Why in News?
The Indian Navy's stealth frigate INS Tarkash is in the news because it successfully concluded a high-profile port call at Port Victoria, Seychelles, departing on 15 June 2026.
Important Point
During its operational deployment to the South West Indian Ocean Region, the warship served as a safe naval escort for the Seychelles Coast Guard ship PS Zoroaster back to its home country following a major refit program in Kolkata.
Vessel Classification & Build
- Ship Type: It is a state-of-the-art, guided-missile stealth frigate of the Indian Navy.
- Class: Belongs to the Talwar-class (specifically the second ship out of the three Batch-II frigates).
- Origin: Designed and constructed by the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia (modified from the Krivak III-class design).
- Commissioning: Officially entered active service in the Indian Navy on 9 November 2012.
- Command Base: Operates under the flag of the Western Naval Command, based primarily out of Mumbai.
Technical Specifications
- Physical Dimensions: Displaces approximately 3,850 tonnes with a hull length of 124.8 metres and a beam width of 15.2 metres.
- Propulsion System: Driven by four powerful gas turbines that enable top operational speeds exceeding 30 knots (approx. 55 km/h).
- Complement & Endurance: Manned by a crew of 253 naval personnel with a continuous high-sea endurance of 30 days or a range of 4,500 miles.
Lethal Weaponry & Stealth Capabilities
- Missile Arsenal: Unlike early Talwar-class ships, INS Tarkash is heavily armed with India's supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile system.
- Air Defence: Outfitted with advanced vertical-launch surface-to-air missile (SAM) configurations to neutralize airborne threats.
- Artillery & Torpedoes: Features a 100 mm calibre main gun, close-in weapon systems (CIWS), specialized anti-submarine rocket launchers, and heavyweight torpedo tubes.
- Aviation Deck: Equipped with a flight deck and hangar capable of operating one Kamov Ka-28 (anti-submarine) or a Ka-31 (airborne early warning) helicopter.
- Radar Signature Reduction: Designed with an engineered hull geometry and radar-absorbent radar-cross-section (RCS) stealth properties.
Historical Operational Milestones
- Anti-Narcotics Success (2025): Operating under Combined Task Force 150 in March 2025, it intercepted a suspect dhow in the Western Indian Ocean, seizing and destroying over 2,500 kg of illicit narcotics (hashish and heroin).
- Anti-Piracy (2024): Successfully intercepted the hijacked Bangladeshi commercial ship MV Abdullah off the coast of Somalia to safeguard its crew.
- Operation Raahat (2015): Deployed to the war-torn Gulf of Aden to safely evacuate thousands of Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen.
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