India adds Russian-built INS Tushil to navy fleet amid rising Indo-Pacific security concerns

The INS Tushil joins the Western Fleet, enhancing naval capabilities and strategic focus in the Indo-Pacific amid growing tensions with China and Pakistan

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India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (centre) posing for photographs with the Russian delegation during the commissioning ceremony of India’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate. Photo: India’s Ministry of Defence/AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 12 Dec 2024

India has bolstered its naval fleet with the commissioning of an advanced frigate built in Russia, underscoring New Delhi’s strategic focus on enhancing maritime security amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific and growing naval competition with China and Pakistan, analysts say.

The formal commissioning of the INS Tushil occurred on December 9 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. Senior officials from India and Russia, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, attended.

Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, a former Indian naval officer and director of the Delhi-based think tank Society for Policy Studies, said the induction of a “modern frigate” like INS Tushil, will enhance the Indian Navy’s surface combat capabilities, “particularly electronic warfare”.

The INS Tushil is the seventh Talwar-class frigate built for the Indian Navy. The initial trio, constructed at the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg, entered service from 2003 to 2004. The next three, made at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, were delivered from 2012 to 2013.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the INS Tushil is a 125-metre-long, 3,900-tonne ship with a new design that “provides it with enhanced stealth features and better stability characteristics.”

Indian Navy personnel gathered during the commissioning ceremony of India’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Baltic port of Kaliningrad. Photo: India’s Ministry of Defence/AFP

Upon commissioning, the INS Tushil will join the “Sword Arm of the Indian Navy”, the Western Fleet, under the Western Naval Command, the ministry said.