In a powerful display of enduring defence ties between India and Russia, ROSOBORONEXPORT JSC, the export arm of Russia’s military-industrial complex, officially handed over the advanced Project 11356 frigate—INS Tamal—to the Indian Navy on 1 July 2025. The commissioning ceremony, held at Kaliningrad, a strategic Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, marks not only a continuation of legacy cooperation but also a mutual adaptation to evolving geopolitical landscapes and maritime security challenges.
INS Tamal, the eighth warship in the Project 11356 series (known in India as the Talwar-class), represents the culmination of years of cooperative defence production and technology integration between the two nations. Fittingly named after the Sanskrit word for “sword,” Tamal reflects India’s martial maritime heritage and forward-deployed ambitions in the Indo-Pacific theatre.
Project 11356 frigates, built by United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) of Russia, have formed the backbone of India’s mid-sized surface combatant fleet since the early 2000s. Designed for multi-role operations including anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare, these stealth-capable frigates offer a balance of firepower, endurance, and sensors that few platforms in their class can rival.
Alexander Mikheev, Director General of ROSOBORONEXPORT, emphasized the significance of this milestone in the face of global turbulence.
“The successful completion of construction, testing, and delivery of the frigate Tamal to India demonstrates ROSOBORONEXPORT’s readiness to fulfil naval contracts effectively, even in the current geopolitical environment,” Mikheev stated at the ceremony.
Highlighting technological cooperation, Mikheev revealed that INS Tamal integrates over 20 Indian-built systems:
- The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system
- An indigenous automated communication suite
- A surface-search and target acquisition radar
- A domestically-developed sonar station
Such hybrid construction aligns well with India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, a national strategy aimed at promoting domestic defence production and reducing import dependency through technology transfer and joint development.
The INS Tamal is not just another addition to the Indian Navy’s fleet—it is a forward-deployed platform equipped to handle emerging threats in contested waters. Some of its standout combat and sensor features include:
- Air Defence and Sensor Suite
At the heart of its defence capability is the Shtil-1 vertical launch missile system, manufactured by Almaz-Antey. Designed for engaging incoming aircraft, UAVs, and cruise missiles, the Shtil-1 provides a layered air defence umbrella around Tamal, a critical feature in the drone-saturated maritime environment of the Indo-Pacific.
Tamal’s multi-function radar system, built with low-RCS target tracking in mind, offers robust aerial and surface surveillance. It is specially optimized to counter low-flying anti-ship missiles, an increasingly common threat in Asian waters.
- Guns, Missiles, and Close-In Defence
Tamal is armed with a 100mm A-190 main gun, versatile for surface and coastal bombardment roles. Two AK-630 30mm CIWS (Close-In Weapon Systems) offer the last line of defence against drone swarms and incoming projectiles, especially in the high-traffic sea lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, and South China Sea.
The BrahMos missile system, co-developed by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia, forms Tamal’s primary strike weapon. Capable of flying at Mach 2.8–3.0, with ranges exceeding 400 km, the BrahMos enables the ship to deliver precision strikes on both sea and land targets.
- Aviation and Network-Centric Capabilities
Another key force multiplier aboard Tamal is its ability to operate the Ka-31 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) helicopter, which dramatically extends the ship’s radar horizon and enhances maritime domain awareness in conjunction with India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).
With a range of over 4,850 nautical miles (~9,000 km) and an autonomous endurance of 30 days, the Tamal is built for sustained presence in far-flung operational theatres. Whether participating in multinational exercises, escorting aircraft carriers, or conducting anti-piracy missions off East Africa, the vessel is capable of forward deployment without immediate logistical support.
According to Indian Navy sources, Tamal will likely be homeported on the eastern seaboard, enabling swift deployment across Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, and even the Arctic, where new maritime frontiers are opening due to climate change.
The addition of INS Tamal brings India’s operational fleet of Project 11356 frigates to eight. It follows the INS Tushil, which was commissioned in December 2024. Additionally, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL)—under a tech-transfer deal with ROSOBORONEXPORT—has already launched two more vessels in the line, set to join the fleet by 2026.
This reflects a dual approach by India: ensuring near-term capability through imports while building long-term resilience via domestic shipbuilding.
“Russia remains our most flexible partner when it comes to technology sharing and production localization,” a senior official from India’s Ministry of Defence told this reporter. “That gives them an edge over some Western firms bound by stricter end-user and IP restrictions.”
Indeed, the local manufacturing clause remains a sticking point in India’s broader defence procurement strategy. Western partners like the U.S. and France, while more willing than before, still maintain export restrictions on sensitive technologies, especially propulsion systems, radar arrays, and electronic warfare suites.
The delivery of Tamal takes place amid a complex geopolitical environment. Russia continues to face Western sanctions, supply chain disruptions, and diplomatic isolation due to its war in Ukraine. Yet, defence exports to countries like India offer both economic sustenance and strategic influence.
For India, the balancing act is delicate. While building closer defence ties with the United States (e.g., P-8I aircraft, MH-60R helicopters), France (Rafale-M jets, Scorpène submarines), and Israel (Heron drones, radar systems), India has not allowed the geopolitical friction surrounding Russia to derail a decades-old defence relationship.
Defence trade figures suggest that current and pipeline Indo-Russian naval projects exceed USD 4 billion:
Technology upgrades for older frigates
Joint development of submarine-launched BrahMos
Co-production of air-independent propulsion systems
New destroyer design studies
Mikheev confirmed that more than 50 Indo-Russian defence projects are under discussion, spanning land systems, air platforms, and naval weaponry.
“We are exploring joint development of unmanned systems, smart munitions, and cyber-electronic warfare solutions in India,” Mikheev added.
India’s push for ‘Self-Reliance in Defence’ (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) now frames every major acquisition. The Project 11356 programme, through its blend of foreign design and domestic integration, is often cited as a model for future military-industrial collaboration.
Unlike Western contractors that often insist on complete control over intellectual property, Russia has repeatedly demonstrated willingness to localize manufacturing, share source codes, and even license production of strategic sub-systems like gas turbines, navigation software, and vertical launch cells.
“Project 11356 has shown how mutually beneficial defence cooperation can be in an era of multipolarity and fractured alliances,” noted Commodore (Retd) Anil Singh, a maritime analyst. “The Tamal embodies India’s quest to blend global partnerships with national capabilities.”
With regional flashpoints multiplying—from South China Sea island disputes, Houthi drone strikes in the Red Sea, to instability in the Persian Gulf—India’s naval planners are increasingly focused on multi-domain readiness.
Future conflicts, experts argue, will not involve just ships and submarines, but will span:
Satellite-denied zones
Cyber attacks
Swarming UAVs and USVs
Hypersonic missile duels
Platforms like INS Tamal, with modular weapon bays, C4ISR compatibility, and open-architecture combat systems, are ideally positioned to serve as floating command posts in such future battle spaces.
As Rear Admiral (Retd) Arun Prakash puts it:
“It’s not just about deterrence anymore. It’s about survivability, flexibility, and the ability to counter low-cost, high-impact threats with maximum precision and minimum delay. Tamal ticks those boxes.”
The commissioning of INS Tamal marks a symbolic and strategic confluence of shared histories, modern aspirations, and geopolitical pragmatism. It illustrates that in the world’s most volatile maritime region, platforms that combine reliability, firepower, and partnership value will define the contours of sea power in the 21st century.
As more Project 11356 frigates roll out from Indian shipyards under Russian supervision, the saga of Tamal and her sister ships underscores a crucial lesson: in a time of fragmentation, strategic alignment through technological cooperation remains one of the strongest bulwarks of national security.
