Article Posted on : - May 25, 2012

Indian Navy's Tarkash frigate.

MOSCOW (PTI): The Tarkash, a Talwar-class frigate being built for the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Russia, has left for sea trials.

The frigate, the second in a series of three frigates built under a USD 1.6-billion contract with India, left from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the shipyard said.

The first frigate, the Teg, was delivered to India in April 2012, while the third, the Trikand, is still under construction.

"The warship sailed from Kaliningrad to Baltiysk on Thursday," Yantar spokesman Sergei Mikhailov was quotes as saying by Ria-Novosti.

"The first stage of sea trials is scheduled to start at the end of May."

The spokesman said the frigate must be ready for delivery to the Indian Navy in October.

The new frigates are each armed with eight BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missiles. They are also equipped with a 100-mm gun, a Shtil surface-to-air missile system, two Kashtan air-defence gun/missile systems, two twin 533-mm torpedo launchers, and an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) helicopter.

Russia has previously built three Talwar class frigates for India: the INS Talwar (Sword), INS Trishul (Trident), and INS Tabar (Ax).