The impending arrival of INS Tamal, India’s newest BrahMos-armed stealth frigate, from Russia serves as a potent symbol of the enduring strategic partnership between New Delhi and Moscow. The frigate is armed with BrahMos and fitted with onboard systems built in India.

Constructed at Russia’s Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Tamal, alongside its sister ship INS Tushil, commissioned in December 2024, represents a significant enhancement to India’s naval capabilities and also underlines the deep-rooted defence cooperation that has long defined the relationship between India and Russia.

INS Tamal, the second of four Talwar-class stealth frigates acquired under a 2016 Indo-Russian agreement, is poised to bolster India’s maritime posture. These frigates, classified as improved Krivak-III class vessels, also known as Project 11356, are designed for long-range, blue-water operations and are equipped with advanced features such as stealth design, anti-submarine weapons, Shtil surface-to-air missile systems, and the formidable BrahMos cruise missile. INS Tamal itself incorporates approximately 26% Indian-made components. The first ship of this batch, INS Tushil, was commissioned in December 2024 by defence minister Rajnath Singh, undertaking an extensive transcontinental journey to India.

Crucially, the broader........

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