New Delhi, June 16: Ending months of suspense, Indian Naval Chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh today left for Moscow to take delivery of Indian Navy's first of the three Krivak Class Stealth warships. The first of the 4000-tonne displacement stealth class warship christened INS Talwar would be inducted into the navy on Wednesday. The warship would be delivered at a ceremony at St. Petersburg in the presence of the naval chief.
The Krivak class warship would give Indian Navy a greater punch in the high seas as they are equipped with surface-to-air, ship-to-ship and ship-to-land missiles. The Indian Navy is the first navy after the Russian Navy to induct the stealth class warships, which would later be modified to be equipped with supersonic cruise missiles, Bramhos.
The second warship of the series, INS Trishul, is likely to be inducted during the visit of Defence Minister George Fernandes to Russia tentatively scheduled from May 24. The three warships were to be inducted in the Indian Navy almost 18 months ago but this delivery was delayed as Indian navy refused to take possession of the warships after one its main armament, surface-to-air ship missile failed during test flight. Officials said that the fault in the missiles has been rectified and some more test firings would be conducted in the presence of the naval chief. Bureau Report