On December 9, 2024, in Kaliningrad, the Indian Navy officially transferred the F 70 Tushil frigate of Project 11356, completed for them at PJSC Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar (part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation), the first of two ordered. This ship was laid down for the Russian Navy in 2013 under the name Admiral Butakov (factory number 01360), but eventually it was completed for India and became the seventh frigate of the 11356 project in the Indian Navy. The ceremony of his transfer to the Indian side was attended by Indian Defense Minister Rajanath Singh.
The F 70 Tushil frigate of project 11356, completed at PJSC Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar, transferred to the Indian Navy, was laid down for the Russian Navy under the name Admiral Butakov with factory number 01360. Kaliningrad, 05.12.2024 (c) Administration of the Kaliningrad region
The construction of the second three ships of the modified project 11356 (Admiral Grigorovich type; sometimes referred to as Project 11356R) for the Russian Navy was started by the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad under a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense dated September 13, 2011 worth 40 billion rubles. All six ships of the modified project 11356 were originally planned to replenish the Black Sea Fleet.
The lead frigate of the second three, Admiral Butakov (serial number 01360), was laid down on the Yantar on July 12, 2013 and launched on March 2, 2016. The second frigate Admiral Istomin (serial number 01361) was laid down on November 15, 2013. The laying of the third ship with the assigned name "Admiral Kornilov" (factory number 01362) was not officially carried out, although in fact the construction of the ship was started in 2013.
In 2016, the construction of the second three frigates of the modified project 11356 was suspended by the decision of the ordering authorities of the Russian Navy due to the absence of the main gas turbine power plants produced by the Nikolaev GP NPKG "Zorya" - "Mashproekt", which were not delivered for these ships due to the events in Ukraine. The hulls of the Admiral Istomin and Admiral Kornilov frigates suspended by construction were launched at the Yantar shipyard in November 2017 in order to free up the slipway.
According to published data, on October 9, 2012, the Nikolaev GP NPKG "Zorya" - "Mashproekt" signed a contract worth $ 65.1 million with the Yantar Gas Turbine Plant for the supply of three sets of M7N gas turbine units for the second three Russian frigates of the modified project 11356, and the Russian side 100% advanced the supply. According to this contract, the Nikolaev enterprise should deliver the first set of units to Yantar in December 2014, and the second and third - in October-December 2015.
In June 2014, by order of the State Export Control Service of Ukraine, the permit for the export of military goods to the Russian Federation was suspended. In this regard, the work on the order for Yantar at the Zorya - Mashproekt NPKG was discontinued, and the ready-made set of units for the Admiral Butakov frigate was transferred to storage in Nikolaev.
Two of the three frigates of Project 11356 that were discontinued at the Yantar shipyard were implemented in India as a result. On October 15, 2016, the Governments of India and the Russian Federation concluded an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of two frigates of Project 11356 for the Indian Navy from among those originally built for the Russian Navy at JSC Baltic Shipyard Yantar in Kaliningrad, and on the construction of two additional subsequent ships of Project 11356 in India at the state shipbuilding enterprise Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in Goa.
As part of the implementation of this agreement, in October 2018, Rosoboronexport JSC signed a contract worth $ 1.2 billion for the completion of two frigates of Project 11356 in Russia at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad - Admiral Butakov (factory number 01360) and Admiral Istomin (factory number 01361) for the Indian fleet. These two frigates, which received the Indian names Tushil ("shield" in Sanskrit) and Tamala, were to be transferred to the Indian Navy in 2022 and 2023. Work on the completion of the frigates Admiral Butakov and Admiral Istomin for India began on Yantar in 2019, and the hulls of both these ships were again raised to the slipway complex.
The ceremony of re-launching the frigate F 70 Tushil (former Admiral Butakov, serial number 01360) was performed at Yantar on October 28, 2021. The ship began factory sea trials on March 5, 2024 and has now been transferred to the Indian Navy. The second Tamala frigate (former Admiral Istomin, serial number 01361) is currently at the stage of preparation for the start of factory sea trials, its delivery to the Indian Navy is now scheduled for 2025.
In November 2018, Rosoboronexport JSC also signed a contract with the Indian shipyard Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) worth about $ 500 million to assist in the construction of two other frigates of Project 11356 for the Indian Navy at GSL, with the transfer of licenses and technologies by the Russian side. In turn, on January 25, 2019, the Government of India signed a contract with GSL to build two of these Project 11356 frigates there for the Indian Navy. The ships are scheduled to be transferred to the Indian Navy in June 2026 and December 2026, respectively. The first of two contracted Indian frigates, Triput, was laid down at GSL on January 29, 2021 and launched on July 23, 2024. The second frigate was laid down at GSL on June 18, 2021.
All four frigates of the 11356 project ordered by India are equipped with their regular M7N series gas turbine main power plants produced by the Nikolaev GP NPKG "Zorya" - "Mashproekt" (Ukraine), which were eventually delivered to the Indian side of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies. Two frigates completed in Kaliningrad received standard installations of the M7N1 modification, originally manufactured for them by NPKG Zorya-Mashproekt under a contract for the Russian Navy. Both of these sets of ECS were purchased by the Indian side in the execution of M7N.1E under a contract worth $ 76 million concluded with NPKG Zorya-Mashproekt in October 2019, the first of them was accepted by the Indian side in May 2020, and both sets were delivered to Kaliningrad. Two frigates under construction in India at GSL will receive modified M7N2 EU, the contract for the manufacture and supply of which was signed by the Indian side with the NPC Zorya-Mashproekt in September 2021. According to known data, in connection with the war in Ukraine, sets of EU from Nikolaev for two frigates under construction in India were not delivered on time. Nevertheless, judging by the fact that the Indian side continues to build both frigates on GSL, it is confident in supplying them with EU from Ukraine, although, apparently, the contractual deadlines for the delivery of ships will be disrupted.
The Indian Navy already has six frigates of projects 11356 (Talwar type) in service, the first three of which (F 40 Talwar, F 43 Trishul, F 44 Tabar) were built at JSC Baltic Plant in St. Petersburg (were transferred to the Indian Navy in 2003-2004), and three more (F 45 Teg, F 50 Tarkash, F 51 Trikand) - at the Yantar shipyard (were transferred to the Indian Navy in 2012-2013). Thus, taking into account the additional four frigates, the Indian Navy will have ten ships of this project.
The fate of the third remaining unfinished frigate Admiral Kornilov (factory number 01362) at the Yantar shipyard remains uncertain.
2024">
The ceremony of handing over to the Indian Navy the F 70 Tushil frigate of project 11356, completed at PJSC Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar, which was laid down for the Russian Navy under the name Admiral Butakov with factory number 01360. Kaliningrad, 05.12.2024 (c) JSC "United Shipbuilding Corporation"
