INS Teg (F45), the first of three Talwar class follow-on warships ordered from the Russian Yantar Shipyard, arrived at Mumbai on 22 June. The 3,970-tonne frigate called at Hamburg, Cadiz, Valetta, Limassol, Port Said and Salalah on her maiden passage to India following handover and commissioning at Kaliningrad on 27 April.
Although almost identical in appearance to earlier ships, the Batch 2 ships are equipped with an upgraded suite of weapons and sensors, many more of which are indigenous. Most notable is the replacement of the Russian Klub-N surface-to-surface missiles in the Batch 1 ships with the jointly-developed BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system. The vertically-launched, sea-skimming weapon has a 290km range and, with a velocity of Mach 2.8, is currently the world’s fastest cruise missile.
The other ships of the $1.6 billion project are expected to arrive on the sub-continent next year. Tarkash (F46), the second ship, is undergoing sea trials, with delivery for October.
