Approximately 200 personnel from the Indian Navy are in Russia to conduct acceptance trials for the first of two stealth frigates being constructed in Kaliningrad under a USD 2.5 billion deal.

If all proceeds as planned, the first ship, named Tushil (meaning 'shield' in Sanskrit) by the Indian Navy, is expected to be delivered by mid-September.

The next ship, Tamal, would be delivered to India by early next year, sources in the defence establishment informed.

They added that the two additional frigates being built at the Goa Shipyard as part of the deal with Russia are progressing, with the first ship set to be launched soon.

The two ships under construction at the Yantar shipyard in Russia were initially scheduled for delivery at the end of 2022 but faced delays due to the COVID-19 crisis, payment issues between the two countries, and the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Notably, the gas turbine engines fitted on the ship are from Ukraine’s Zorya-Mashproekt, which India had to procure directly and then send to the Russian shipyard. Following Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014, relations between Russia and Ukraine deteriorated, leading Moscow to stop importing engines from the Ukrainian firm. Consequently, India had to obtain the engines and transfer them to Russia, which also required Ukrainian permission.

In 2016, India inked an inter-governmental agreement with Russia for four frigates, a follow-on of the Talwar-class vessels, with the contract signed at the end of 2018. According to the deal, two ships are to be built in Russia, while the other two are to be constructed at the Goa Shipyard in India with technical collaboration from Russia.

The Yantar Shipyard has previously manufactured three of the six Talwar-class frigates in service with the Indian Navy. ThePrint visited the Yantar shipyard in 2019 and reported that the hulls for the two ships had already been cut for the Russian Navy but had remained mothballed for several years.

The new ships will feature 22 new systems, including Indian-specific navigation, communication, and weaponry. The Navy has stated that these ships are designed to meet its specific requirements for comprehensive naval warfare across all three dimensions: air, surface, and sub-surface.

Equipped with a potent combination of state-of-the-art Indian and Russian weapons and sensors, these ships are capable of operating in both littoral and blue waters, either as a single unit or as part of a naval task force. They incorporate “stealth technology” to minimise radar and underwater noise signatures. The ships will also be fitted with major Indian-supplied equipment, such as surface-to-surface missiles, sonar systems, surface surveillance radar, communication suites, and anti-submarine warfare systems, along with Russian surface-to-air missiles and gun mounts.

Image source: The Print