CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – Eleven years after the keel was laid, India has taken delivery of a 3,900-ton guided missile frigate from Russia.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called it an “important milestone in the long-standing friendship between India and Russia,” with the two nations bound together by “mutual trust and a special and strategically privileged partnership.”
The ceremony for this Project 1135.6-class warship, named INS Tushil, took place earlier this month at a winter Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad.
The warship was originally destined for the Russian Navy but was diverted to Delhi after India signed a contract for two frigates in October 2016. Sister ship INS Tamala will be handed over in the first quarter of 2025.
India already has six Talwar-class frigates in service: three built at the Baltiysky Shipyard in St. Petersburg and three in Kaliningrad.
Viraj Solanki, Research Fellow for South and Central Asian Defense, Strategy and Diplomacy at the UK’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Defense News that Russia remains an important defense partner for India.
“India’s armed forces have long been heavily dependent on Russian weapons and military equipment, and that dependence is not likely to change anytime soon,” Solanki said.
INS Tushil, carrying BrahMos supersonic missiles, will join the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet.
Following the launch in October 2021, the first sea trials took place in January, ahead of delivery acceptance trials completed in September.
The Indian government boasted that the warship “packs a deadly blow and is an impressive blend of Russian and Indian advanced technologies and best practices in warship construction,” according to a statement.
Indian content reached 26%, including 33 Indian-made systems.
However, Moscow’s war with Ukraine has encouraged India to prioritize locally built warships over Russian ones. In September, for example, Delhi accepted the need to build seven Project 17B frigates in India.
“While India is trying to reduce its dependence on Russia for defense equipment, the sheer volume of Russian equipment used by the Indian armed forces is such that it will take a long time to make any significant dent,” Solanki said.
Still, India has been trying to diversify its equipment suppliers in recent years, he added. “This included co-development and co-production of equipment through joint ventures between foreign and Indian companies. At the same time, India has sought to enhance its own indigenous defense capabilities.”
India is also expanding the scope of its naval operations from the Gulf of Oman to the Gulf of Aden, from the Suez to Malacca, and from Australia to Madagascar. Singh said the Navy “plays the essential role of an internet security provider in the Indian Ocean region.”
