As part of an operational deployment, Indian Navy’s frigate INS Trishul (F43) arrived at Toulon naval base, France on September 22, 2026 to participate in the bilateral naval exercise Varuna.
Pictures taken by Toulon-based photographer and regular contributor to Naval News, Hervé Dermoune, show several upgrades the Talwar-class has received in recent years.
The Project 11356 frigate was built in Russia’s Baltic shipyard and commissioned in 2003. Trishul is the second Talwar class frigate of the Indian Navy and part of the first batch of three ships. India then ordered three in 2006 which were built by Yantar shipyard. In 2018, India signed two separate deals, one to import two more frigates by Yantar and the second to make two more at India’s Goa Shipyard Limited. Naval News has covered the newer vessels extensively and the two vessels built in India remains to be commissioned.
Footage from the deployment released by the Indian Navy confirms that Trishul now features a BrahMos capable UVLM. The Klub firing UKSK which was fitted on the first three ships of which Talwar and Tabar had been spotted with the UVLM earlier. With this all Talwar class frigates now have the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
Images by Naval News showcase some of the upgrades received by INS Trishul and sister ships in recent years, mostly replacing legacy Russian systems. The first two batches of the Talwar class have been equipped with the Atlas Elektronik ACTAS stern mounted sonar. These upgrades were first publicly spotted in 2021. Also seen is an anti-torpedo decoy system, built by either Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) or Mahindra Defence. Behind the primary radar, a distinctive box shaped ESM equipment and a COMINT antenna can be seen shielded from the ship’s emissions by a saucer shaped shield. Both are produced by BEL.
The main gun is the 76m SRGM and the BEL made Lynx U2 fire control radar can be seen above the bridge. The Kashtan CIWS was replaced by the AK-630. Several smaller radars were replaced by Western systems. Four 12.7 mm Stabilised Remote Control Guns (SRCG) by Elbit – AWEIL are also present, with two of the guns at the stern.
The Talwar class is also set to receive some more major upgrades. The Talwar class has been known to be in consideration to be fitted with the MFSTAR-RA radar and MRSAM surface to air missiles instead of their currently equipped Russian equivalents. BEL is reportedly expected to bag a contract to retrofit its Advanced Composite Communication System (ACCS) across 10 vessels including Talwar class vessels Talwar, Tabar, Trishul, Teg and Tarkash; with other vessels INS Ranvir, Kora, Kirch, Khanjar and Sumitra.
Visits by Indian ships to mainland France is a relatively rare occurrence, with India attempting to have one deployment every year. Earlier in March 2026, Indian Navy’s sail training ship, INS Sudarshini, arrived at Sète as part of its transoceanic expedition Lokayan-26. The French territory of La Réunion hosts Indian vessels on deployment to the southern Indian Ocean Region, conducting exercises with resident French naval assets. In 2025 two training vessels visited the island.
In September 2024, a P-8I aircraft was deployed to Europe for the first time, landing at Air Base 125 Istres-Le Tubé for Exercise Varuna with the French Navy. The annual exercise is the most visible interaction between the two navies with the 2024 edition seeing Talwar class frigate INS Tabar visit Toulon. INS Trishul previously visited France in 2017 when three Indian warships INS Mumbai, Trishul, and Aditya visited Toulon for Exercise Varuna.
