INS Tushil makes first port call to London on maiden deployment

INS Tushil made its first port call to London as a part of its maiden operational deployment, the Indian High Commission in the UK shared.

In a post on X, the Indian High Commission said, “@HCI_London welcomes INS Tushil ! London is the first port of call for Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate INS Tushil on her maiden operational deployment.”

INS Tushil was commissioned on December 9 in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The latest multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy, INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of the Project 1135.6, of which six are already in service – three Talwar class ships, built at Baltisky shipyard, St Petersburg, and three follow-on Teg class ships, built at Yantar shipyard, Kaliningrad, according to Ministry of Defence’s earlier press release.

INS Tushil, the seventh in the series, is the first of the two upgraded additional follow-on ships the contract for which was signed in Oct 2016 between JSC Rosoboronexport, the Indian Navy and the Government of India, as per the release.

The ship’s construction was closely monitored by an Indian team of specialists from the Warship Overseeing Team stationed at Kaliningrad, under the aegis of the Indian Embassy in Moscow.

Earlier in a post on X, the Spokesperson for the Indian Navy shared that INS Tushil set sail for India from Kaliningrad in Russia on December 17. It was noted that during the ship’s passage, which will also be its maiden operational deployment, it would make carry out joint patrolling and maritime exercises with navies of friendly countries enroute, including at piracy hot spot areas in the region.

The first call to London comes days after India and UK held the second India-UK 2+2 Foreign and Defence Dialogue in New Delhi on December 3.

In a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), it was noted that both sides discussed the entire gamut of the India-UK comprehensive Strategic Partnership and emphasized the importance of sustained high-level engagement to advance the dynamic partnership between the two countries.

The dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange views on recent global and regional developments. Both sides reiterated their shared vision for peace, stability, and prosperity in a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

Earlier in the Parliament, Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh had noted, “The India-United Kingdom bilateral partnership was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2021 with a ten-year Roadmap to guide the progress of the relationship across all sectors including Trade and Investments, Defence and Security, Technology, Science, Innovation and people-to-people relations”, thus the port call becomes a significant step in tasking the maritime defence ties forward between the two countries.