New Delhi, June 22 (IANS) The Indian Navy is all set to commission its latest stealth multi-role frigate on July 1 at Kaliningrad in Russia, the Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday.

Christened “Tamal”, the warship is the eighth in the series of Krivak class frigates inducted from Russia over the past two decades. Tamal is the second ship of the Tushil Class, which are the upgraded versions of their predecessors, Talwar and Teg classes, which have three ships each.

The ceremony will be presided over by Vice Admiral Sanjay J. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, as the Chief Guest, in the presence of many high-ranking Indian and Russian government and defence officials, the official statement said.

India, as part of the broader contract for Tushil class, is also building two similar frigates called the Triput class at Goa Shipyard Limited with transfer of technology and design assistance from the Russian side. By the conclusion of this series of ships, the Indian Navy will be operating ten ships with similar capabilities and commonality in equipment, weapon and sensor fit over four different classes.

Tamal’s construction was closely overseen by an Indian team of specialists from the Warship Overseeing Team stationed at Kaliningrad, under the aegis of the Embassy of India, Moscow. At the Naval Headquarters, the project was steered by the Directorate of Ship Production under the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition.

Tamal has been built at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia, and is the last warship to be inducted from a foreign source, in line with the Government of India’s impetus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.

The ship has 26 per cent indigenous components, including the BrahMos long-range cruise missile for targeting both at sea and land. The ship has significant upgrades in its arsenal in comparison to its predecessors, such as vertically launched surface-to-air missiles, improved 100 MM gun, new age EO/IR system in addition to the standard 30 MM CIWS, heavyweight torpedoes, urgent-attack anti-submarine rockets, and a host of surveillance and fire control radars and systems.

The force multipliers include Air Early Warning and Multi Role helicopters, which can operate from the deck of Tamal. The combat capability of the ship is augmented by a host of Network Centric Warfare capabilities and an advanced Electronic Warfare suite. Tamal punches well above its weight with a very high tonnage to firepower ratio, extended endurance, and a top speed in excess of 30 knots.

The crew, comprising over 250 personnel, have undergone rigorous ashore as well as afloat training in extremely challenging winter conditions of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. Tamal has successively completed extensive sea trials undertaken over three months, proving its systems, weapons and sensors.

The frigate also features modern communication and data-link systems, navigation equipment and critical infrastructure, making the ship a powerful asset for naval operations. The major Indian OEMs involved were BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Keltron, Nova Integrated Systems from Tata, Elcome Marine and Johnson Controls India.

–IANS

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