Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms export agency, announced on Friday that the Yantar shipyard on the Baltic Sea coast had begun work to build two warships for the Indian Navy. The two ships are upgraded Project 11356 class frigates, which are modified versions of the Indian Navy's Talwar class ships, six of which are in service.
Russia's state-owned TASS news agency attributed the news to Rosoboronexport CEO Alexandr Mikheyev. Mikheyev said, “Rosoboronexport sees the Yantar shipyard’s big potential for developing and producing high-tech products supplied as part of military and technical cooperation. Its capacities have already produced hardware for exports worth over $1 billion and today the shipyard has started fulfilling one of the largest contracts for India’s Navy”.
In October 2018, the Indian government signed a contract worth approximately $950 million with Russia for the supply of two upgraded Project 11356M class frigates. This contract was followed a month later by a $500 million deal, which envisaged the construction of two more Project 11356 class ships in Goa with transfer of technology from Russia.
All the six Talwar class ships were built in Russia, with the first ship, INS Talwar, being commissioned in 2003. The Talwar class ships were the first Indian Navy warships to incorporate 'stealth' features, with their design emphasising features to reduce radar cross-section.
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The four new Project 11356 class ships will feature advancements over the Talwar class ships in terms of electronics and also a vertical launch system for surface-to-air missiles. The six Talwar class ships use a mechanical 'single arm' launcher for surface-to-air missiles, which can fire only one missile at a time. A vertical launch system can fire multiple missiles simultaneously, allowing for a more effective response to 'saturation' air attacks by enemies.
At the time of signing of contracts for the two vessels in October 2018, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the two ships for the Indian Navy may be two “partially” built ships meant for the Russian Navy. The Russian Navy was forced to halt construction of the Project 11356 class warships after Ukraine embargoed the delivery of gas turbine engines in the wake of the Crimea crisis. The Indian Navy is expected to source the gas turbines directly from Ukraine for installation on the ships.
The Russian Navy is believed to operate three Project 11356 class ships. The first ship, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired cruise missiles against land targets in Syria in 2016. The Indian Navy's ships are likely to be equipped with the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile.
Yantar shipyard is expected to deliver both Project 11356 class warships to the Indian Navy by 2023. With an expected fleet size of 10 vessels, the Talwar class vessels will become one of the most important classes of ships in the Indian Navy.
