INS Tushil, pictured here before its commissioning ceremony. (Indian Ministry of Defence)
India has likely commissioned its first Batch III frigate under the Talwar class, as noted in details provided by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a 6 December statement.
Inducted into service as INS Tushil, the warship was commissioned at Kaliningrad, Russia, on 9 December 2024.
It is part of separate contracts for a total of four Batch III Talwar-class frigates, which have been acquired under a 2016 inter-governmental agreement signed between New Delhi and Moscow.
Under this agreement, Russia's Yantar Shipyard is responsible for constructing two of these frigates including Tushil, while India's Goa Shipyard Limited will deliver the remaining two warships.
Tushil was launched by Yantar Shipyard in October 2021 while Goa Shipyard Limited launched its first Batch III frigate, Triput, in July 2024.
Like the earlier frigates in the Talwar class, all four frigates in Batch III derive their design from Russia's Admiral Grigorovich (Project 11356M) class albeit featuring more made-in-India components.
It has an overall length of 124.8 m, an overall beam of 15.2 m, and a draught of 4.5 m. It displaces 4,035 tonnes at full load and can accommodate a crew of 180 including 18 officers.
The frigate's flight deck can accommodate anti-submarine helicopters such as the Ka-28.
In the 6 December statement to announce the commissioning, India's MoD disclosed that Tushil will be inducted into the country's Western Naval Command.
For more information, please see Talwar (Project 1135.6) class (FFGH).
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