The Indian Navy commissioned the newest Car Nicobar-class fast attack craft INS Tihayu at the Eastern Naval Command during an October 19 ceremony.
The ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral HCS Bisht AVSM, chief of Eastern Naval Command at the naval dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
INS Tihayu would be based in Visakhapatnam under the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh) and would be deployed for coastal patrol and surveillance operations along the Eastern Coast.
INS Tihayu is the second ship of the four improved versions of the water jet fast attack craft (FO-WJFAC), being built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE).
The Indian Navy operates ten first-generation Car Nicobar-class ships which were commissioned into the navy between 2009 and 2011.
The vessels are built for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrol the warship is fitted with advanced MTU engines, water jet propulsion and the latest communication equipment.
The ships are armed with a 30 mm CRN 91 gun manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak. The gun is controlled by an electronic day-night fire control system named Stabilised Optronic Pedestal (SOP) manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). INS Tihayu is also equipped with two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (HMG) and multiple medium machine guns, besides shoulder-launched Igla surface-to-air missiles to combat aerial threats.