be imported from Russia for around Rs 8,000 crore.
The other two are being built at Goa Shipyard with transfer of technology at an overall cost of around Rs 13,000 crore, with the first being “launched” as Triput in July this year. These four warships will add to the six such Russian frigates, three Talwar-class and three Teg-class warships, already inducted in the Navy from 2003-2004 onwards.