A Russian shipyard said on Thursday it would complete the construction of the second of three missile frigates for the Indian Navy by March 2009.

The Yantar shipyard in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad said the second Project 11356 frigate was more than 50% complete.

India and Russia signed a $1.6 billion contract for the construction of an additional three Project 11356 Krivak IV-class guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy in July, 2006.

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

The final vessel is due to be delivered to India by 2011-12. All of the frigates will be armed with the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile system instead of 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.