India looking for more Talwar class ships: Navy vice chief

New Delhi: India is exploring the possibility of getting more Talwar class ships and was in talks with Russia to see if it acquire the technology for Grigorivich class frigates, the navy vice chief, Vice Admiral P Murugesan, said on Tuesday.

He, however, clarified that India will not be importing the ships.

"As per the maritime perspective plan, we have to build a certain number of ships in a certain time...we are exploring the possibility to expedite (acquisition of) certain number of ships," he told reporters here.

He said exploratory talks were on with Russia, adding that "it will not be an import".

India has been stressing on domestic defence production under the Make in India programme, an important aspect of which is to get technology transfers and inviting foreign firms to manufacture in India.

The Grigorivich class frigates are improved variants of the six Talwar-class (Russian classification: Krivak-III) frigates the navy obtained between 2003 and 2013.

The maritime capability perspective plan of the Indian Navy envisages a 198-ship force by 2027, up from the current 137 vessels.

According to reports, Russia has evaluated three private yards for their potential to build these frigates: Larsen and Toubro`s Katupalli shipyard at Ennore, Tamil Nadu; Pipavav Shipyard in Gujarat; and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL) in Kochi, Kerala.