Stealth Frigate To Be Delivered Russia in MID-2023
Presently the Indian Navy is having just 13 frigates against the desirable minimum of at least 26 of them for the present. There are 7 frigates of NILGIRI series on order with Mazgoan and Garden Reach Shipyards. These should start joining the Navy from 2022 and all should be in service by 2026.
Now two additional Krivak class stealth frigates are also being built by Russia and one of them is expected to be delivered to India in the middle of 2023, according to the head of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) of Russia. The next frigate should be delivered in 2024.
“Due to COVID we had delays in execution of some of the stages of construction. There was an approximately eight month delay. The first ship should be delivered in the middle of 2023,” said Alexey Rakhmanov, Chief Executive Officer of USC at the ongoing Army 2021 exhibition.
In October 2016, India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar class stealth frigates — two to be procured directly from Russia and two to be built by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) — after which a $1-billion deal was signed for the direct purchase.
On the construction at GSL, Mr. Rakhmanov said they would soon be inviting Indian technicians for the ongoing construction of two frigates at the Yantar shipyard to familiarise themselves with the specificity of the equipment and the construction. In the second stage, substantial work would be done at GSL including technology transfer, he stated.
Mr. Rakhmanov added that the frigates were being built to operate both Indian and Russian equipment.
The basic structures of two frigates are already ready at the Yantar shipyard in Russia which are now being completed.
The keel for the first ship to be built at GSL was laid in January and for the second ship in June this year. Keel laying is a major milestone in shipbuilding symbolising formal commencement of the construction process.
The Navy had recently stated that the first of these ships would be delivered in 2026 and the second six months later.
In November 2018, GSL had signed a $500 million deal with Rosoboronexport of Russia for material, design and specialist assistance to locally manufacture the two frigates and in January 2019 the contract was signed between the Ministry of Defence and the GSL.
The engines for the ships are supplied by Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine. Four gas turbine engines, gear boxes and specialist support will cost around $50 million per ship, as reported by The Hindu earlier.
Go a Shipyard should be delivering the first frigate in mid 2026 and second one six months later. Thus with retirement of INS GOMATI by then, the Indian Navy will be still be having only 23 frigates.
Hence by 2022, the MoD must place the order for a batch of another four indigenously designed frigates on Go a Ship Yard Ltd.
