What is INS Tabar?

About INS Tabar:

• It is a stealth frigatebuilt for the Indian Navy in Russia.
• It is the third of the Talwar-class frigate of the Indian Navy. 
• The frigate was commissioned on 19 April 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia.
• INS Tabar has the ability to handle air/surface/sub-surface missions or defending herself, operating either independently on maritime missions or supporting a larger naval task force.
• The ship is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet, which is based in Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
• Features:
  • Fully loaded, INS Tabar has a displacement of 4,035 tons.
  • Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
  • Maximum range is 4,850 nautical miles (8,980 km; 5,580 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), while at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), the range lessens to 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi).
  • The ship is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors.
  • It is the first vessel in the Talwar class frigate to be armed with supersonic BrahMos (anti-ship cruise missiles).
  • It is also equipped with Barak-1 missiles.

Q1: What is BrahMos?

It is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, sea, and air. It has been developed by Brahmos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. It is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage, which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet, or second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in the cruise phase. It is one of the fastest cruise missiles currently operationally deployed, with a speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly three times more than the speed of sound.

Source: Russian President Vladimir Putin greets INS Tabar on Russia’s Navy Day