India on Wednesday entered the stealth warfare era with the induction of Krivak-III class frigate INS Talwar, which Naval chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh said would be the sharpest sword of the country's maritime forces and would add punch to its naval might.

"Every navy tries to acquire longer-range weapons and sensor capability. This ship has much larger range and sensor capability than any ship of the Indian Navy has today. It will enable India to target more further away," Admiral Singh told PTI after the formal commissioning of the frigate at a colourful ceremony.

INS Talwar is first to be inducted among the three new-generation stealth frigates India had orderd from Russia under a $ 900 million deal.

The second frigate INS Trishul will be inducted on June 25, when Defence Minister George Fernandes is expected to visit St Petersburg to attend the International Maritime Salon-2003. The third frigate, INS Tabar, currently undergoing sea trials, is to be delivered by the end of this year.

Admiral Singh noted that Krivak-III class frigates of the Project 1135.6 are the example of a new trend in Indo-Russian naval cooperation, which has now confidently moved to joint designing, production and technology transfer.

A large number of new generation systems, including sonar 'Hans', fitted on the Talwar class Indian frigates are designed and developed in India, he added.

Admiral Singh said that India is firm on its policy of self reliance in defence production and the country's three main shipyards have built 90 ships and vessels for the navy.