A delegation of Indian military officials, led by India's deputy chief of the naval staff, Vice Admiral Raman P. Suthan, visited the Yantar shipyard in eastern Russian portcity of Kaliningrad last October and said they were satisfied with the pace and the construction quality.

Russia previously built three Krivak class frigates - INS Talwar, INS Trishul and INS Tabar - for India in 2004, but they all were delivered late.

All of the new frigates will be armed with eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile systems and not the Club-N/3M54TE missile system, which was installed on previous frigates.

The Krivak class frigate has deadweight of 4,000 metric tons and a speed of 30 knots, and is capable of accomplishing a wide range of maritime missions, primarily hunting down and destroying large surface ships and submarines.

--RIA Novosti

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