Russia Delivers Frigate with Ukrainian Gas Turbine Engines to India
Russia has officially handed over the eighth Project 11356 frigate, INS Tamala, equipped with Ukrainian-made gas turbine engines, to the Indian Navy.
The announcement was made on the official website of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Yantar.
The ceremony took place at the shipbuilding yard in Kaliningrad, where these frigates are being constructed specifically to fulfill the requirements of the Indian Navy.
As noted by the USC, the frigate Tamala successfully completed acceptance and delivery trials with the participation of the Indian commission.
A key feature during the construction and delivery of the frigate was the use of Ukrainian M7N series gas turbine engines as the primary power plant, manufactured by the Zorya-Mashproekt Scientific and Production Complex for Gas Turbine Engineering, located in the city of Mykolaiv. These engines were supplied to the Indian side by the State Concern Ukroboronprom.
The frigate was initially laid down for the Russian Navy under the name “Admiral Istomin” on November 15, 2013. However, after 2014, the supply of Ukrainian engines was halted, which led the Russian Navy to announce in July 2017, during the International Maritime Defense Show in Saint Petersburg, its intention to complete the frigate “Admiral Istomin” for the Black Sea Fleet using an alternative engine option.
Nevertheless, in 2018, Russia and India signed an intergovernmental contract to complete two unfinished frigates of this project — “Admiral Butakov” and “Admiral Istomin” — with their subsequent transfer to the Indian Navy. In 2019, construction was officially restarted, now in the interests of the Indian Navy.
The ship was first launched in November 2017 to free up the slipway, and it was relaunched in 2024 as part of its completion for India.
The ship is expected to join the Western Fleet of India in September 2025 and will patrol the Indian Ocean. It is the eighth frigate of Project 11356 and the second in the Tushil series. In total, the Indian Navy will be strengthened with ten such ships — two more are being completed in India and are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2026.
These frigates are equipped with a powerful armament suite, including eight launchers for BrahMos supersonic missiles capable of striking both surface and land targets at distances of up to 300 km.
For medium-range air defense, the ship is equipped with vertical launchers of the Shtil-1 system, allowing the use of up to 24 surface-to-air missiles. The artillery armament includes a versatile 100-mm A-190E gun, complemented by six barrels of the AK-630 automatic air defense system, providing protection against missiles and drones at close range.
RBU-6000 rocket launchers and 533-mm torpedo tubes ensure anti-submarine capabilities.
Militarnyi previously reported that the Indian Ministry of Defense had signed a contract for the supply of Russian anti-ship missiles.
