The construction of these ships is based on Indian Navy’s specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all three dimensions of Air, Surface and Sub-surface.

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (The CONNECT) – Equipped with stealth technology, the 7th Indian Navy Frigate of P1135.6 class was launched at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia.

In defence terminology, the ship has “low radar and under water noise signatures”.

Based on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between the Government of Republic of India and Government of Russian Federation, two ships of Project 1135.6 are being built in Russia and two India’s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).

These ships are being equipped with major Indian supplied equipment such as Surface to Surface Missiles, Sonar system, Surface Surveillance Radar, Communication Suite and ASW system along with Russian Surface to Air Missiles and gun mounts.

The construction of these ships is based on Indian Navy’s specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all three dimensions of Air, Surface and Sub-surface. The ships with a potent combination of state-of-art Indian and Russian Weapons and Sensors are equipped to operate in Littoral and Blue waters, both as a single unit and as consort in a naval task force.

Indian ambassador to Russia D Bala Venkatesh Varma and senior officials from the Russian federation and India were present at the ceremony at which the ship was formally named as ‘Tushil’, meaning Protector Shield. Datla Vidya Varma did the formal christening as is the tradition for ship launches.

Ilya Samarin, Director General, Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, in his address dwelt upon the challenges faced by the Shipyard in executing the complex shipbuilding project. Despite challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, production of the ships was continued by utilisation of innovative solutions. He thanked the Indian Government for their unstinted support and reiterated shipyard’s commitment to deliver the ships as per contractual timelines.

Varma highlighted the long-standing tradition of Military Technical Cooperation between India and Russia. He acknowledged the efforts put in by the Yantar Shipyard to ensure that the ship was launched as per contractual timelines overcoming the challenges imposed by COVID-19.