India and Russia signed a contract for the construction of ships in October 2018

The 7th Indian Navy Frigate of P1135.6 class was launched at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia on Thursday.

Named ‘Tushil’, the newly launched Talwar Class stealth frigate is part of the four frigates contracted by India to Russia, out of which two are being built in Russia and the rest in India.

The ship was launched in the presence of India’s Ambassador to Russia D Bala Venkatesh Varma and senior dignitaries of the Russian Federation and officials of the Indian Navy, said a statement of the Ministry of Defence.

In his address, Director General of Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Ilya Samarin, dwelt upon the challenges faced by the Shipyard in executing the complex shipbuilding project.

Despite challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, production of the ships was continued by utilisation of innovative solutions, the Russian official said.

He thanked the Indian Government for their unstinted support and reiterated shipyard’s commitment to deliver the ships as per contractual timelines.

Ambassador Varma highlighted the long standing tradition of Military Technical Cooperation between India and Russia.

He acknowledged the efforts put in by the Yantar Shipyard to ensure that the ship was launched as per contractual timelines overcoming the challenges imposed by COVID-19.

During the ceremony, the ship was formally named as ‘Tushil’ by Datla Vidya Varma. Tushil is a Sanskrit word meaning Protector Shield.

The contract for construction of two ships was signed between India and Russia in October 2018 and is based on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russian Federation for construction of two ships of Project 1135.6 ships in Russia and two ships in India at M/s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).

According to the defence ministry, the construction of these ships is based on Indian Navy’s specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all three dimensions of Air, Surface and Sub-surface.

The ships with a potent combination of state-of-art Indian and Russian Weapons and Sensors are equipped to operate in Littoral and Blue waters, both as a single unit and as consort in a naval task force.

They feature ‘stealth technology’ in terms of low radar and under water noise signatures.

These ships are being equipped with major Indian supplied equipment such as Surface to Surface Missiles, Sonar system, Surface Surveillance Radar, Communication Suite and ASW system along with Russian Surface to Air Missiles and gun mounts, the defence ministry said.