INS Trikand

	INS Trikand entering Portsmouth Naval Base, UK, 2013
History
India
Name:	INS Trikand
Namesake:	'Mythological arrow consisting of three arrowheads'
Ordered:	14 July 2007
Builder:	Yantar Shipyard
Laid down:	11 June 2008
Launched:	25 May 2011
Commissioned:	29 June 2013
Status:	in active service
Badge:	INS Trikand seal
General characteristics
Class and type:	-class frigate
Displacement:	3,620 long tons (3,678 t) standard; 4,035 long tons (4,100 t) full load;
Length:	124.8 m (409 ft 5 in)
Beam:	15.2 m (49 ft 10 in)
Draught:	4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
Propulsion:	2 × DS-71 cruise turbines (9,000 shp)); 2 × DT-59 boost turbines (19,500 shp);
Speed:	30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	4,850 nmi (8,980 km; 5,580 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph); 1,600 nmi (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph);
Complement:	180 (18 officers)
Armament:	Anti-air missiles:; 24 × Shtil-1 medium range missiles; 8 × Igla-1E (SA-16); Anti-ship/Land-attack missiles:; 8 × VLS launched BrahMos, anti-ship cruise missiles; Guns:; 1 × 100 mm A-190E, naval gun; 2 × AK-630 CIWS; Anti-submarine warfare:; 2 × 2 533 mm torpedo tubes; 1 × RBU-6000 (RPK-8) rocket launcher;
Aircraft carried:	1 × Ka-28 Helix-A, Ka-31 Helix B or HAL Dhruv helicopter

INS Trikand (F51) is a -class frigate of the Indian Navy.^[3] She is the third and final ship of the second batch of Talwar-class frigates ordered by the Indian Navy. She was built by the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. She was commissioned to Indian Navy service on 29 June 2013.

Design[edit]

Trikand belongs to the class of guided missile frigates. These are modified Krivak III-class frigates built by Russia. These ships use stealth technologies and a special hull design to ensure a reduced radar cross section.^[4]^[5] Much of the equipment on the ship is Russian-made, but a significant number of systems of Indian origin have also been incorporated. The main difference between the second batch and the first three Talwar-class ships is the use of BrahMos missiles in place of the Klub-N missiles in the earlier ships. She is the last of the three frigates built in Russia as a follow-up order to the first batch of Talwar-class frigates.^[6]

Construction[edit]

Trikand was laid down on 11 June 2008.^[7] She was launched on 27 May 2011 by Ira Malhotra, the wife of the Indian Ambassador to Russia, Ajai Malhotra.^[8] Delivery was delayed from the original goal of April 2012 due to labour shortages and supply chain issues.^[9]

She was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 29 June 2013 by Vice Admiral R K Dhowan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, in a ceremony held at Kaliningrad. Captain Ajay Kochhar was the commissioning commanding officer of INS Trikand. She joined join the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy.^[7]

Service history[edit]

Deployment	Date	Port visited	Commander	Notes and References
2013
Commissioned			Captain Ajay Kochhar^[10]
2016
East Africa and the Southern Indian Ocean with naval destroyer INS Kolkata and fleet tanker INS Aditya	31 August-3 September	Antsirananna, Madagascar	Captain Arjun Dev Nair^[11]	Relief material for people affected by bush fires.^[12]^[13]
	6–9 September	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania		^[14]^[15]
	17–20 September	Maputo, Mozambique		^[16]
	20–23 September	Durban, South Africa		^[17]^[18]