Indian Navy Developments & Discussions

[.v0id]

This Thread is Dedicated To India Navy .

India's first nuke sub soon: Antony

Bangalore: India is likely to have its first indigenous nuclear submarine up and running shortly. Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said the project was in its final stages and the launch would be announced once it is ready.
Commenting on the secretive Advance Technology Vehicle (ATV) project — India's efforts to develop a nuclear powered submarine to complete its 'triad' or its ability to deliver nuclear weapons from the air, ground and sea — the minister said though there had been some bottlenecks in the project, things were improving now.
"Things are in the final stage. Some time ago, there were bottlenecks in terms of supply of parts. It is over now. We will announce it (the launch) whenever it gets ready," the Defence Minister said, after inauguration of the Aero India military air show here.
Indian Navy Chief Sureesh Mehta had hinted last year that the project was in the final stage and the vessel was likely to be launched by 2009.
While China already has three classes of operational nuclear submarines, including ones fitted with nuclear tipped missiles, India doesn't have an undersea platform to deliver nuclear weapons in a 'second strike' or response attack.

India has also signed a lease agreement to take on a Russian Akula II class nuclear submarine for ten years to train its sailors, but the project got delayed after the Nerpa submarine had an accident onboard during sea trials in Russia.

While India never openly talks about the ATV project, in the past two years, the Defence Minister and the Navy Chief have been making subtle comments on the submarine. The Navy Chief said that a technology demonstrator submarine could be launched for sea trials by 2009.
Antony also reaffirmed that India's defence spending would not be affected by the global slowdown.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indias-first-nuke-sub-soon-antony/422389/

 

[nitesh]

INDRA 2009: Russia, India Conclude Maritime Military Exercise Off Somali Coast

Press Trust of India reports that India and Russia have concluded a major military, counter piracy naval exercise off the Somali coast in the Arabian Sea. Indian and Russian navies hold biennial naval war-games.

-- RIA Novosti confirms that the exercise focused specifically on counter piracy operations.

-- "The second stage of the INDRA-2009 exercise was held off the Somali coast and was primarily dedicated to anti-piracy operations, The Russian and Indian warships that took part in the exercise practiced escorting commercial ships in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden,"" Russian Naval Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky was quoted as saying.

-- Admiral Vysotsky added that the warships made extensive use of deck-based aircraft to locate and monitor the movements of small boats that could have presented potential threats to merchant vessels. While Indian navy's 'INS Tabar' stealth frigate took part in the drill, the Russian side was represented by Pacific Fleet's Udaloy class destroyer 'Admiral Vinogradov', the Northern Fleet's nuclear-powered 'Pyotr Veliky' missile cruiser, 'Admiral Levchenko' destroyer and several support ships.

-- The first stage of INDRA-2009 was limited to PASSEX type exercise in practicing combat interoperability and communications drills with the involvement of Russian 'Pyotr Veliky' missile cruiser and the guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi as "Admiral Vinogradov" also known as submarine killer could not turn up due to 'technical problems'
INDRA 2009: Russia, India Conclude Maritime Military Exercise Off Somali Coast | India Defence

 

[nitesh]

Indian navy anti piracy efforts

UN empowers land operations against Somali pirates

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for the first time authorizing international land operations against audacious, armed pirates sheltering in Somalia.

In this photograph released by the Indian Navy, Indian Marine Commandos board a suspected pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden December 13. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for the first time authorizing international land operations against audacious, armed pirates sheltering in Somalia.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed the adoption Tuesday of the US resolution saying it sent a "strong signal to combat the scourge of piracy" and stressed the need "to end the impunity of Somali pirates."

The text, co-sponsored by Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, gives those nations already involved in battling pirates off Somalia a one-year mandate to act against the brigands inside the country.

Resolution 1851 authorizes the states to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

However, to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace" was dropped.

Increasingly emboldened, pirates have carried out more than 100 attacks in the key shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean since the start of this year.

Last month, they captured the world's attention when they hijacked the Saudi-owned super-tanker Sirius Star, carrying two million barrels of crude oil, and demanded a 25-million dollar ransom for the boat and its crew.

It is one of about 17 ships, including an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo vessel, currently in pirate hands.

Rice told the high-profile UN ministerial session that the US intended to work with partners to set up a contact group on Somali piracy, adding the insecurity and lawlessness in the Horn of Africa nation had to be urgently addressed.

Tuesday's resolution was the fourth approved by the council since June to combat the rampant piracy off Somalia's coast. And unlike previous resolutions, the current text empowers states combating piracy to conduct operations on land in Somalia.

But the Pentagon warned there were "practical challenges" to taking such action inside Somalia.

"We welcome the passing of the resolution. We will continue to work with our allies and partners to address this troublesome problem," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

He pointed out that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates had raised "some of the practical challenges associated with combating this illegal activity."

Rice also told the UN session attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Chinese deputy foreign minister He Yafei and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, that it was time "to authorize a UN peacekeeping operation" in Somalia.

Ethiopian troops, who intervened in Somalia in 2006 to prop up the weak transitional government, will be withdrawn early next month, leaving the ill-equipped and under-strength 3,400-strong African Union force on its own to face a resurgent Islamic rebellion.

UN chief Ban welcomed the council's actions to combat Somali piracy and said he would submit recommendations "on ways to ensure the long-term security of international navigation off the coast of Somalia."

But he stressed the need to address the country's broader security challenge, saying the most appropriate response was "a multinational force (MNF), rather than a typical peacekeeping operation."

Ban said he had approached 50 countries and three international organizations for contributions to such a force.

Indonesia's UN Ambassador Marty Natalegawa meanwhile made clear that "the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia needs to be undertaken in full compliance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

Ban added the council could explore the possibility of setting up a maritime task force or adding to the current anti-piracy operations "a quick reaction component."

NATO has also dispatched naval forces to the region, joining other national navies in place, but increasingly bold and well-equipped pirates have continued their attacks.
Bangkok Post : UN empowers land operations against Somali pirates

 

[nitesh]

First indigenous aircraft carrier to be built soon-Goa-Cities-The Times of India

First indigenous aircraft carrier to be built soon
13 Feb 2009, 0415 hrs IST, TNN


PANAJI: The keel for India's first indigenous aircraft carrier also known as the air defence ship (ADS) will be laid shortly at Cochin shipyard, Kerala, said admiral Sureesh Mehta, chief of naval staff.

Speaking at a ceremony in Goa on Thursday, where the Indian Navy took into possession Mhadei', a sail-powered yacht that will be used for solo circumnavigation, Mehta said that the ADS should accommodate 20-odd aircraft.

The original plan for the carrier, is to have the light combat aircraft (LCA) and the advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv in its fleet of assorted aircraft besides MiG 29 K and Ka-31. The ADS will be launched by October 2010, as per the phase I contract signed by its manufacturer Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) with the defence ministry.

While the vessel is scheduled to be launched by 2010, design work on the project is in progress and the fabrication of hull blocks has already started, reports stated.

Mehta on Thursday said that the ADS would cost India around Rs 2,000 crore. The navy chief further said that India's biggest military aircraft deal with the United States, for a maritime surveillance aircraft would see the acquisition of eight P-81 long-range reconnaissance aircraft for the Indian Navy.

The contract was signed on January 1 in New Delhi. It has been reported that India will receive the first P-81 in 2013 while the remaining seven will be procured in a phased manner over the next three or four years. The contract includes lifetime maintenance support and an option for the acquisition of up to eight additional P-81 aircraft.

The deal comes less than a year after India and US-based Lockheed Martin signed an agreement worth 962 million dollars for the purchase of six C-130 Hercules transport planes for the Indian army. Last year, India also signed a 1.5-billion euro (US $ 2.2 billion) deal with France's Dassault to upgrade 51 Mirage 2000 fighter jets, which the Indian air force bought in 1985.

Mehta also outlined the Indian Navy's plans for expansion and said that the goals for 2022 would be to have a fleet of 160 ships and over 300 aircraft.

 

[nitesh]

RIA Novosti - World - Russia delivers 4 MiG-29 fighters to India

Russia delivers 4 MiG-29 fighters to India

BANGALORE (India), February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has delivered the first four MiG-29 Fulcrum-D naval fighters to India and will supply the remaining 12 aircraft by the end of 2009, the head of Russia's MiG aircraft maker said on Thursday.

Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the supply of 12 single-seat MiG-29K and four two-seat MiG-29KUB to New Delhi as part of a $750 million deal to deliver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy.

"The first four aircraft have been inspected by Indian technical experts and the [Indian] pilots are taking a five-month flight training course," Mikhail Pogosyan said at a news conference on the sidelines of the Aero India 2009 show in the southern city of Bangalore.

Pogosyan also said the remaining fighters would be delivered to India by the yearend, as stipulated by the contract.

The aircraft will be later deployed on board the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, which is due to enter service in the Indian navy in 2012 as the INS Vikramaditya.

 

[.v0id]

Indian Navy to Commission INS Carnicobar, INS Chetlat

Today the Indian Navy will commission two ships, INS Carnicobar and INS Chetlat. These would be the first two in a series of ten Water Jet fast attack ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.

The ships are being commissioned at Chennai by the Hon'ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala and are the first ever water jet propelled ships of the Indian Navy. The commissioning marks another step in the direction of indigenisation of the Navy's ship building efforts.

These fast attack crafts are named after pristine islands located in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep respectively and will be based at Chennai thereby strengthening coastal security of the region. These fast attack crafts are most suited for interception of fast moving surface crafts apart from performing anti smuggling, fisheries protection, as well as search and rescue operations where time is of paramount importance.

These are the two ships of a new generation of ten Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts, designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. They are an improvement upon the earlier version of the Fast Attack Crafts, with a more efficient hull form developed indigenously. The Fast Attack Crafts can achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots.

The Water Jets of these ships are coupled with latest generation MTU 16V 4000 M90 engines with a combined propulsion power of 8160KW. The modified Aluminium superstructure of the vessels, reduces their Radar Cross Sections (RCS) and also provides improved habitability. A Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plants allow for fresh water generation increasing vessel endurance while the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) complies with the latest International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations on sea pollution. The armament includes the 30mm CRN-91 Gun along with sensors manufactured by Ordnance Factory, Medak. The ships are equipped with IGLA missiles, SLRs, HMGs and LMG/MMG in their armament fit. These features are an up-dation over ships of the previous class and the current version of design is comparable with similar ships, built across the world.

Source: Indian Navy to Commission INS Carnicobar, INS Chetlat | India Defence

 

[jayadev]

Governor commissions warships

Feb 2009 04:35:39 PM ISTLast Updated : 17 Feb 2009 05:03:54 PM IST
CHENNAI: Two modern and indigenous warships, INS Car Nicobar and INS Chetlat, mainly meant for coastal surveillance, were inducted into the Indian Navy here on Monday. Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala commissioned the two ‘water-jet fast attack crafts’ at a glittering function at the Chennai Port.<br>Addressing a gathering of naval officers and others, Barnala said, the commissioning of these modern ships was yet another step in the direction of indigenisation of the Indian Navy’s ship building efforts.<br>“We have the capacity and the capability, and today we have proved that we are among the very few nations who have mastered the art and skill of complex ship building techniques,” Governor added.<br>These two ships would be the first in a series of 10 water-jet fast attack crafts being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.<br>Speaking to reporters, Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma, Eastern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, said, “These crafts are the first ever water-jet propelled ships of the Indian Navy, which can pass through in shallow draught of even three metres and very useful for effective coastal
Governor commissions warships

 

[jayadev]

Indian Navy all set to hasten process for acquiring aircraft

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) With security of coastal areas coming in for greater attention in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, the Indian Navy is all set to "hasten" the process of acquiring six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, bids for which have been submitted to the Defence Ministry.

"Bids were submitted by the contenders in November last year before the Mumbai attacks. But with an urgency to fill the gaps in security of coastal areas, the acquisition process for these aircraft will be hastened," Defence Ministry sources told PTI.

The bidders for the contract include American Boeing with P-8 (a derivative of P-8I), Russian Illyushin, French Dassault Falcon and EADS. The request for proposal (RFP) for procuring these aircraft was floated by the Ministry in June 2008.

"Right now the bids submitted by the contenders are being evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) of the Defence Ministry. By the end of this month, these companies are expected to submit their offset proposals to the Ministry," they said.

Under the Defence Procurement Procedure 2008, it is mandatory for the companies awarded defence contracts worth over USD 300 million to invest 30 per cent of the total amount back in the Indian defence sector. After going through the technical and offsets bids, the Ministry will shortlist the contenders who meet the requirements. PTI
Indian Navy all set to hasten process for acquiring aircraft

 

[jayadev]

Indian defence shipyards flush with orders for small,med boats

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) With the Home Ministry looking to procure more boats for uniformed forces under it, Indian defence shipyards are flush with orders for supplying small and medium sized boats.
The Goa Shipyard limited has received an order for 116 boats from the Home Ministry and the shipyard has supplied two boats each of five tonne and 12 tonne class to the Home Ministry, Defence Ministry said in a document listing its achievements in the last year.

Similarly, Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) yard has orders for construction of 78 interceptor boats from various Government agencies.

Some of these boats have even been exported to countries such as Maldives and Bhutan.

The Border Security Force under the Home Ministry has its own water-wing and uses it for patrolling riverine areas in the North-east and the Creek area on the western frontier.

For the Navy, the shipyard delivered the Landing Ship Tank INS Kesari and two waterjet fast attack crafts.

The shipyard has signed various MoUs with private sector companies to encourage their partnership with the Public sector.

The Mazgaon dockyards is also undertaking construction of three stealth frigates, three missile destroyers and six Scorpene submarines under Navy's Project-17, Project 15A and Project 75 respectively. PTI

Indian defence shipyards flush with orders for small,med boats

 

[nitesh]

some really good news:

India's indigenous aircraft carrier to sail by 2011: Indian Navy chief-India-The Times of India

India's indigenous aircraft carrier to sail by 2011: Indian Navy chief
18 Feb 2009, 1356 hrs IST, IANS


NEW DELHI: Progressing towards self-reliance in the defence industry, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier will be in the waters by 2011, Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said Wednesday.

The under-construction aircraft carrier will be ready in two years.

"Our indigenous aircraft carrier is being constructed in Kochi. It has been three years since the work started. On Feb 28, what we call keel laying of the carrier will take place," Mehta told reporters here.

The building of a ship can be divided into seven phases: design, construction planning, work prior to keel laying, ship erection, launching, final outfitting, and sea trials.

"Many of the parts have already been constructed. My estimate is that it should be in the water in two years," Mehta said.

The aircraft carrier is expected to have 40,000 tonne displacement capacity at an estimated cost of Rs.3,000 crore (Rs.30 billion).

The Indian Navy is currently operating only one full deck aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, also the only one being operated by a country in Asia or Western Pacific. In a bid to become a true-blue water navy, the Indian Navy is expected to operate three aircraft carriers by 2015.

 

[pyromaniac]

Shivalik-class frigates ready for trial


Mumbai, Feb 08: The first of the three Shivalik-class stealth frigates being built at Mazagon Dock here is ready for sea trial in March-April and it would be delivered to the Indian Navy in the next few months.

"We are taking the frigate for sea trials after March. We may deliver the frigate either before the monsoon or after the monsoon," an official of Mazagon Dock said.

"Delivery of the frigate during the monsoon will not be appropriate," the official said.

The Dock has begun work on the second and third frigates, too. The company expects to finish and deliver remaining frigates by 2010, the official said.

The building of the Shivalik was launched in 2003 and the rest at 2004 and 2005 as part of Project 17 -- Centre's indigenous programme to build mutli-role surface ships.

The stealth frigate is designed to avoid enemy radars and works on principles of reducing the ship's signature. The ship is fitted with a mix of Indian, Russian and Western weaponry systems along with both air defence and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

The frigate also carries two advanced helicopters. The total length of the ship is 142.5 metres and breadth 16.90 metres. The total displacement of the ship is 4,900 tonnes. It is powered by gas and diesel turbines.

Shivalik-class frigates ready for trial by Indian Navy

 

[pyromaniac]

No face-off between Indian, Chinese Navies: Admiral Sureesh Mehta

New Delhi, Feb 08: Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Sunday refuted reports of a confrontation between the Indian and Chinese Navies in the Gulf of Aden.

According to recent reports in Chinese media, the Communist nation’s warships on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden caught an Indian Navy submarine snooping on them in the international waters and forced it to surface. The reports said that the two Asian neighbours were reportedly trying to test each other's sonar systems for weaknesses. Two Chinese destroyers and an anti-submarine helicopter pursued the Indian submarine after it was detected on the Sonar.

Rubbishing the reports as baseless, Mehta said, “No such incident happened with an Indian submarine.”

Chinese media has been flooded with the several versions of the incident.

Some reports claimed that that a tense stand-off occurred between Chinese warships and an Indian submarine on January 15 near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, at the western end of the Gulf of Aden.

Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden saw a rapid rise in 2008 and there were more than 100 such attacks.

An EU anti-piracy task force set up in December was the first such naval operation of its kind. India, Iran, the US and China are among other nations with naval forces deployed off Somalia.

 

[Sridhar]

AERO INDIA: Naval helicopter request for proposals expected around mid-2009
By Siva Govindasamy

India could issue a request for proposals for naval multirole helicopters around mid-2009, with the country looking for 16 aircraft to replace its ageing Sea Kings.

The European NH Industries consortium is likely to offer the NH90, while Sikorsky's S-70B Seahawk will be in the mix as a direct commercial sale. The Sikorsky MH-60R is to be offered as part of the US government's foreign military sale mechanism.

Industry sources expect New Delhi to make a decision by early 2010, with deliveries to begin around 18 months later. The final requirement could reach around 60 helicopters. India wants the aircraft to be equipped with anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare equipment, including cruise missiles and torpedoes, and capable of being refuelled in flight. The type will operate from both naval vessels and land bases.

NH90
© NH Industries

The acquisition is part of the Indian navy's plan to modernise its aviation wing in the coming years. To augment its rotorcraft fleet, the service plans to acquire additional Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters, and could conduct mid-life upgrades to its Ka-28 and Westland Sea King transport helicopters.

It is also bolstering its fixed-wing fleet, ordering eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft in January, and is beginning a competition to select eight medium-range maritime patrol aircraft. It has also ordered the MiG-29K naval fighters and is contemplating the purchase of a naval version of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft. Hindustan Aeronautics is also working with Israel to develop an unmanned air vehicle based on its Cheetah helicopter for the navy, with the service possibly ordering around 40 of the type.

AERO INDIA: Naval helicopter request for proposals expected around mid-2009

 

[A.V.]

Indian Navy orders navigation equipment for its warship Project 15 Alpha – Kolkata

Consilium has received an order to deliver navigation equipment for three destroyers being built at the Mazagon yard in Mumbai for the Indian Navy. The order value is more than 4 MSEK.

The order consists of navigation equipment for the naval vessels in India’s new destroyer program (Project 15 Alpha – Kolkata), based on the Consilium Selux radar.

The destroyers will be fitted with numerous top modern technical solutions, and will with a cruising speed of more than 30 knots also be used for protection of the Indian coast from piracy and drug trafficking. Consilium will deliver the equipment during the 2009-2011 period


Indian Navy orders navigation equipment for its warship Project 15 Alpha ? Kolkata | Frontier India Strategic and Defence - News, Analysis, Opinion

 

[Sridhar]

India : Sweden's Consilium AB wins NOK4m navigation equipment order from Indian navy

Author: idrw team | 19 February 2009 | Views: 46

BY : TMC

Swedish marine systems maker Consilium AB (OMX Stockholm:CONS B) said on Wednesday (18 February) that it has won an order for navigation equipment from the Indian navy.

The order, valued at over SEK4m, covers navigation products based on Consilium's Selux radar for three vessels under construction for the Indian navy at the Mazagon shipyard in Mumbai.

The equipment will be delivered during 2009-2011.

Consilium, headquartered in Nacka, Sweden, develops fire & gas detection systems and navigation equipment. The company has 400 employees and annual sales of SEK900m.

Sweden's Consilium AB wins NOK4m navigation equipment order from Indian navy www.idrw.org / Indian Defense Research Wing

 

[nitesh]

'Suspicious' army speedboats trigger panic
23 Feb 2009, 0153 hrs IST, Sandhya Nair & Yogesh Naik, TNN

MUMBAI: The authorities guarding the coastline of Mumbai and nearby areas were on high alert on Sunday after local fishermen spotted two
unidentified speedboats off the Satpati coast, in Palghar taluka, around 120 km north of metropolis.

Maritime security personnel and local police deployed aircraft and ships in an intense search operation.

However, after over eight hours of patrolling, they discovered that it was a group of army personnel on a sailing expedition.

The Coast Guard's inspector-general (west) Rajendra Singh said they were army boats that were headed north on an expedition. They left Mumbai on Saturday evening.

"The army personnel had tied black scarves on their heads, which could have confused the fishermen,'' said Singh. He pointed out that the Coast Guard and Navy sent their ships and aircraft after they were informed about the "suspicious'' boats.

A group of fishermen, who ventured into the sea on Saturday evening, reportedly spotted two vessels, which aroused their suspicion. They tried to communicate with the occupants of the vessel, who looked like `foreigners', said Rambhau Patil, president of the Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti, a fishermen's welfare organisation in Palghar.

"Our fishermen were trying to speak to the occupants in both Hindi and English, but they did not respond and sped away,'' said Patil. The fishermen, who have been more cautious after the November 26 terror attack, informed their colleagues, who alerted the Coast Guard and the local police.

Palghar deputy SP Smartana Patil said search operations began early on Sunday morning after they received information from the fishermen. Mumbai was also put on high alert following the news. It was only late in the evening that they learnt these were army expedition boats.

Ever since 26/11, the fishing community has had several meetings with the police and the Coast Guard.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...edboats-trigger-panic/articleshow/4171897.cms

 

[Sridhar]

Naval pilots undergoing training on MiG-29Ks in Russia

Ravi Sharma

BANGALORE: The Navy’s acquisition of the 45,000-tonne Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov may have run into serious cost and time overruns. But it has not come in the way of the type conversion training in Russia of Indian naval pilots who will fly the MiG-29K aircraft that are going to be part of the carrier once it gets commissioned into the Navy as INS Vikramaditya.

Speaking to The Hindu during the recent Aero India 2009, the Director-General of the Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC) MiG, Mikhail Aslanovich Pogosyan said naval pilots were presently being given flight training, with the training in theory just completed.

The six-month intensive training for pilots from the Indian Navy started in October.

As part of its aircraft carrier plans, the Indian Navy in January 2004 ordered at a cost of $740 million 16 MiG-29Ks from Russia that included 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four tandem-seat MiG-29KUB operational conversion trainers.

The 16 aircraft are also being upgraded from purely medium multi-role combat fighters into dedicated, network-centric information warfare platforms that possess force-multiplier capabilities such as airborne early warning & control as well as offensive electronic jamming.

Mr. Pogosyan, who has recently been appointed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the overall head of nearly all of Russia’s defence manufacturing and designing industry, said four certified MiG-29Ks had already been transferred to the Indian project team in Russia.

“Indian pilots are already training to fly the MiG-29Ks from a shore-based facility. They have been doing even 15 sorties in a day during the winter. We expect the first four MiG-29Ks to arrive in India later this year, with the other 12 being delivered by 2010.” Mr. Pogosyan also disclosed that the MiG-29Ks meant for India would be certified by Russian pilots taking of from a Russian carrier. However there were no plans as of now for Indian pilots to train from a Russian carrier.

Once the trained pilots are back in India, the Navy hopes to continue their training by using the Shore-based Test Facility (SBTF) that has been constructed with Russian help at the naval airbase INS Hansa in Goa.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/22/stories/2009022253561000.htm

 

[nitesh]

Sonar Development

 

[A.V.]

Women may get to serve on warships

The last symbol of male supremacy in the Indian navy could soon be consigned to history. The navy is laying the groundwork for putting women on warships, a role they have never been considered fit for in an overwhelmingly male-dominated military culture.

Though the government is yet to give its approval to deploy women in combat roles, the naval headquarters is thinking ahead. A senior navy officer, wishing not to be named, said all future warships would have exclusive berthing facilities for women.

The armed forces began inducting women in the early 1990s. There are only 258 women among 7,336 officers in the navy. Some of them could find themselves serving aboard the largest warship to be ever built in India — the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). The carrier, likely to be inducted in 2014, would have berthing areas separated by gender, the officer said.

The IAC’s keel-laying ceremony, marking the beginning of its construction, will be held in Kochi on February 28.

Once commissioned, the Rs 3,260-crore warship will carry 1,600 sailors and 30 embarked aircraft — including MiG-29 fighters and the indigenously developed light combat aircraft. The 40,000-tonne carrier will be 14 storeys high. Only the United States, Russia and France have built aircraft carriers of this size.

The Shivalik-class stealth frigates, set to undergo sea trials shortly, and the latest Kolkata-class destroyers have also been designed to accommodate women.

The Defence Ministry decided to grant permanent commissions to women officers last September.

They continue to be excluded from close-combat responsibilities, which include serving in the infantry, armoured corps, flying fighters and serving aboard warships. The branches opened for permanent commission include Judge Advocate General, Army Education Corps and corresponding branches in the navy and the air force.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Story...=4932&Headline=Women+to+be+on+navy’s+warships

 

[Rage]

The following, from respected defence commentator Shiv Aroor's blog, is a major- and should I say, extremely positive - development....provided it comes to fruition ofcourse

Cochin Shipyard to build 5 aircraft carriers

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The keel of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, to be the second warship christened INS Vikrant, will be laid on February 28 at Kochi. But it is now clear that while Cochin Shipyards will build three aircraft carriers in the current 37,500-ton category (the second and third are to be christened INS Viraat and INS Vishaal apparently), design work has already begun in earnest to develop and build two more aircraft carriers with not only much larger displacements, but possibly nuclear propulsion as well.

Unlike what the model in the photograph depicts, the new INS Vikrant will almost definitely be inaugurated with a flight of MiG-29Ks as its commissioning deck birds rather than the Naval Light Combat Aircraft (the Express has a report about this today). More details soon.

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2009/02/cochin-shipyard-to-build-5-aircraft.html