Article Posted on : - Jul 21, 2011

The BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system. A file photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): India will get a new frigate within six to eight months from Russia that will be equipped with the BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system.

"During his visit to Russia, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma reviewed the progress of the Talwar Class follow-on warships, under construction at the Yantar shipyard there and was reassured that the first ship 'Teg' would commence trials shortly and be delivered in six to eight months," the Navy said in a release here.

The Navy chief returned on July 18 from Russia after a six-day visit during which he took stock of all the major Indian navy projects undergoing there.

The new frigates namely 'Teg', 'Teer' and 'Trikand' are follow ons of the three Talwar Class warships built for India by Russia and inducted into service around the early part of the decade.

In the new ships, the Russian-origin Klub missiles would be replaced by the indigenous BRAHMOS missiles.

The Navy chief also visited the Sevmash Shipyard where the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier is being retrofitted and observed that "significant progress had been made on the Gorshkov project and the ship was shaping up well for the preliminary sea trials."

During the visit describes as "productive and fruitful", the Admiral visited Vladivostok, Moscow, St Petersburg and Kaliningrad and made a firsthand assessment of all projects. He held vital discussions with top brass of Russian armed forces and defence industry.

"Reviewing ongoing projects, the Admiral observed that they were progressing satisfactorily and had reached critical stages of maturity. He also expressed satisfaction with the quality of construction and repairs," the release said.

In his discussions with the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on operational exchanges between the two navies, the two sides agreed that the INDRA series of exercises form an important aspect of their bilateral relationship and would need to be continued and extended in scope and participation.

The two sides also discussed increasing cooperation in areas of anti-piracy operations.