INS Talwar (F40)

INS "Talwar (F40)" is the lead ship of the Talwar Class Frigates of the Indian Navy. Its name means the "Sword" in Hindi see Talwar.

History

*The first-of-the-class frigate, Talwar (sword), was launched in May 2000. Its delivery to India was scheduled for May 2002 after running, state and acceptance trials. The Talwar, the first frigate of Project N11356, completed sea trials in the Baltic Sea on 29 May 2002. The vessel was built by the Baltiyskiy shipyard and ordered by the Indian navy. On June 19, 2003 the Moscow Times reported that the Talwar was delivered to the Indian Navy during a ceremony at St Petersburg.

*The acceptance trials revealed (June 2002) several defects in underwater hull and in weapon system including missiles. DAT team recommended commissioning of the ship only after proving all weapon systems.Media reports indicated that 2, the Shtil-1 SAM system had been unable to hit any airborne targets during trial firings. This was due to integration problems between the combat management and weapons systems. This resulted in the Indian Navy not taking delivery of the vessel. In July 2002, Government of Russia appointed an Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) for analysis of all problems connected with the delivery acceptance of missiles. Despite being aware of the uncertainty of sailing of the ship, Ministry extended the stay of the crew.

*Ministry sanctioned expatriation of the crew of 28 officers and 225 sailors to Russia from 11 April to 10 June 2003 for commissioning of INS Talwar. The ship was finally commissioned on 18 June 2003. This needed extension of deputation of the crew by 35 to 38 days. The expenditure of Rs 6.24 crore on the crew from 11 April 2003 to 18 June 2003 was avoidable as training was already over in July 2002. INS Talwar arrived home at Mumbai's Naval DY on 12 August 2003, after a long journey from St. Petersburg. This had set back the scheduled delivery dates very considerably - from May 2002 to mid-2003 for the Talwar. The first vessel was finally handed over to the Indian Navy in St. Petersburg in a formal commissioning ceremony on 18 June 2003, after all problems were indentified and remedied.

In May 2006, the INS Talwar accidentally dropped its anchor on its own anti-submarine sonardome and had to be rushed for repairs to revive its anti-sub capabilities.

References

# [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/13545.html The Indian Navy’s run with accidents continues ] Article in the Indian Express

# [http://www.ibnlive.com/news/navy-warships-sitting-ducks-at-sea/40667-3.html The Comptroller and Auditor General of India declares that the four frontline warships recently acquired by the Indian Navy are sitting ducks for enemy submarines] Article from IBN - CNN