The Russian-built multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate INS Tushil was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 9 December 2024 at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. The flag-raising ceremony was held in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin, Ambassador of India to Russia Vinay Kumar, and other senior officials from both countries.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is on an official visit to Russia from 8 to 10 December 2024 to attend the 21st Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Mission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation, which will be held in Moscow on 10 December 2024.

About INS Tushil and Project 1135.6 class

INS Tushil is the seventh ship of the Project 1135.6 frigate to be built for the Indian Navy by Russia. The first three (Talwar, Trishul, Tabar) frigates of the project were built by the “Baltiysky zawod” shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia and delivered to the Indian Navy.

The next three (Teg, Tarkash, Trikand) were constructed by “Yantar Shipyard” in Kaliningrad.

In 2016, India signed an agreement with Russia to buy four more frigates of the Admiral Grigorovich class (NATO calls them Krivak III).

Two were to be built in Russia (Tushil and Tamal), and two were to be built by Goa Shipyard in India.

The first ship manufactured by Goa Shipyard, ‘Triput’was launched in waters on 24 July 2024

Russian Ship Offered to India

The two frigates, Tushil(Admiral Butakov) and Tamal (Admiral Istomin) were being built for the Russian Navy, and construction started in 2013. Both frigates are powered by gas turbine engines, which were to be supplied by the Zorya-Mashproekt company in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

After Russia annexed Crimea of Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian government refused to supply the engines to Russia.

The Russians then offered these under-construction frigates to India; subsequently, an agreement was signed in 2016 between the two countries.

India bought the gas turbine engine from Ukraine, which is fitted in these frigates.

The Indian Naval Ships are powered by diesel or gas-powered turbines.

Indigenous Content on INS Tushil

Unlike the six earlier frigates, the INS Tushil uses a lot of Indian equipment. Around 26% of the frigates' equipment is of Indian origin, and 33 Indian-made systems are onboard the frigate.

Ins Tushil includes made-in-India PJ-10 BrahMos missiles, sonar systems, surface surveillance radar, depth charge rocket launchers, and communications systems.

INS Tushil is a stealth frigate capable of anti-submarine warfare. It has a hangar for helicopters like the Kamov 28 and Kamov 31.

INS Tushil is designed for bluewater operations and is capable of conducting air, surface, underwater, and electromagnetic warfare.

Also Read: GSL launches INS Triput