# INS Tamal
**INS Tamal** (F 71) is a multi-role stealth frigate of the [Indian Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-navy), the eighth ship of Project 1135.6 and the second of the additional follow-on Tushil class, commissioned on 1 July 2025 at the Yantar Shipyard in [Kaliningrad](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaliningrad), Russia[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48). She is the last of the Talwar-class frigates built in Russia for India, and her induction closed a shipbuilding line that is now moving to Indian yards[2](https://drdo.gov.in/drdo/sites/default/files/drdo-news-documents/NPC04Jul2025.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pennant and type | F 71, multi-role stealth frigate, Project 1135.6 (Talwar class)[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48) |
| Class position | Eighth Project 1135.6 frigate; second ship of the Tushil class, after INS Tushil commissioned 9 December 2024[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48) |
| Commissioning | 1 July 2025 at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48) |
| Commanding officer | Capt Sridhar Tata, a gunnery and missile warfare specialist[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uzgOfEg144) |
| Fleet assignment | Joins the Western Fleet, "The Sword Arm" of the Indian Navy under the Western Naval Command, where all seven earlier Project 1135.6 ships serve[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48) |
| Maiden passage | Entered Karwar, India, on 10 September 2025 after port visits to Russia, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and Oman[4](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154&lang=1®=3) |
## Commissioning
The Indian Navy commissioned INS Tamal on 1 July 2025 at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, in the presence of Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command; Vice Admiral Rajaram Swaminathan, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition; and Vice Admiral Sergie Lipin, Commander of the [Baltic Fleet](https://www.edgepedia.org/baltic-fleet) of the Russian Federation Navy, along with senior officials from the Indian and Russian governments, navies, and industries[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48). Vice Admiral Swaminathan described the commissioning as symbolic of the strategic partnership between India and Russia[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48).
The ceremony marked the formal induction of the ship into the Navy. Her sister ship INS Tushil, first of the Tushil class, had been commissioned on 9 December 2024 in the presence of the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister)[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48).
## Class background
The [Talwar class](https://www.edgepedia.org/talwar-class-frigate) is an Indian-specific modification of the Russian Krivak III, or Burevestnik, family of frigates, built under Project 1135.6[5](https://anantamias.com/ins-tamal/). The class forms a core element of the Indian surface fleet and serves as a bridge to domestically produced frigate classes[6](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/december/indias-evolving-talwar-class). The seventh and eighth ships of the class, named Tushil and Tamal, were built in Kaliningrad as the additional follow-on batch[6](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/december/indias-evolving-talwar-class).
Tamal is the last of the eight Project 1135.6 frigates to be built in Russia. A frigate of the class expected to commission in 2026 will be India's first indigenously built Talwar-class ship[2](https://drdo.gov.in/drdo/sites/default/files/drdo-news-documents/NPC04Jul2025.pdf), and some reports suggest Tamal may be the last warship India imports from abroad[7](https://idsa.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Commentary-Mr-Rahul-Wankhede-20-August-2025.pdf).
## Maiden passage to India
After commissioning, Tamal made her maiden passage from the Baltic to India, entering Karwar on 10 September 2025[4](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154&lang=1®=3). During the passage the ship called at ports in Russia, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, and conducted Passage Exercises (PASSEX) with the host navies[4](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154&lang=1®=3).
**European and Mediterranean calls.** The frigate made a port visit to [Casablanca](https://www.edgepedia.org/casablanca), Morocco, from 6 to 9 August 2025 during her return voyage[8](https://h24info.ma/maroc/casablanca-la-fregate-indienne-ins-tamal-en-escale-pour-exercices-avec-la-marine-royale/). In the central Mediterranean her track crossed that of the [Italian Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/italian-navy)'s multipurpose amphibious unit ITS Trieste, and the two newly commissioned ships conducted a joint exercise on 13 August 2025[9](https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/Conosciamoci/notizie/Pagine/20250821_Joint-drill-in-the-Mediterranean-for-LHD-Trieste-and-Indian-frigate-Tamal.aspx). Tamal arrived at Naples, Italy, on 13 August 2025[10](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2156937&lang=2®=48) and visited Greece from 19 to 22 August 2025[11](https://www.idsa.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Defence-Newsletter_August_2025-1.pdf).
## Significance
Tamal's induction completed the Russian-built portion of the Project 1135.6 program. All seven ships inducted before her serve in the Western Fleet under the Western Naval Command, and she joined the same fleet[1](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48). Her commissioning fell in a year in which the Indian Navy commissioned 12 ships and submarines, most of them built in Indian yards, as part of a fleet plan in which all 52 warships planned for induction are being built in India[4](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154&lang=1®=3) • [12](https://www.vayuaerospace.in/Issue/202601281011075975.pdf).
## References
1. [INS Tamal, Latest Stealth Frigate Commissioned into Indian Navy, Press Information Bureau (1 July 2025)](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2141361&lang=2®=48)
2. [DRDO Press Clippings, 4 July 2025](https://drdo.gov.in/drdo/sites/default/files/drdo-news-documents/NPC04Jul2025.pdf)
3. [INS Tamal Commissioning at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia (video description), National Defence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uzgOfEg144)
4. [Ministry of Defence Year-End Review, Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154&lang=1®=3)
5. [INS Tamal: Indian Navy's Newest Stealth Frigate, Anantam IAS](https://anantamias.com/ins-tamal/)
6. [India's Evolving Talwar Class, US Naval Institute Proceedings, December 2021](https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/december/indias-evolving-talwar-class)
7. [Stealth Frigates and India–Russia Defence Cooperation, IDSA Commentary, 20 August 2025](https://idsa.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Commentary-Mr-Rahul-Wankhede-20-August-2025.pdf)
8. [Casablanca: la frégate indienne INS Tamal en escale, H24info](https://h24info.ma/maroc/casablanca-la-fregate-indienne-ins-tamal-en-escale-pour-exercices-avec-la-marine-royale/)
9. [Joint drill in the Mediterranean for LHD Trieste and Indian frigate Tamal, Marina Militare (21 August 2025)](https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/Conosciamoci/notizie/Pagine/20250821_Joint-drill-in-the-Mediterranean-for-LHD-Trieste-and-Indian-frigate-Tamal.aspx)
10. [INS Tamal Visits Naples, Italy, Press Information Bureau (15 August 2025)](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2156937&lang=2®=48)
11. [Defence Newsletter, Vol 4, Issue 8, August 2025, IDSA](https://www.idsa.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Defence-Newsletter_August_2025-1.pdf)
12. [Year-End Review 2025, Vayu Aerospace](https://www.vayuaerospace.in/Issue/202601281011075975.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Water transport › Warships and naval vessels › Destroyers, frigates, and corvettes › Titles A to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license