Indian Navy commissions first advanced Talwar-class frigate, INS Tushil

INS Tushil (F 70), the Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth-guided Talwar-class missile frigate, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 9, 2024.

INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6 of which six are already in service – three Talwar-class ships, built at Baltiysky shipyard, St. Petersburg. There are also three follow-on Teg-class ships built at Yantar shipyard, Kaliningrad.

INS Tushil, the seventh in the series, is the first of the two upgraded additional follow-on ships, the contract for which was signed in October 2016 between JSC Rosoboronexport, the Indian Navy, and the Government of India.

INS Tushil is designed for blue water operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in all four dimensions air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic.

According to the navy, it is armed with a range of advanced weapons, including the jointly-developed Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles, vertically-launched Shtil surface-to-air missiles with enhanced ranges, upgraded medium-range anti-air and surface guns with advanced stealth features.

The navy revealed that the vessel also features an optically-controlled close-range rapid-fire gun system, anti-submarine torpedoes and rockets and an advanced electronic warfare and communication suite.

The ship is also capable of embarking the upgraded anti-submarine and airborne early warning helicopters, the Kamov 28 and Kamov 31. It is powered by an advanced gas turbine propulsion plant with new controls and is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots. 

The ship’s keel was laid on July 12, 2013, and the unit was launched in water in October 2021. The frigate sailed out for its maiden sea trials on January 25, 2024, and completed an exhaustive schedule of factory trials followed by state committee trials and finally the delivery acceptance trials, both in harbor and at sea, by September 24, 2024. 

The navy emphasized that the vessel had successfully carried out firing trials of all Russian weapon systems and would reach India in near combat-ready condition.