Indian Navy's Russian-manufactured guided missile frigate INS Tushil was commissioned into the force at Russia's coastal city of Kaliningrad on Monday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and several other senior Indian officials were present at the commissioning ceremony.
INS Tushil is expected to significantly bolster the Indian Navy's operational capability in the Indian Ocean, a region that has witnessed increasing forays by China's PLA Navy in the last few years.
The warship has been constructed in Russia as part of an over USD 2.5-billion deal that New Delhi had inked with Moscow in 2016 for four stealth frigates for the Indian Navy.
Under the deal, two ships were to be built in Russia, while the other two were to be manufactured in India.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Singh described the commissioning of the warship as a proud testament to India's growing maritime strength and significant milestone in long-standing ties with Russia.
"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.
Singh said 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 ship's construction was closely monitored by an Indian team of specialists from the 'Warship Overseeing Team' stationed at Kaliningrad.
The 3,900-tonne ship with a length of 125 metres packs a lethal punch and is an impressive blend of Russian and Indian cutting edge technologies and best practices in warship construction.
The ship's new design provides it with enhanced stealth features and better stability characteristics, officials said.
With the collaboration of Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau, the indigenous content of the ship has been enhanced to an impressive 26 per cent, the officials said.
The major Indian defence firms involved in the project were BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Keltron, Nova Integrated Systems from Tata, Elcome Marine, Johnson Controls India and others.
INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6.
The warship is the result of the continuous toil of hundreds of shipyard workers along with multiple Russian and Indian Original Equipment Makers (OEMs), said one of the officials cited above.
