Commissioned in Russia, INS Tushil warship sets sail for India

INS Tushil, the latest multi-role warship of the Indian Navy, that was commissioned on December 9 at Kaliningrad, Russia, has been tasked to an operational deployment on its journey to India.

The Indian Navy said, “The warship set sail for India on December 17, marking the beginning of her maiden operational deployment.”

It could take more than two months to reach India, in view of the multiple tasks enroute.

The ship will traverse the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and finally, the Indian Ocean, making port calls in several friendly foreign countries along the way.

The ship will carry out joint patrolling and maritime partnership exercises with a number of navies enroute, including piracy hotspots in the region, the Indian Navy said.

During her port calls, the warship will undertake capability-building activities with host Navies.

The port calls and exercises are aimed at consolidating India’s maritime cooperation with littoral countries of the region.

The INS Tushil is an upgraded version of the existing six ships in service in the Indian navy — three Talwar class ships and three Teg class ships. The INS Tushil, is the seventh in the series, and is the first of the two upgraded additional follow-on ships.

The warship is armed with advanced weapons, including the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, vertically-launched surface-to-air missiles, upgraded medium-range guns with stealth features,  anti-submarine torpedoes and rockets coupled  with electronic warfare and communication suite.

The ship is powered by a gas turbine propulsion plant with state-of-the-art controls with automation and stealth features.