Russian builder begins sea trials of future Indian Navy frigates

Russia's Yantar Shipyard has begun conducting sea trials of two new guided-missile frigates that will be handed over to the Indian Navy by the first quarter of 2025.

The future INS Tushil and INS Tamala are the seventh and eighth frigates under Project 11356, otherwise known as the Talwar-class. These two and six other frigates were built at Russia's Yantar Shipyard and Baltic Shipyard while the final two ships in the class are under various stages of construction at India's Goa Shipyard.

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

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.