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India takes delivery of second frigate

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW JUNE 25. The Indian Navy today took possession of the second of three Russian-built stealth frigates, a week after the first warship was turned over.

Vice Admiral Arun Prakash of the Western Naval Command took delivery of the INS Trishul at a ceremony at the northern port of St. Petersburg attended by the Chief of Staff of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Kravchenko, and other officials, Russian news agencies reported.

The head of Russia's main arms exporting company, Rosoboronexport, Andrei Belyaninov, expressed ``deep satisfaction'' that the frigates were the product of a close collaboration of Russian and Indian shipbuilders. He said the share of Indian equipment in Russian-built military hardware would keep increasing. India had supplied sonars, communication and navigation systems for the frigates. ``Both Russia and India stand to gain from this production cooperation,'' Mr. Belyaninov said.

The frigates, which would be assigned to the Western Naval Command, were to be commissioned 18 months ago. However, they were delayed because one of the ship's main armaments, the surface-to-air `Shtil' missile, had failed during its test flight. The fault, attributed to electronic interference from other onboard weapon systems, has since been corrected.

The third frigate, INS Tabar, is expected to be delivered before the end of the year. It is currently undergoing trials in the Baltic Sea. Despite the delay in the delivery of the frigates, Russian ship-builders hope to win an Indian order for three more warships of the same type, which are expected to provide escort to the 44,500-tonne Gorshkov aircraft carrier, whose purchase India is negotiating with Russia.

INS Trishul will take part in Russia's first International Maritime Defence Show, which opened in St. Petersburg today.

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