Indian Navy Developments & Discussions

[Yusuf]

Its a tricky question about putting women on the front line. Though they are their in other combat ops like sig int, electronic warfare, transport etc, will it be prudent to put them in close combat where there is a chance of them being taken as PoW? Just in the Indian context, we know how inhumane our enemies are as seen in the Kargil war where they badly mutilated our men. Women will certainly be treated very badly as well. Besides, will they be able to survive interrogation?
The statement given by the Vice Chief of Air force has been termed as sexist, but then he is talking plainly from operational point of view and very practical.

 

[Sridhar]

Indian Navy to commission its first women navigators
2009-11-19 15:10:00

Another male bastion in the Indian Navy will fall Friday when two women will be inducted as navigators in the flying branch, in a way also becoming the first women combatants in the armed forces.
That honour goes to Sub Lieutenants Ambica Hooda of Haryana and Seema Rani Sharma of Uttar Pradesh who will henceforth fly as navigators on the Indian Navy's multi-role Dornier aircraft that are used for transportation and aerial surveillance.

'In the navy the job of a navigator is also that of a combatant as, unlike in the air force, all our fixed wing aircraft can be used for combat purposes. Our Dornier aircraft are also capable of firing,' a navy spokesperson told IANS, requesting anonymity.

'This is for the first time that women are being commissioned as navigators in the Indian Navy. It is a proud moment as both of them have completed their training with flying colours,' the spokesperson added.

The navigator's job is challenging. Apart from keeping track of the aircraft's position at all times, the navigator's responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the pilot of the estimated timing to destinations while en route and ensuring that weather hazards are avoided.

Hooda and Sharma, both 22-years old, completed a 16 month course at the Naval Academy at Mandovi in Goa and other professional schools of the Indian Navy before landing up at the Observer School at INS Garuda here. The navy terms its navigators as observers.

Speaking to a TV channel, Hooda said the training was difficult initially but she managed.

Sharma said the training was totally professional and she is happy that she will be performing tasks that were hitherto a male preserve.

Earlier this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had commissioned Flying Officer Kavita Barala as its first woman navigator. However, she will be flying on non-combatant transport aircraft.

The issue of inducting women into the combatant arms of the military has been generating considerable heat of late. The IAF vice chief, Air Marshal P.K. Barbora had created a storm earlier this week when he said, perhaps in jest, that the force could in the foreseeable future take in women as fighter pilots if they committed not to have children.

Two years ago, Defence Minister A.K. Antony had asked the three service chiefs to examine the question of inducting women in the combat arms. They said it was not feasible at the moment for a variety of reasons.

Women currently can hold permanent commissions only in the Armed Forces Medical Services, where they can serve up to a maximum age of 58 years if they rise to three-star rank. Otherwise, women can only hold short service commissions that enables them to serve a maximum of 14 years in the support arms of the three services.

http://sify.com/news/Indian-Navy-to-commission-its-first-women-navigators-news-jltpkdhdaja.html

 

[bsn4u1985]

India eyes unbuilt British carrier

India eyes unbuilt British carrier

NEW DELHI, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- As India's only aircraft carrier reaches the age of 50, there are reports the country is considering buying a yet-to-be-built British carrier.

The unconfirmed reports of a British purchase come as the military is losing patience waiting for its second aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov, to arrive from Russia now in 2012.

The Indian navy's sole carrier INS Viraat with its crew of 1,500 completed 50 years in service this week, according to a report by the Indo-Asian News Service.

Navy chief Adm. Nirmal Verma was in Mumbai port, formerly Bombay, visiting the 28,000-ton vessel that has just undergone an extensive refit at the Cochin Shipyard, according to a navy official. The refit increased the aircraft carrier's life until 2015.

Upgrades were done to fire control equipment, navigation radars, improved nuclear, biological and chemical protection and deck landing aids.

The INS Viraat operates up to 18 Sea Harrier combat jets and supports amphibious operations and anti-submarine warfare. It gives the Indian navy an edge over the Chinese navy, which does not have a carrier, the official is quoted as saying.

The Centaur-class carrier was originally commissioned in the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes on Nov. 18, 1959. The Indian navy acquired it in 1987 and is now again turning to the Royal Navy, according to a report in the London-based Sunday newspaper The Observer.

One of two $3.36 billion aircraft carriers, still on the drawing board, could be sold off under cost-cutting plans being considered by the U.K. Ministry of Defense and likely to be laid out in a major defense review early next year.

The British carrier program has already been delayed by two years. BAE Systems began work in July on HMS Queen Elizabeth, due to come into service in 2016, and preparatory work on the Prince of Wales, due for launch in 2018, has also started.

The two carriers will replace Britain's three aging Invincible-class carriers, and are three times their size. Of the three Invincible-class vessels, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal are in operation. HMS Invincible has been decommissioned but is in reserve until next year.

Last summer British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy talked briefly about the possibility of sharing maintenance and refit contracts for their aircraft carriers.

Meanwhile, India has lodged a firm expression of interest for one of the 65,000-ton ships, the Observer said it has learned.

The Observer report comes as a 40-member Russian delegation arrives in India this week to thrash out a likely price hike for refurbishment of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.

Both sides have "dug in their heels" on what they are willing to settle for, according to Indian media reports.

The Russians want $2.9 billion for the work on the 45,000-ton Kiev-class Gorshkov, set to be commissioned in the Indian navy as INS Vikramditya, originally in 2008.

India is willing to pay $2.1 billion for the work.

"What will matter now is who blinks first," a senior Indian navy official told the Indo-Asian News Service.

Delivery for the aircraft carrier is now set for 2012, and India has released about $650 million so far for the refit that is under way at the Sevmash shipyard on Russia's arctic coast.

An agreement between the two countries in 2004 said the vessel was "gifted as free," but India had to pay $974 million for upgrades. That figure shot up in 2007 when the Russians said they miscalculated what it would take for the work. Another $700 million was recently added to cover extended sea trials that are now expected to be needed.

India eyes unbuilt British carrier - UPI.com

 

[RPK]

First Indian Navy women aviators take charge


Kochi (Kerala), Nov.20 - ANI: The Indian Navy created history on Friday by inducting two women aviators or combatants into its combat arm, which is happening for the first time in the Indian Armed Forces. Sub-lieutenants Ambica Hooda of Haryana and Seema Rani Sharma of Uttar Pradesh will now serve the nation as naval observers are airborne tacticians on the Indian Navy's multi-role Dornier aircraft, which are used for transportation and aerial surveillance and work at the front line during war situations.

Today, they were awarded wings by Indian Navy in a ceremonial passing out parade at the Naval base in Kochi.

Both are part of the four member officers of the First short service commission observer course out of the total ten officers passing out of 70th Ab-initio Observer Course in Kochi base.

This would be a special occasion as this is the first time that the Navy is inducting ladies into a combat arm. Observers are airborne tacticians who conduct operations, in a military aircraft.

According to Indian Navy Captain Vijesh Kumar Garg, the Commanding Officer of the INS Garuda, it was a proud moment for the Indian navy and specially for the two women who were inducted today as combatants.

The officers qualified for this onerous responsibility after intensive ground and flight training at the Observers School and said that they felt proud on taking the charge.

The Passing Out Parade and award was presented by Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Aviation.

Hooda and Sharma, both 22-years old, completed a 16 month course at the Naval Academy at Mandovi in Goa and in other professional schools of the Indian Navy before landing up at the Observer School at INS Garuda in Kochi. - ANI

 

[RAM]

Navy deploys warship off Seychelles

New Delhi: Augmenting its anti-piracy operations, the Indian Navy is deploying another warship with marine commandos on board to combat pirates off the island nations of Seychelles and Mauritius, an official said on Monday.INS Savitri, an offshore patrol vessel, with a Chetak helicopter and marine commandos on board, "will conduct surveillance of the exclusive economic zones of Seychelles and Mauritius from November-end till early January 2010," said Indian Navy spokesperson Commander P.V.S. Satish.

INS Savitri will operate in close coordination with the ships and aircraft of the Seychelles Coast Guard and the Mauritian National Coast Guard."The presence of this ship will help in deterring piracy in these areas," Satish added.Over the past few years, incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, one of the busiest sea lanes, have registered an increase. More than 174 piracy attempts against the ships of various nationalities have taken place in the last one year in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

To deter, dissuade and prevent piracy in the Gulf of Aden, an Indian naval ship has maintained presence in the Gulf of Aden since Oct 23, 2008."As a result of the effectiveness of warship patrols and escorts in the Gulf of Aden, pirates have shifted their attention to the area east of Somalia, also referred to as the Somalia Basin, and to the exclusive economic zones of Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)," the spokesperson added.

Apart from achieving considerable success in the Gulf of aden, in April, the Indian Navy had foiled a piracy bid off Seychelles and arrested nine pirates.

Navy deploys warship off Seychelles | Deccan Chronicle

 

[RPK]

 

[RPK]

 

[RPK]

Indian Navy awarded for its role in fighting piracy

Commending the role of Indian navy in fighting pirates at the Gulf of Aden, the world's maritime controlling agency has awarded a special certificate to the forces.

A special 'Certificate of Commendation' was presented to the navy, which had deployed twelve ships off the coast of Somalia till July 2009 by the London-based UN agency, International Maritime Organisation.

Commodore P K Banerjee, Naval Adviser in London and also the commanding officer of one of the warships, which took part in international anti-piracy patrols received the award from E E Mitropoulos, IMO Secretary General at a ceremony held here.

Nalin Surie, the High Commissioner of India to UK, Georg Boomgaarden, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany and President of IMO Assembly, were among dignitaries present on the occasion.

Indian naval ships have escorted about 700 merchant ships, including 600 foreign-flagged vessels from over 45 countries, during anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008.

The award ceremony coincided with the inauguration of the 26th Regular Session of the IMO Assembly here.

 

[RAM]

Gov must expedite the process to have air enclave in Gujarat


AHMEDABAD: The key to success in the modern day warfare-full-scale, limited, conventional or unconventional- lies in one's capability to collect intelligence and use it before his enemies get the better of him. In the past two decades, there have been many instances where India has failed on this count and had to pay heavy price for the intelligence lapses, the most recent one being the 26/11. Subsequently, the Central government decided to set up a coastal command under the Indian Navy to plug the loopholes in maritime intelligence. However, there is much to be desired on this front, particularly as the Indian Navy's plan to have an air enclave in Porbandar is yet to see the light of the day. Had the Indian Navy's air enclave been operationalized, it would have improved surveillance and reconnaissance in the region considering India's most potent danger lies in the west along Gujarat's land and maritime borders.

The Indian Navy to a large extent has enhanced surveillance in the southern peninsula by commissioning its first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron at Kochi in 2006. It plans to operate UAVs from the Naval Air Station at Uchipuli in Tamil Nadu too. However, what one fails to understand is what it is that is holding it to place UAVs at Porbander when the infrastructure is ready in the form of Indian Coast Guard's air enclave at Porbandar. The Coast Guard has fixed wing aircraft and helicopters at the air enclave, which can be very well be used by the Indian Navy's UAVs.

The UAV is very much part of the operations of a wing of the Indian Armed Forces in Gujarat. This could be the one reason why the Central government is taking time in deciding to allow the Indian Navy to set up a base of UAV at Porbandar, sources said. When contacted, the Indian Navy officials said the plan to have an air enclave in Porbandar is very much on. It requires lot of work in terms of planning and logistics to set up an infrastructure at a place like Porbandar which has limited resources. They said by another couple of months, the Indian Navy's air enclave in Porbandar should be ready.


The Navy operates Searcher MK II and Heron UAVs imported from Israel. The Searcher Mark II can remain airborne for 16 hours and has a maximum range of 150 km and operates up to an altitude of 18,500 feet. The Heron has a range of 1,000 km and operates at an altitude of 30,000 ft.

Deployment of unmanned combat aerial vehicle in Gujarat should be a natural progression to the plan. It will not only help in surveillance but fire on identified targets and could be very useful in Gujarat with a large tract of uninhabited land and coastline which are vulnerable.

Gov must expedite the process to have air enclave in Gujarat - Surat - City - The Times of India

 

[RAM]

China's string of pearls -an Interesting column in Chindits

Chindits: Chindits Column : CHINA’S STRING OF PEARLS VS INDIA’S IRON CURTAIN IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, THE JURY IS OUT ON THIS CRITICAL C3I ISSUE

 

[black eagle]

Russia floats out first frigate for Indian Navy

BY : RIA Novosti

A Russian shipyard floated out the first of three frigates for India’s Navy on Friday, a company spokesman said.

“The first of three Project 11356 frigates the company is building on an Indian order has been floated out,” Sergei Mikhailov of the Yantar shipyard in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad said.

The warships will become modified Krivak III class (also known as Talwar class) guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy under a $1.6 billion contract signed in July, 2006.

Mikhailov previously said sea trials would not start straight away as “post-construction work” was still to be carried out. The trials should start in 2010, he said.

The shipyard is to deliver the last warship to India in 2011-2012.

He said the ceremony was attended by senior Russian and Indian military and civilian officials.

“The ship was given a traditional ‘baptism,’ when prayers were read in Sanskrit,” Mikhailov said. “India’s consul general to St.Petersburg, Radhika Lokesh, was the godmother and smashed a coconut against the frigate. And a Russian shipyard worker smashed a bottle of Champagne, according to Russian tradition.”

The new frigates will be armed with eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

They will be also equipped with a 100-mm gun, a Shtil surface-to-air missile system, two Kashtan air-defense gun/missile systems, two twin 533-mm torpedo launchers, and an anti-submarine warfare helicopter.

In an earlier interview with RIA Novosti, Yantar’s Director Igor Orlov said the shipyard is in talks with Russia’s Vnesheconombank on “a $60 million loan to complete the construction of the three frigates for the Indian Navy.”

Russia floats out first frigate for Indian Navy IDRW.ORG

 

[enlightened1]

Footage of navy pilot who died in crash

Hi guys, remember a sea harrier had crashed a few months back? The unfortunate pilot was Lieutenant Commander Saurabh Saxena
Navy aircraft crashes off Goa

I was watching the following video on youtube today & when the name appeared i felt that i knew this name or maybe that the pilot was famous for something. I googled his name out & found it was him who had died in that crash.

watch from 2:47 onwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOOe9Z0AWc

 

[bengalraider]

Teg launched

Printed from

Russia's shipyard launches Indian stealth frigates 'Teg'​

28 Nov 2009, 0743 hrs IST, PTI
MOSCOW: Russia's defence shipyard "Yantar" has launched first of the three Indian stealth frigates - INS Teg (Sabre) at a colourful ceremony in
the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

Under $1.6 billion contract signed in July 2006, INS Teg begins the second series of three Project 11356 Talwar Class (Krivak-III) stealth guided missile frigates to be followed by INS Tarkash (Quiver) and INS Trikand (Bow).

INS Teg was launched with the recitation Vedic hymns by Indian Naval attache in Moscow Commodore S K Grewal and breaking of coconut by the Indian Consul General in St Petersburg Radhika Lal Lokesh.

Russia has previously built three Talwar class frigates for India --- INS Talwar (from the Hindi language meaning Sword), INS Trishul (Trident), and INS Tabar (Axe).

In accordance with the Russian tradition, a bottle of champagne was broken at its hull by its 'god mother' Raisa Romashko, who is an eminent shipbuilder of Russia.

"The trials of INS Teg will start in 2010," "Yantar" shipyard Director General Igor Orlov was quoted as saying by Military TV Channel "Zvezda".

 

[proud_hindustani]

Here is a link that shows the numbers of frigates, Corvette, Carrier, Subs of Indian Navy has / will have from present to future.

Indian Navy

 

[RPK]

fullstory

Navy's hunt for new carrier-operated fighters begins

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) The Navy has launched a hunt for a new set of fighter jets to operate from the aircraft carriers it will have in service five to six years from now.

Navy sources said here today that the force has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to global aviation majors, including American Boeing, Russian MiG and French D'Assault, ahead of issuing a tender for the aircraft.

Though the RFI is of a 'generic' nature, it could ultimately lead to a tender (or Request for Proposal) and the initial requirement would be for 16 aircraft with provision for follow-up orders of up to 40 aircraft, sources said.

The deck-based aircraft are required by the Navy to operate from its three 40,000-tonne Indigenous Aircraft Carriers (IAC) being built at the Cochin Shipyard. The delivery of the first IAC is expected around 2015.

 

[ppgj]

British QE class carrier for India? Not Really | StratPost

British QE class carrier for India? Not Really
Sunday, November 29, 2009
By Saurabh Joshi

The recent reports in the British media of India having ‘lodged a firm expression of interest’ in the purchase of one of the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers being built by BAE Systems, have failed to elicit much of an interested reaction in the high offices of the Indian Navy.

Naval sources, when asked about such ‘an expression’, admitted they had been interested to the extent of having asked around about it. “But we just don’t see it as part of our plan,” said one naval officer.

While the INS Viraat, formerly the HMS Hermes of 1959 vintage displaces around 28,000 tons fully loaded, the Gorshkov, commissioned in 1987 and to be renamed the INS Vikramaditya, displaces 45,000 tons. The two new Indian Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, the Vikrant class, are designed to displace 40,000 tons, while the British Queen Elizabeth class carriers, expected to enter service in the latter half of the next decade, displaces 65,000 tons.

But the brasshat brushes that aside. “See its not so much about tonnage or the number of aircraft a carrier can carry. During the Second World War, carriers were crammed with aircraft, far beyond their designed capacity. If we were to be interested at all in the Queen Elizabeth class, it would be because of their claimed air defenses. If we were to want it, it would be because of what they claim their radar systems could do.”

The naval aviator explains, “We’ve got the INS Viraat, an old ship, but now refurbished and good for maybe another five years. We hope to get the Gorshkov, in the next three or four years. That should be good for another twenty years maybe. We’ve got plans for building two for our own aircraft carriers over the next decade. They’ll be good for another thirty to forty years. Its difficult to see the Indian Navy going for the British QE class, unless there are serious problems with the Vikrant class or the strategic environment changes so substantially as to merit another carrier. Even then, its difficult to see us going for an imported carrier if we’ve established the basic capabilities to build our own. We just don’t see it as part of our strategic planning.”

The British government has been on a defense cost-cutting spree and reports have claimed that one of the two planned Queen Elizabeth class carriers, replacements for their two active and one reserve Invincible class carriers, are being considered for sale and that India has expressed interest in the purchase. The cost of the carrier is estimated to be worth over US$ 3 billion.

 

[RPK]

Vizag Navy Fair attracts visitors


Ahead of Navy Day, a three-day Navy Mela (Navy fair), an educative and inspirational exhibition by the sea warriors of the Eastern Naval Command and local business establishments began at Visakhapatnam.Indian Navy celebrates December 4 as Navy Day.

Rear Admiral Raman Prabhat, the Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, inaugurated the exhibition on Friday.
On this Navy Mela, visitors will be given an opportunity to visit the naval base of the Eastern Naval Command and the docks to see vignettes of the life of sea warriors on the shores as well as on the high seas.

Twenty stalls showcase the saga of Indian Navy at this fair.

The Municipal Corporation, financial institutions, IT firms, electronic and consumer durables including non-governmental organisations such as Akshay Patra and Brahma Kumaris Mission, have put up over 100 other stalls.

Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral Raman Prabhat said that the exhibition will help create awareness about the Indian Navy to public.

“The second and more important function is to make available to the local population of Vizag (Visakhapatnam) and the citizens of Vizag and especially the youth of Vizag, make them aware what the Navy is and make them understand what the navy is all about and if you go down the stalls, you will find there are various functions which are depicted – operational function, militants functions, logistics function; we have models of ships, submarines, aircrafts, how they work. Anybody going there will understand exactly what is happening over there,” said Rear Admiral Prabhat.

Besides, the visitors will also get to hear the musical performances by an orchestra and the Indian Navy’s Band.

Assorted entertainment stalls also happen to be the highlight of this Navy Mela.

 

[RPK]

Women play key role in Indian Navy traditions: official

New Delhi: Women may not be allowed on board its warships but they do play an important role in Indian Navy traditions for it is always a woman who customarily launches a ship, says an official ahead of Navy Day Dec 4.
"It may sound strange but even though we consider all our warships to be feminine, women are not allowed on board except for occasions like Families' Day, when naval officers are allowed to bring along their spouses," an Indian Navy official told IANS.


"Women are the most respected in the Indian Navy. In fact, all women are saluted when they embark a ship. This custom is applicable to women irrespective of their status or that of their husbands," the official adds.


Also the launching and naming of the ship is traditionally done by a lady, normally the wife of the chief guest. The most recent example of this was the launching and naming of the Indian Navy's first nuclear submarine by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur earlier this year.


According to naval traditions, at the commencement of the naming and launching ceremony, the woman names the ship with customary words: "I have great pleasure in naming this ship Indian Naval Ship Sindhughosh (or as the case may be). May good fortune attend her and all those who sail her."


Thereafter she applies 'kumkum' (vermilion) on the stem of the ship, folds her hands in a silent prayer, and then breaks the coconut on the bows of the ship.


"And with the splash of coconut water, the ship begins to slide down. Even if an Indian warship is commissioned in a foreign port, it is customary that the ship is named at the commissioning ceremony itself," the official adds.

 

[bhramos]

These girls flying Dornier's , where are only Patroling aircraft.
will the Dorniers be sent to the front line war?
definatly no...
then they are not ready to go to war? just combat duty.

 

[RPK]

Vice Admiral Dhowan takes charge as new Navy Deputy Chief

New Delhi, Nov 30(ANI): Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan took over as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff on Monday.

A Navigation and Direction Specialist, Vice Admiral Dhowan is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College.

He has undergone various courses in India and abroad including the Sea Harrier Direction course at Yeovilton, UK and the Naval Command Course at Naval War College, Rhode Island, USA.

Vice Admiral Dhowan has held various important staff appointments at Naval Headquarters, which include Deputy Director Naval Operations, Joint Director Naval Plans and as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy and Plans), Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence.

He has also served as the Senior Instructor at DSSC Wellington.

Besides, he also had the privilege to command the Eastern Fleet as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, one of the two operational fleet of the Indian Navy and subsequently took over as Chief of Staff at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. (ANI)