Article Posted on : - Apr 27, 2012

NEW DELHI (PTI): Armed with surface-to-surface BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missiles, a medium range gun and anti-submarine rockets, guided missile frigate INS Teg has been commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Yantar shipyard in Russia on Friday.

"INS Teg is a modern warship with advanced technologies to make it stable, fast and stealthy. The Teg class of ships has been built to meet specific Command and Control needs of Indian Navy for coordinated surface, air and underwater missions," Indian Navy officials said.

An advanced version of the Talwar-class guided missile frigates, these ships have been fitted with an upgraded multi-role combat suite to make them one of the most potent platforms of the Navy.

"INS Teg's weapons suite includes surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile systems, 100 mm medium range gun, close-in weapon system, torpedo tubes and anti-submarine rockets. The BRAHMOS surface-to-surface missile system is capable of engaging targets at extended ranges at supersonic speed," the officials said.

The ship is also armed with an anti-submarine cum airborne early warning helicopter and its weapons suite and sensors are fully integrated with latest Combat Management System (CMS).

On its maiden voyage, the vessel will be commanded by Captain Rakesh Kumar Dahiya, a Communication and Electronic Warfare specialist, commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987.

The warship is manned by a crew of 24 officers and 229 sailors.

The frigate has been commissioned into the Navy by the Southern Naval Commander Vice-Admiral K N Sushil.

The project to construct the ship was launched five years ago in July 2007 when its keel was laid at the Yantar shipyard near Kaliningrad, Russia.

With a speed of over 30 knots, the ship can cover 4500 nautical miles with a 30-day endurance capability.

It has a displacement of 3,850 tonnes. Mythologically, the word Teg means a single-edged curved sword used by Sikh warriors.

Capable of operating in all kinds of environment, it is equipped with state-of-art automated systems for nuclear, biological and chemical defence.

To minimise casualty during fire fighting and other damages, it can be operated centrally from specially constructed and designed sheltered posts.