Indian Navy's latest stealth warship Tushil to be commissioned in 2023

tushil_1 H x W

The Indian Navy said that the 7^th frigate of P1135.6 class has been launched at the Yantar Shipyard in Russia’s Kaliningrad, which will add capability navy for projecting power in the Indian Ocean region.

Indian Navy said in a statement that the ship was formally named Tushil - a Sanskrit word which means protector shield - during a ceremony attended by D Bala Venkatesh Varma, India's ambassador to Russia, and senior dignitaries of the Russian Federation.

Tushil is part of an over $2.5-Billion deal, with India’s top weapon supplier Russia for 4 more Krivak / Talwar class stealth frigates for Indian Navy.

The contract for the construction of the ships was signed between India and Russia on October 18 based on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russia, for the construction of two ships of Project 1135.6 ships in Russia and two ships in India at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer from Russia.

Tushil is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2023 followed by its sister ship at the end of that year, according to officials.

The release that the construction of these ships is based on the Indian Navy's specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all 3 dimensions of air, surface and sub-surface.

They feature “stealth technology” like of low radar and underwater noise signatures. These ships are equipped with major Indian supplied equipment like surface to surface missiles, sonar system, surface surveillance radar, communication suite, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system with Russian surface to air missiles and gun mounts.

Ilya Samarin, Yantar Shipyard's director-general, talked about challenges faced by the shipyard in executing the complex shipbuilding project.

India’s ambassador to Russia, D Bala Venkatesh Varma, underlined the long-standing tradition of military-technical cooperation between the 2 countries. Varma acknowledged efforts put in by the Yantar Shipyard to ensure that the ship was launched on time overcoming the challenges of Covid.