Russia completed delivery of its frigate-class warship “Tamal” to the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad on Tuesday. Russia has developed eight frigates for India so far under project 11356, under which the Russian firm United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), licensed by Russia’s “Rosoboronexport,” builds warships for the Indian Navy, with two more being built in India.
“India is our old and reliable partner. We have built a series of ships for our Indian colleagues and continue supplying equipment and machinery for vessels that are being built in India as part of the Make in India program. We have quite a lot of new ideas that can be implemented. So, our partnership will continue expanding,” USC CEO Andrey Puchkov remarked in comments to Russian state media.
The frigate contains 20 Indian-made systems, can carry an attack helicopter, and is designed to fight submarines in brown and blue waters. The Tamal is equipped with a surface-to-air missile system for air defense, 30mm and 100mm artillery for surface engagements, and electronic warefare measures.
Commenting on the Tamal, which means “Sword” in Hindi, Puchkov continued, “She is a modern and multi[-]role warship with high combat capabilities to counter surface, ground, underwater, and air targets.”
India has a long defense relationship with Russia that dates back to the Cold War, when India began buying weapons from the Soviet Union.
India has benefited from cheap Russian oil and has resisted calls from the West to publicly criticize Russia or support sanctions for Moscow’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year in the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to Ukraine