The latest warship is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2023 followed by its sister ship at the end of that year

The Indian Navy said the ship was formally named Tushil—a Sanskrit word which means protector shield.

The Indian Navy said on Friday that the seventh frigate of the P1135.6 class has been launched at the Yantar Shipyard in Russia’s Kaliningrad, which will add a significant capability to the navy for projecting power in the Indian Ocean region.

The Indian Navy said in a statement on Friday that the ship was formally named Tushil—a Sanskrit word which means protector shield—during a ceremony attended by D Bala Venkatesh Varma, India's ambassador to Russia, and senior dignitaries of the Russian Federation and other officials.

Tushil is part of an over $2.5-billion deal with India’s top weapon supplier Russia for four more Krivak/Talwar class stealth frigates for the Indian Navy.

The contract for the construction of two ships was signed between India and Russia on October 18 based on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russia for the construction of two ships of Project 1135.6 ships in Russia and two ships in India at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer from Russia.

According to officials, Tushil is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2023 followed by its sister ship at the end of that year.

The release that the construction of these ships is based on the Indian Navy's specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all three dimensions of air, surface and sub-surface. “The ships with a potent combination of state-of-art Indian and Russian Weapons and Sensors are equipped to operate in Littoral and Blue waters, both as a single unit and as consort in a naval task force,” the release said.

They feature "stealth technology" in terms of low radar and underwater noise signatures. These ships are being equipped with major Indian supplied equipment such as surface to surface missiles, sonar system, surface surveillance radar, communication suite and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system along with Russian surface to air missiles and gun mounts.

The new Grigorovich-class ‘Project 1135.6’ frigates will be powered by gas turbine engines supplied by Ukrainian firm Ukroboronprom’s Gas Turbine Research & Production Complex Zorya-Mashproekt.

Ilya Samarin, Yantar Shipyard's director general, talked about the challenges faced by the shipyard in executing the complex shipbuilding project. He thanked the Indian government for its unstinted support and reiterated the shipyard's commitment to delivering the ships as per contractual timelines.

India’s ambassador to Russia D Bala Venkatesh Varma highlighted the long-standing tradition of military-technical cooperation between the two countries. Varma also acknowledged the efforts put in by the Yantar Shipyard to ensure that the ship was launched on time overcoming the challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indian Navy currently has six stealth frigates—three Talwar class and three Teg class—bought from Russia.