INS Teg warship inducted into Indian Navy

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) The Indian Navy Friday added teeth to its warship fleet by formally inducting a newly-built frigate at the Yantar shipyard in Russia's Kaliningrad.

The warship, christened INS Teg, was commissioned by the Southern Naval Command chief Vice Admiral K.N. Sushil at a ceremony in Kaliningrad, an Indian Navy spokesperson here said.

INS Teg is likely to reach Indian shores by the end of June 2012.

'INS Teg is a modern and contemporary warship with advanced technologies incorporated in every facet of design to make her stable, stealthy, fast and formidable,' the spokesperson said in a release here.

The Teg class of ships, an advanced version of the Talwar class guided missile frigates in service with the Indian Navy, have been built to meet the specific command and control needs of the Indian Navy for co-ordinated surface, air and underwater missions.

The weapons suite of the 125-metre, 4,000-tonne frigate includes the BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missile system, a surface-to-air missile system, 100mm medium range gun, close-in weapon system, torpedo tubes and anti-submarine rockets.

With its advanced weapons suite and sensors fully integrated with its combat management system, the warship is equipped to augment the Indian Navy's net-centric capability, and is well suited to undertake a broad spectrum of maritime missions.

The ship also embarks and operates an anti-submarine or an airborne early warning helicopter - a dominant force multiplier, the spokesperson added.

'Teg incorporates innovative stealth technologies to reduce her radar cross section, infrared and magnetic signatures, as well as radiated underwater noise,' he added.

The ship is powered by an advanced gas turbine propulsion plant with state-of-the-art controls, to attain speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The ship has been equipped with complex automated systems for nuclear, biological and chemical defence, damage control and fire fighting that can be operated centrally from sheltered posts to minimise casualties and achieve rapid restoration of combat effectiveness.

The ship's crest embodies two crossed swords against the blue sky and ocean waves which symbolise strength, responsibility and commitment to a righteous cause.

Commanded by Captain Rakesh Kumar Dahiya, a communications and electronic warfare specialist, Teg is manned by a crew of about 250 men, including 25 officers.

'It is interesting to note that the individual crew members speak 15 different languages as their mother tongue and follow six different religious faiths - a true microcosm of the diversity, and unity of India,' the spokesperson noted.

The other two ships of the Teg class - Tarkash and Trikand - are likely to be delivered by September 2012 and mid-2013 respectively.