INS ''Talwar '' (F40) () is the lead ship of the s of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. Its name means "Sword" in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

(see

Talwar The talwar (), also spelled talwaar and tulwar, is a type of curved sword or sabre from the Indian subcontinent. Etymology and classification The word ''talwar'' originated from the Sanskrit Language, Sanskrit word ''taravāri'' () which means ...

). She was built in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18 June 2003. ''Talwar'' is a multirole frigate and true to her name, has participated in various operations and exercises since her commissioning, including anti-piracy operations off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Design

''Talwar'' is the lead ship of her

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of frigates. The ''Talwar''-class guided missile frigates are modified Krivak III-class frigates built by Russia. Much of the equipment on the ship is Russian-made, but a significant number of systems of Indian origin have also been incorporated.

Operational history

''Talwar'' was built by the Baltiyskiy shipyard. She was launched in May 2000. Delivery to the Indian Navy was scheduled for May 2002 after running, state and acceptance trials. Sea trials were completed in the Baltic Sea on 29 May 2002. The ship was commissioned formally into the Indian Navy on 18 June 2003 by (later Vice Admiral) Satish Soni. INS ''Talwar'' arrived home at Mumbai's Naval Dockyard on 12 August 2003, after a long journey from St. Petersburg. The ship is affiliated with the 16th Light Cavalry Regiment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and continues to be a frontline warship of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet

Service history

INS ''Talwar'' has been deployed around the Indian Ocean, making friendly visits at various ports. She has also participated in various exercises including Malabar 2008 with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, multinational maritime exercise ‘Cutlass Express 2021 (CE21) and with the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

Anti-piracy measures off the Somali coast

On 28 May 2009 at around 10:20 GMT, while about east of

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, ''Talwar'' received a distress signal from a merchant vessel MV ''Maud'' about a skiff with eight armed persons on board approaching it at very high speed. The frigate immediately dispatched its

Chetak Chetak or Cetak is the name given in traditional literature to the horse ridden by Maharana Pratap at the Battle of Haldighati, fought on 18 June 1576 at Haldighati, in the Aravalli Mountains of Rajasthan, in western India. The story Hi ...

helicopter armed with 7.62mm light machine guns which spotted pirates scrambling up a ladder hooked to MV ''Maud''. The helicopter fired on the two pirates on the ladder and they fell into the sea. Simultaneously, the frigate sent its

MARCOS Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...

team led by Ram Narain by high-speed inflatable boats to intercept the skiff. Six pirates were disarmed and their cache of Kalashnikov assault rifles, Katyusha rockets, a rocket launcher, flares and mobile phones were seized. The pirates were later arrested by warships from the global task force in a follow-up action. On 13 April 2024, INS Talwar intercepted a suspicious dhow in the western Arabian Sea and confiscated 940 kilograms of contraband narcotics. The seized contents included 453 kg of

methamphetamines Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity d ...

, 416 kg of

hash Hash, hashes, hash mark, or hashing may refer to: Substances * Hash (food), a coarse mixture of ingredients, often based on minced meat * Hash (stew), a pork and onion-based gravy found in South Carolina * Hash, a nickname for hashish, a canna ...

and 71 kg of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

. The operation was carried out by

of Indian Navy, and was a part of Operation Crimson Barracuda. On 22 September 2024, INS ''Talwar'' reached

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

on a friendly visit under the command of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Jithu George and a crew of around 300 personnel. The port call saw activities like cross deck visits and programmes during the harbour phase. Also, after the end of the port call, INS Talwar participated in

EEZ An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

surveillance and

Maritime Partnership Exercise Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) is a multilateral event conducted by Indian Navy in which naval forces of foreign countries participate. This exercise is conducted as part of the Indian Navy's ongoing efforts to enhance its operational capabil ...

with KNS Shujaa. On 6 October 2024, INS Talwar reached

Simon's Town Simon's Town (), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of Simon's Bay in False Bay, on the eastern s ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

for Exercise IBSAMAR VIII. The exercise concluded on 20 October 2024. On 27 October 2024, INS Talwar reached

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as part of its overseas deployment in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

Region (IOR).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talwar (F40) Talwar-class frigates Frigates of the Indian Navy 2000 ships Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard