Indian Navy’s newest Russian-built warship to arrive in home waters in February

Indian defence officials have confirmed that a new warship recently commissioned into service with the Indian Navy is scheduled to arrive in Indian home waters in the middle of February upon the completion of its maiden voyage from Russia.

The guided-missile frigate INS Tushil will join the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet headquartered in Mumbai following its arrival in February.

The ship made its first foreign port call in London, arriving there on December 22.

Tushil is the seventh frigate to be built under Project 11356, otherwise known as the Talwar-class. Another frigate, the future INS Tamala, is scheduled to be handed over to the Indian Navy in the first quarter of 2025.

Design work on the Talwar-class frigates was undertaken by Russian engineering firm Severnoe Design Bureau. The ships are upgraded variants of the Project 1135 Krivak-class frigates that were introduced into Soviet Navy service in the 1970s.

Tushil was built by Yantar Shipyard while Tamala is in the final stages of construction at Baltic Shipyard. Both shipyards are under Russia’s state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation.

Tushil has a length of 124 metres, a beam of 15 metres, and four gas turbines that will deliver a speed of 32 knots. Armament includes anti-ship missiles, land attack missiles, surface-to-air missiles, a 100mm naval gun, close-in weapon systems, and torpedoes.