By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 8th Dec 24
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a three-day visit to Russia on Sunday to commission the multi-role stealth frigate, INS Tushil, and hold discussions with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov on a range of issues, including regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Singh and Belousov will co-chair the 21st meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow.
“The two leaders will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. They will also exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest,” stated a Ministry of Defence (MoD) media release on Saturday.
This year’s meeting is being held after a gap of three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the on-going Russian-Ukrainian war. Other than this, the meeting of the defence ministers of the two countries has been held every year.
Commissioning of INS Tushil
The defence minister will commission the Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth frigate, INS Tushil at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi will accompany the minister for the commissioning ceremony.
All through 2024, the frigate underwent a series of trials- factory sea trials, state committee trials and delivery acceptance trials by a team of Indian specialists. Russian equipment fitted onboard, including weapons and sensors, underwent trials, and the ship clocked an impressive speed of over 30 knots (55 kilometres per hour).
According to an MoD statement, the 125 metre-long, 3,900 tonne warship is an impressive blend of Russian and Indian cutting edge technologies and best practices in warship construction.
With the collaboration of Indian naval designers and the Severnoye Design Bureau, the frigate’s indigenous content has been enhanced to an impressive 26 per cent and the number of made-in-India systems have more than doubled to 33.
“The major Indian OEMs involved were BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Keltron, Nova Integrated Systems from Tata, Elcome Marine, Johnson Controls India and many more,” stated the Indian MoD.
The Indian Navy is buying two fully built Krivak-III frigates of the so-called Project 1135.6 and to build two more of the same type in Goa Shipyard Ltd. With the navy operating six Russian Krivak-II frigates since the 1980s/1990s, the induction of four more will take the numbers of this class to ten.
The deliveries of these four frigates has faced delays, with Ukraine refusing to supply Russia the Zorya gas turbines that are the frigates’ chosen propulsion unit. Kiev only relented after Delhi pledged that the turbines would be delivered to India and they would not be used in Russian warships.
Delayed delivery of S400 anti-missile system
During the visit, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also take up the issue of delays in the delivery of two units of the S-400 anti-missile systems. MoD insiders say that while three units have been delivered to India, the remaining two are unlikely to be delivered before 2026.
The reason for this delay is Russia’s diversion of specialist air defence troops and equipment to the military units that are engaged in fighting Ukrainian aircraft and ground troops.
India’s defence minister will also be asking about the availability of spare parts for several Russian weapon systems. These have been in short supply for several years, with Moscow diverting them to its war against Russia.
In November, the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Military Cooperation under the India – Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), concluded successfully in Moscow. The meeting marked a milestone in advancing the long standing strategic partnership between the two countries.
The Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership was signed in 2000, and it was elevated to the level of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership in 2010. The Working Group, a crucial forum for India-Russia defence cooperation, provides a platform to assess existing military engagements and identify new areas for collaboration to address evolving security challenges.
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