Indian Navy Developments & Discussions

[RPK]

domain-b.com : Larger strategic set-up will require chief of defence staff: Adm Sureesh Mehta

New Delhi: Outgoing navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, has said the present system of having a chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) was working fine but the armed forces would need the services of a chief of defence staff (CDS) as they step into a larger strategic setup. The chief was addressing a press conference ahead of his last day in office on Monday.

"Within the existing limitations, it (COSC system) is working fine...but in the due course of time as we go on to have a larger strategic set up, we will certainly need a CDS," he told reporters here.

"It would be difficult for one of the services chiefs to devote so much of time," he added.

He also said the Indian Navy would soon receive a Russian nuclear submarine.

As for the contentious Adm Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya) aircraft carrier issue, Adm Mehta said the country would soon complete negotiations over its price, for possible delivery by 2012.

He said in all likelihood the final price of the Russian-built carrier will be settled in two days time. Currently a Russian delegation is in the country to finalise the hiked price for the warship.

"Price negotiations are well underway. The Russian team is visiting us," he said. "The time frame (for the price fixation) is short. Hopefully, day after tomorrow," Mehta added.

Foe a variety of reasons, the original contracted price of $1.5 billion has now snowballed to $2.9 billion. According to reports, the India side is keen to settle for a figure closer to $2.2 billion.

Originally scheduled to be delivered in 2008, the vessel is now likely to arrive in 2012, which will be around the time when an indigenously constructed aircraft carrier from the Kochi shipyard will also be launched.

Currently, the Navy's INS Viraat, an old British carrier, has undergone an extensive refit.

Adm Mehta also confirmed that the country's nuclear powered submarine programme envisaged the construction of atleast two more submarines. The first of the class, INS Arihant, was launched for sea trials last month.

The admiral also distanced himself from a recent controversy involving senior defence scientist K Santhanam that the 1998 nuclear tests by India did not yield the desired results. He said the country's nuclear deterrent capabilities were ''proven and capable enough.''

''As far as we are concerned, we go by the views of the scientists. They have given us certain capability and that is capable enough to provide deterrence and they are proven,'' he said in response to questions about the capabilities of the country's nuclear arsenal.

 

[jayadev]

sea-harriers-airborne-again

LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: Navy's Sea Harriers Airborne Again

 

[F-14]

EXCLUSIVE: Navy's MiG-29K Squadron To Be Called "Black Panthers"
The Navy's brand new INAS 303 squadron is being christened "Black Panthers" and will get its first four MiG-29Ks in late October or early November. The squadron emblem (to the right) will be painted on the tails of all the MiG-29Ks -- a snarling Black Panther, with a red mouth and nose, and yellow eyes. According to sources, there had been talk of naming the squadron "Sea Wolves", though the Navy finally took a call to name the squadron after a big cat, like the White Tigers squadron is.

Sources at Naval HQ indicate that Commander Theophilus is tipped to take over as the first Commanding Officer of the Black Panthers squadron. Cdr Theophilus currently heads the Intensive Flying & Testing Unit (IFTU) that has been raised in anticipation of the MiG-29K.

The contract for 16 MiG-29K jets was signed with RAC-MiG on Jan 20, 2004 for $740.35-million, with an agreed delivery commencement date of June 2007 (more than two years late, as usual). More details on the Indian Navy's preparations for the MiG-29K soon on


LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: EXCLUSIVE: Navy's MiG-29K Squadron To Be Called "Black Panthers" .

 

[F-14]

PIB Press Release .

The 2009 edition of the Indian Maritime Doctrine was released here today, by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta. This capstone document was initially published in 2004 to provide a common understanding of universally applicable maritime concepts, not only for the uniformed fraternity but also for the public at large. This revision became necessitated, on account of the rapidly changing geostrategic environment, evolving operational complexities and transformational changes sweeping the maritime domain.

Since doctrines evolve over time, the present edition maintains its temporal relevance, addressing the tenets of contemporary maritime thought, with emphasis on the Indian maritime environment. The doctrine focuses on Concepts as well as Application of Maritime Power, and is the primary document from which other doctrines would flow. With increased emphasis on Maritime Affairs, the revised doctrine would serve to enhance awareness about India’s maritime environment and interests, and provide the fundamentals for Readiness and Response planning.

 

[I-G]

Scorpene project will cost Rs 2,000cr more

Scorpene project will cost Rs 2,000cr more
Rajat Pandit, TNN 29 August 2009, 12:42am IST


NEW DELHI: India will have to soon shell out well over Rs 2,000 crore more to French armament companies if it does not want its ongoing mammoth Rs
18,798 crore project to construct six Scorpene submarines at Mazagon Docks Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai to come to a grinding halt.

The Scorpene project, under which the first submarine was to roll out by December 2012, with the others following one per year thereafter, is already running two years behind schedule, as was first reported by TOI.

"Our submarine force-levels need to increase...there is no doubt. We have lost a lot of time (in the Scorpene project),'' says Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

Admiral Mehta, who retires after 42 years of service on August 31, has reason to be worried. India's underwater combat arm will left with only nine out of its present fleet of 16 diesel-electric submarines -- 10 Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW and two virtually obsolete Foxtrot -- by 2012.

The number will further dip to just five in 2014. This when Pakistan is now looking to induct three advanced Type-214 German submarines, equipped with AIP (air-independent propulsion) to enhance their operational capabilities, after inducting three French Agosta-90B submarines, with the last one PNS Hamza even having AIP.

China, on its part, has a staggering 62 submarines, with around 10 of them being nuclear-propelled, and at least one Xia-class and two Jin-class being SSBNs (nuclear submarines with long-range ballistic missiles).

Sources said the Defence Acquisitions Council, headed by defence minister A K Antony, this month decided to approach the Cabinet Committee on Security to grant approval to the cost escalation of the French `MDL procured material (MPM) packages' from around 400 million Euros to 700 million Euros now.

The negotiations for these MPM packages, which include virtually all major systems connected with sensors, propulsion and the like, apart from the combat systems, have been stuck on the price issue for well over a year now.

"The Scorpene submarine hulls are being fabricated in MDL but there are no systems to put inside them. The French say the earlier price of 400 million Euros for the MPM packages was quoted when the contracts were inked in October 2005 and prices have doubled since then,'' said a source.

The October 2005 contracts with French companies include the Rs 6,135 crore one with M/s Armaris (DCN-Thales joint venture) for transfer of technology, combat systems and construction design, and Rs 1,062 crore with M/s MBDA for sea-skimming Exocet missiles.

A Rs 5,888-crore contract was also signed with MDL for indigenous submarine construction, with another Rs 3,553 crore earmarked for taxes and Rs 2,160 crore towards other items to be acquired during the project.

Incidentally, as reported earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General in its latest report has blasted the government for taking nine years to finalise the Scorpene deal despite Navy's depleting underwater combat force-levels.

This delay led to increase in the project cost by Rs 2,838 crore. "Moreover, the contractual provisions resulted in undue financial advantage to the vendor of a minimum of Rs 349 crore, besides other unquantifiable benefits,'' said CAG.

Scorpene project will cost Rs 2,000cr more - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[icecoolben]

Our beauracracy needs to change from the grass roots, its way too slow to act. Its always resistant to change. The 100 days upa plan has yielded results to quote any. E-governance needs to be introduced quickly to make the government offices turn on their wheels. Our beauracracy is fat, lazy and intolerant. Strikes demanding wage hikes are the order of the days. I would say evolve a method to put into place corrective measures when the comptroller audit general issues anything critical of the government. Its like a regular applause that every deal is getting lamblasted and nothing is done to correct there, its always repeated again and again. To bring out a competitive india, v need comprehensive governance.

 

[RPK]

Navy factors in terrorism, coastal security in revamped maritime doctrine - India - NEWS - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Making major changes in its maritime doctrine given the evolving nature of modern warfare, the Indian Navy has revamped its existing
policies to factor in maritime terrorism, piracy and coastal security as matters of greater strategic importance.

The revamped doctrine, which was released by outgoing Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Friday, has an all-new chapter on naval combat power which highlights the everchanging demands on conceptual, human and physical components of warfare.

Navy spokesperson Commander PVS Satish said the rapid transformational changes in technology and consequently tactics have been dealt with in this new chapter.

Many of the chapters in the maritime doctrine, first brought out in 2004, have been changed. This includes one on concepts of maritime power where emphasis has been laid on the contribution of the government and the people towards attitudinal change and consciousness.

Post 26/11, a greater importance has been laid on creating awareness in the coastal belt and on plugging possible loopholes in the security apparatus. Efforts are being made at the government level for acquiring ships to beef up coastal security. All this adequately reflects in the Navy's revamped doctrine.

"This review was necessitated in the current geo-strategic environment, the growing needs of the nation," the Navy spokesperson said.

For the first time, the laws governing armed conflict have been covered in detail for a better understanding of the legal aspects covering combat. There are notable changes in the `principles of war' with the inclusion of `synergy' and `intelligence'.

 

[RPK]

New navy chief to take charge today: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

The country gets a new chief of naval staff on Monday with the retirement of the incumbent, Admiral Sureesh Mehta. The new man in office, Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, has his work cut out from the word go.

Admiral Verma, who has spent almost 40 years in service, commanded a variety of warships including the INS Viraat aircraft carrier. Destiny and timing chose him to be the navy's prestigious eastern commander allowing him to oversee the launch of India's first nuclear submarine in July.

Admiral Mehta, by his own admission, leaves a good deal of unfinished business for the new chief. The onus is now on the new admiral to take up India's maritime and coastal security on a footing like never before.

The new navy chief won't have a chance to breathe. There's urgent, critical work that needs his attention, work that has everything to do with India's security. Here are some of the immediate items on the new chief's table.

Challenges ahead
First off, the new chief will need to ensure that all lessons learnt from the 26/11 terror attacks are absorbed meaningfully into his war fighting formations and fleet units across the board.

With the navy now the nodal agency in charge of maritime security, the real test now rests on the shoulders of the new chief. He will need to push to proverbial boat out far more than any of his predecessors. Such is the present threat scenario.

Alarm bells have already gone off about India's rapidly depleting submarine strength. With China and Pakistan snooping around the Indian Ocean with impunity, Admiral Verma will have to work the impossible and get India's submarine strength back on track.

Starting with the Admiral Gorshkov fiasco to delayed construction of indigenous warships, Admiral Verma has grave bureaucratic entanglements to cut through to ensure his fleet levels do not get eroded.

Finally, with China's maritime equation getting a lot stronger, the Navy chief will have to quickly find ways to win the hearts of Indian Ocean countries, or lose them forever to the marauding maritime dragon.

 

[RPK]

Navy upgrades war doctrine

NEW DELHI: The Navy on Friday came out with an upgraded version of its war doctrine improving upon the last edition that was published five years ago. The Indian Maritime Doctrine, released by outgoing Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, includes new threat perceptions keeping in mind the security environment in the region and underlines the fact that low intensity warfare would continue to be one of the biggest challenges.


The maritime security network in the country has undergone a change after Mumbai attacks as the navy has become the nodal agency responsible for any threat from the sea.

The new doctrine takes into account organisational changes in the maritime security network of the country and puts in place operational requirements to cope with geostrategic realities.

It acknowledges that security environment in the region was fragile and India was an oasis of stability amidst all the chaos. This makes India’s position most vulnerable to outside threat.

The Navy said Indian Maritime Doctrine focuses on concepts and application of maritime power. It redefines India’s interests in the sea and enlists various environments in which the Navy would have to operate.

Admiral Sureesh Mehta had said on Thursday that India had a blue water Navy capable of operating in various environment. After Mumbai attacks, the Navy was made the nodal agency responsible for any threat from the sea.

The Mumbai attacks were seen as a failure of India’s maritime security network. One of the major problems was involvement of several agencies without any collective responsibility.

But the organisational set-up has changed. If an attack takes place from sea, the Navy would be held accountable.

The government has taken several steps to augment the operational capabilities by ordering new powerful boats, ships and weapons.

The surveillance and intelligence mechanisms have been strengthened.

There is much more co-ordination among various agencies.

The doctrine also talks about the need to make the force network centric.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma takes over as Navy chief​

Vice Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, who once commanded India's sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat, on Monday, took over as the new Navy chief. Vice Admiral Verma, who was till now the Eastern Naval Commander at Visakhapatnam , assumed responsibility as the head of world's fourth largest Navy from incumbent Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who retires from service. Verma, who was born on November 14 in 1950, was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Navy on July 1, 1970 and during his long service spanning nearly 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

His sea command experience includes the Leander-class Frigate INS Udaigiri, Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvir and the flagship aircraft carrier INS Viraat. Before taking over as Eastern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, he was the Navy vice chief and has been decorated with Param Vishist Seva Medal, Ati Vishist Seva Medal and honorary Aide de Camp of the President. An alumnus of Royal Naval Staff College in United Kingdom and the US Naval War College, Verma has instructional experience at National Defence College as Senior Directing Staff and at Defence Services Staff College at Wellington. He has also commanded the Naval Academy at Goa .

Link

 

[RPK]

Navy war exercise from today in Netrani Island

Karwar: The Indian Navy will carry out war exercise from September 1 to September 7 and again from September 15 to September 21 at Netrani Hill (Pigeon Island) near Bhatkal.

Navy ships and aircraft will participate in the exercise.

The Commandant of Karwar Naval Base has requested people and fishermen to stay away from the area.

The entry of people and boats within five nautical mile radius of Pigeon Island is banned, a press release from the Indian Navy said.

 

[RPK]

Sushil as chief of Southern Naval Command

KOCHI: Vice-Admiral K N Sushil took charge as the Flag Officer Commanding- in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) from Vice-Admiral Sunil K Damle at a ceremonial parade held on Monday at the Naval Base. Before attending the parade Vice- Admiral Damle placed a wreath at the War Memorial. The Admiral inspected a 50-men Guard of Honour with President’s Colours and the 18 platoons on parade, commanded by Commander Sai Ram Balaji, while the Navy Band under Master Chief Musician N S Rawat, played ‘Anand Lok’, ‘By Land and Sea’, ‘Rani ka Nishan’ and ‘Beneath the Waves’.


Admiral Sushil was introduced to the flag officers and commanding officers of ships and establishments of the command, after which the outgoing C-in-C Vice-Admiral Damle took the salute as the platoons advanced in ‘Review Order’.

Vice-Admiral Sushil also placed a wreath at the War Memorial before proceeding to the Headquarters of the SNC.

Commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1973, Admiral K N Sushil joined the submarine arm in 1976 and served on both the Vela class and the Shishumar class submarines. He was part of the commissioning crew of the German built SSK submarine INS Shankush as executive officer and subsequently commissioned the first indigenously built SSK submarine INS Shalki as its commanding officer. He also commanded INS Ranvijay and INS Delhi, the frontline destroyers of the Indian Navy.

On promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, he held the appointments as Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM) at Visakhapatnam, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Submarine) {ACNS (S/M)}, ACNS (Special Submarine Project) and Project Director ATV (Operations and Training) at the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence(Navy).

Admiral Sushil is an alumnus of the National Defence College and a recipient of the Nao Sena Medal(NM) in 1988 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2007.

Prior to his present appointment as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of SNC, Adm Sushil was the Indian Navy’s first Inspector General of Nuclear Safety.

After formally handing over the charge at the headquarters of the SNC, Admiral Damle left for Goa, on retirement after 39 years of commissioned service in the Indian Navy.

 

[natarajan]

Indian Navy Mulls Northrop Advanced Hawkeye | AVIATION WEEK

 

[RPK]

'Forces ready to negate all threats'- TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos

It has been only two days since he took over as the new Navy Chief. Speaking exclusively to TIMES NOW in his first interview as the Naval Chief -- Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma minced no words and expressed absolute confidence on his forces to negate threats coming in from close quarters.

China's repeated incursions into Indian territory and its burgeoning defence budget has seen India raise questions over it's neighbours intentions. Conscious of China’s presence both on land and sea, India has it's measures in place. Navy Chief says, "Each nation pursues its own interests as far as presence in international waters is concerned. As far as we are concerned, we should have a sense of confidence."

Securing it's borders from threats such as the Harpoon anti-missile ship that reportedly has India on it's terror radar is a challenge that the navy is ready to tackle. "As far as we are concerned it should be our endeavour as far as our maritime concept of operations are concerned. We will ensure that nobody comes within a distance from which any such attacks can be launched. That certainly would be the endeavour," adds Admiral Verma.

After 26/11 - which was one of the biggest terror attacks by sea, the Indian Navy has tightened it's maritime security and are confident of thwarting a similar attack in the future. He says, "Our capabilities to counter such threats, which come in the way of our maritime interests will be tackled. With our current system, another 26/11 to take place is difficult."

While a change of mantle takes place in the Indian Navy, hopes are now pinned on the new chief to build a formidable force at sea.

 

[RPK]

MiG-29K fighters ready, but no carriers

Brand, spanking new MiG-29K fighters for the Indian Navy are ready for delivery after years in development, except there's one major problem -- the aircraft carrier they were meant to be deployed on the Gorshkov, is no where near ready.

As India and Russia continue negotiations for a final price on the Gorshkov, these jets will be based at Goa with no carrier to be deployed on.

The saga to fix a final price on the Gorshkov, a second hand carrier being refurbished for the Indian Navy, is now having a clear impact on the Navy's capabilities.

These MiG-29s are not designed to be deployed on its existing carrier the Viraat -- a 50-year-old ship which simply must be retired in the next three years. At that stage neither the Gorshkov nor the indigenously built aircraft carrier, being constructed in Cochin, will be ready.

Four years after they signed a 1.6 billion dollar contract with India for the Gorshkov and its planes, the Russians went back on their word, saying, "We underestimated the work needed" and have since upped their demand to a whopping 3 billion dollars.

For India, cancelling the deal is a no-win situation since we have already pumped in hundreds of millions of dollars into the deal.

As India and Russia try and close out the Gorshkov deal there is every possibility that by 2012, for the first time in more than 50 years, the Indian Navy will be without an operational aircraft carrier.

 

[Sridhar]

Northrop Grumman offers E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to Indian navy

BY :TOI
Last month’s export authorization from the U.S. government now permits Northrop Grumman to have discussions with the Indian navy on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a platform that provides a highly adaptive form of airborne early warning and control (AEW&C).
A U.S Navy representative, E-2 New Business Manager John Beaulieu, last week made an eight-hour presentation to the Indian navy on the E-2D after a request for more technical clarifications following a request for information last year.
“We’ve been building up to this … The partnership between the two governments could not be closer,” Beaulieu said. “We are here for preliminary briefings to the Indian navy for E-2D.” India is said to have requirements for six aircraft.
India has been interested in the AEW&C capability for years. “Interoperability is a very, very important aspect,” Beaulieu said.
“It’s fine to have this airborne early warning system up in the air, but if you cannot communicate with not only our own forces, but our allies around the world, it does not do us, or them, much good. If India desires to be interoperable with the U.S. Navy and NATO through datalink systems, this is the platform of choice.”
Northrop has been asked to present a shore-based version, as Indian naval aircraft would require ski-jump compatibility and not the conventional catapult-launched version. “It is a decision the Indian navy has to make,” Beaulieu noted.
Currently, shore-based operations are the way to go as India’s INS Viraat — a Cold War British aircraft carrier — is close to retirement and delivery of the Adm. Gorshkov from Russia has been delayed.
Gorshkov, however, is capable of deploying both vertical-takeoff-or-landing and catapult-launched aircraft. This has led the Indian navy to look at a redesign for its future ships.
As the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based AEW&C, officials have focused on the E-2D’s newly developed AN/APY-9 radar, which works in concert with surface combatants equipped with the Aegis combat system to detect, track and defeat cruise missile threats at extended range.
Former Indian Chief of Naval Staff Sureesh Mehta helped lead the navy in pursuit of more robust overhead surveillance capability.
India already has ordered eight P8-I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft to replace its aging Tupolev Tu-142M maritime surveillance turboprops.


Northrop Grumman offers E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to Indian navy IDRW.ORG

 

[Sridhar]

Efforts on to convert INS Bhavnagar into a museum

BY : DESH GUJRAT

Bhavnagar District Collector Pradip Shah has initiated efforts to turn retired Indian Navy Minesweeper warship INS Bhavnagar into a permanent museum at Bhavnagar coast.
INS Bhavnagar was one of the naval ships that guarded Gujarat coast during Kargil war with 60 navy jawans including six officers aboard.
The ship has four anti-aircraft guns that can fire 2,000 bullets per minute. An additional gun could attack desired target within four km range. INS Bhavnagar is capable to fire five rockets at a time on the target within 2 kms. It is also capable to keep 36 rockets that can also be fired to damage enemy’s submarine inside the sea.
As the ship is named after the city of Bhavnagar, the district collector Pradip Shah has sought Indian Navy’s permission to convert this retired ship into a permanent museum.
http://idrw.org/?p=754

 

[Sridhar]

Indian Navy crew to join Russian sub sea trials in Far East

BY : RIA Novosti

A crew of Indian submariners will take part in sea trials of a Russian nuclear submarine in mid-September, a source involved in the trials said on Friday.
Russia’s Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests last November, resumed sea trials on July 10 in the Sea of Japan after extensive repairs that cost an estimated 1.9 billion rubles ($60 million).
The submarine is to be leased to the Indian Navy by the end of 2009 under the name INS Chakra.
The source said the Indian submariners would need to undergo a course of training together with Russian specialists and servicemen.
They will subsequently operate on their own under the supervision of Russian instructors.
On November 8, 2008, while the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials in the Sea of Japan, its on-board fire suppression system activated, releasing a deadly gas into the sleeping quarters. Three crewmembers and 17 shipyard workers were killed. There were 208 people, 81 of them submariners, on board the vessel at the time.
India reportedly paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine.
Akula II class vessels are considered the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines.


Indian Navy crew to join Russian sub sea trials in Far East IDRW.ORG

 

[RPK]

T-59, T-60 sign off after 24 years IDRW.ORG

The Indian Navy on Monday de-commissioned two of its Seaward Defence Boats, T-59 and T-60, 24 years after they started sailing the seas. The decommissioning took place at the Madras Port Trust in the presence of commodore Rajiv Girotra, VSM, naval officer-in-charge (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry), who received the guard of honour. The paying off pennant was hoisted on Sunday to mark the beginning of the decommissioning ceremony.

The ships will be replaced by two new indigenously-designed Water Jet Propelled Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) which will commissioned on November 10 at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.

The naval ensign and the national flag were lowered and folded at sunset. The last post was then played and the paying off pennant lowered. Measuring 37.5 metres in length with speeds of 25 knots and manned by sailors and officers, the ships were fitted with two Bofors 40/60 and one heavy machine gun.

Under the guidance of naval officer-in-charge (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry), the ships played an appreciable role to augment the coastal security that included measures to sensitise fishing communities and enforce security along international maritime border line and off shore platforms.

 

[nitesh]

Built for air force, Kaveri engine chosen by navy