The newest warship to join the Indian Navy is the F-70 INS Tushil, which has the Tricolour flying from its bow. On December 9, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh officially launched the guided missile stealth frigate in Kaliningrad, a Russian port city situated on the icy waters of Scandinavia. The ship is named Tushil, which means “the protector shield.” Its motto, “Nirbhay, Abhedya aur Balsheel,” which means “fearless, indomitable, resolute,” is displayed on its crest, which symbolises “Abhedya Kavacham,” or the impenetrable shield.
According to media sources, the Defence Minister, who was joined by Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, the Chief of the Naval Staff, and other Indian and Russian officials, called the commissioning ceremony a proud demonstration of India’s increasing maritime might. He also said that India and Russia will enter a new era of cooperation by taking advantage of each other’s expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence and counter-terrorism.
The Navy said that INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, of which six are currently in service: three Talwar class ships, which were constructed at the Baltiysky shipyard in St. Petersburg, and three Teg class follow-on ships, which were constructed at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. JSC Rosoboronexport, the Indian Navy, and the Government of India inked a contract for the first of two enhanced extra follow-on ships, INS Tushil, the seventh in the aforementioned series. Under the auspices of the Indian Embassy in Moscow, an Indian team of experts from the Warship Overseeing Team based in Kaliningrad kept a careful eye on the ship’s development.
It was first laid as Admiral Butakov in July 2013 and is one of six Admiral Grigorovich Class (also known as Krivak V Class) vessels that Russia has planned for its own navy. The Ministry of Defence agreed to pay Rs 8,000 crore to Russia in October 2018 to acquire two frigates of the Admiral Grigorovich class. INS Tamala is the new name for the second of these vessels, which was formerly known as Admiral Istomin.
The battleship was constructed in cooperation with many Indian and Russian equipment producers. The percentage of made-in-India systems has more than doubled to 33, and the percentage of indigenous content has been increased to 26%. BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Keltron, Tata’s Nova Integrated Systems, Elcome Marine, and Johnson Controls India are some of the leading Indian organisations.
Beginning in January of this year, a number of comprehensive tests were conducted for the post-construction and readiness phase. These included factory sea testing, state committee trials, and delivery acceptance trials conducted by a group of Indian experts. All Russian equipment installed on board, including weapon firings, was tested during these trials. The ship achieved an amazing speed of about 30 knots (around 56 kmph) during the testing.
Usually deployed for escort duty to safeguard fleets and sea channels of communication, frigates are well-armed warships with a focus on anti-air or anti-submarine operations. Compared to destroyers, which are larger and designed for offensive operations, these are smaller. However, with the evolution of navies and development of new weapons systems, the difference between destroyers and frigates has somewhat blurred as frigates now also have significant offensive capability against surface targets.
The Maratha armies’ use of frigate-like or comparable ships, such as the Grab and Gallivat sail ships, to project naval strength is documented in Indian maritime history. When British vessels such as HMIS Clive and HMIS Lawrence were commissioned into the former Royal Indian Navy in the early 1920s, the modern frigate made its debut on the Indian subcontinent.
Although ships of Western origin were more prevalent in the early post-Independence era, frigates have always been a significant part of the Indian Navy’s surface combatant fleet. It tended to choose ships of Soviet or Russian origin in the 1970s and 1980s, although there is currently a sizable indigenous shipbuilding capacity.
This 3,900-ton, 125-meter-long vessel is a deadly combination of Indian and Russian advanced technologies and best practices for building warships. Because of its revolutionary design, the ship has improved stability and stealth capabilities. In contrast, the largest destroyer in the Indian Navy, INS Kolkata, is 163 meters long and has a displacement of 7,500 tonnes.
A total of 180 people, including 18 officers, will staff INS Tushil. The ship will be equipped with a 100 mm cannon, two close-in weaponry for last-ditch defence against incoming missiles, eight BrahMos vertically launched anti-ship cruise missiles, and 24 medium range and eight short range surface-to-air missiles. In addition, it will have two double torpedo tubes and a rocket launcher to deal with submarines. It is also equipped with an array of radars, navigation aids, sonar and electronic warfare suites, fire control systems and decoys.
Besides, the newly inducted INS Tushil, the Indian’s Navy presently operates 12 frigates, which include three Shivalik Class, six Talwar/Teg Class and three Brahmaputra Class boats. Other principal combatants include 18 submarines, two aircraft carriers, 12 destroyers and 18 corvettes. More warships are on order.
