Indian Navy Developments & Discussions

[RPK]

Three Naval ships open to the public in Porbandar today



To celebrate Navy week, the Indian Navy today threw open three state-of-the-art Naval ships: Betwa, Vidyut and Tabar at all-weather port in Porbandar for general public.

All three naval frigates are equipped with modern radar, missile and other combat facilities.

Naval ships are open for general public between 10 am to 5 pm today. ‘A day at sea’ event has been organized for invited guests off Porbandar coast on 2 December.

Navy’s rescue exercises will be showcased in the evening at Porbandar chowpatty.

Navy band will present its live performance on this occasion.

The range of events are being organized to celebrate Navy week.

INS Betwa

INS Betwa (F39) is a Brahmaputra class guided missile frigate currently in service with the Indian Navy. It is named for the Betwa River.

During Operation Cactus, the Indian Navy was called in to rescue the Maldivian hostages taken by Sri Lankan mercenaries off the coast of Sri Lanka. INS Godavari (F20) and INS Betwa captured the freighter, rescued the hostages and arrested the mercenaries near the Sri Lankan coast.

INS Betwa was a part of Task Force 54, returning from the Mediterranean, when the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict broke out. As a part of Operation Sukoon, INS Betwa participated in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Lebanon to Cyprus.

INS Tabar

INS Tabar (F44) (translated as battle axe) is the third of the Talwar-class frigates of the Indian Navy. The frigate was commissioned on 19 April 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia. INS Tabar is the first vessel in the Talwar class to be armed with supersonic BrahMos (PJ-10) anti-ship cruise missiles. She is also equipped with Barak missiles.The commissioning CO of Tabar was Capt.Ag Thapliyal

After a 12 port commissioning cruise INS Tabar reached her homeport of Mumbai 31 July 2004. Along with her sister ships INS Talwar (sword in Sanskrit) and INS Trishul (trident in Sanskrit), INS Tabar is assigned to Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai. INS Tabar is a well-equipped warship that has the ability to handle air/surface/sub-surface missions or defending herself operating either independently on maritime missions or supporting a larger naval task force.

On 11 November 2008, the INS Tabar was called into action to fight off a pirate attack on an Indian ship, the 38,265-tonne bulk carrier owned by the Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company Jag Arnav, and a Saudi-registered vessel, MV Timaha.

Just over a week after the MV Jav Arnav incident, on 19 November, 2008, the Indian Navy reported that the INS Tabar had come under attack from pirates. The INS Tabar crew requested that the pirate vessel stop to allow a search, but the pirates responded with a threat to sink the INS Tabar if it came any closer. The pirates then opened fire on the INS Tabar before the India navy responded by returning fire. After the retaliatory strike, it was reported that a large explosion occurred on the pirate vessel, rumoured to have been caused by the pirates’ weapons cache. The attack continued for about three to four more hours, and resulted in the sinking of the pirate’s “mother ship”. The INS Tabar also forced the abandonment of another pirate vessel, while several pirates managed to escape via a speedboat under the cover of darkness.

Reports later surfaced that the sunken “mothership” was originally a Thai fishing trawler, the Ekawat Nava 5, captured by the pirates which still had the Thai crew captive on-board.

INS Vidyut

INS Vidyut (K48) is a Veer class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy.

 

[RAM]

Navy to raise separate force to monitor coastal areas

Kolkata, Dec 1 (PTI) In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, a separate force would be raised to monitor coastal areas, a top Naval officer said here today.

"There will be a separate force, Sagar Prahari Bal, for the purpose of increasing vigil in coastal areas of the country, starting from Gujarat to West Bengal," Naval officer-in-charge (West Bengal) Commodore Chandra Sekhar Azad told a press conference.

The force will constitute 1,000 navy personnel, including 61 officers and 939 sailors and will have 95 Fast Interceptive Craft (FIC), Azad said, adding that the induction for the force will start from January next year.

When asked about the allocation for West Bengal, Azad said, the state would get 150 navy personnel, including four officers, and four FICs.

Azad said, "The new force will check every vessel above 300 tons..

:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::

 

[bengalraider]

Supply of sub-standard equipments for ‘corvette’​

14:32 IST
/RAJYA SABHA/

None of the Indian Navy corvettes have been refused for induction into service due to supply of sub-standard equipment. Further, the Corvettes being constructed indigenously are planned to be inducted in the Navy from 2012 in a phased manner. Equipment so far supplied for these ships meet Naval specifications and quality requirements.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Prabhat Jha in Rajya Sabha today.

PK/RAJ
PIB Press Release

 

[enlightened1]

Navy has not shifted focus from primary task: Admiral Verma​

​

Indian Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma at the annual press conference in New Delhi, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009​

The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma on Wednesday asserted that the Indian Navy remains focussed on its primary task of the country's security on the high seas and has not shifted focus after being tasked with the overall responsibility of coastal security.

“Just because of [the revamped] coastal security, we have not steered away from our role... the task is going on as before and another task [of coordinating coastal security] has been added. It has not distracted us from our main task,” Admiral Verma said at a press conference ahead of the Navy Day celebration on Friday.

After last year’s 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian Navy is tasked with the overall responsibility of coastal security in co-ordination with the Coast Guard, Marine Police under States, Customs, and several other agencies.

Outlining his vision for the Indian Navy, Admiral Verma said the aim is to consolidate what has been done so far in respect of sensors, weapons; perform to attain peak efficiency; extract the maximum from its personnel and put accent on the construction of ships and platforms.

While the Navy stood for indigenisation in building warships, he lamented the speed at which the defence shipyards in the country are functioning. “We want to build [ships] at a certain pace,” he said, adding that the current methodology adopted was more time-consuming than those followed by shipyards in other countries.

The Navy is acquiring a number of platforms – frigates, destroyers, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, mini counter vessels, fast interceptors and tankers while finalising design for the landing platform dock on the lines of INS Jalashwa (USS Trenton).

Price negotiations for INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) aircraft carrier entered the fourth and possibly final round. The Navy Chief said work was progressing at the Russian shipyard and the carrier is expected to be inducted towards end 2012.

Work on the indigenous aircraft carrier was going on with some 10,000 tonnes of steel already in Hull. It is expected to be ready for launch next year ahead of the induction scheduled in 2014. While MiG 29 K will be on the deck of INS Vikramaditya, the Naval version of the Light Combat Aircraft is earmarked for the indigenous aircraft carrier.

The Navy hopes to issue a Request for Proposal for 6 Medium Range Maritime surveillance aircrafts and is looking for helicopters for its ships.

Seeking to lower the temperature on the presence of China in the Indian Ocean, he said that the country remains concerned as is India, since majority of the energy supplies passes through the sea lanes and the deployment was probably to meet the challenge.

 

[RPK]

No increase in Chinese activity near Indian waters: Navy Chief

There has been no increase in Chinese naval activity near Indian waters even after the deployment of advanced nuclear submarines at the Hainan base in the South China Sea, which is the nearest Chinese naval base to India, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has said.


Answering queries at a press conference in the run-up to Navy Day, Admiral Verma said while China launched an anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, there have not been other “major deployments as far as our area is concerned”.


The Admiral’s assurance comes even as reports continue to point at a major modernisation and expansion drive in the Chinese Navy with the induction of new submarines and even a new aircraft carrier that is currently under construction.


However, the Navy Chief said that the Chinese have an interest in the region because a bulk of their trade flows through the Indian Ocean. “The bulk of the energy requirements as far as China is concerned flows through the Indian Ocean region. It is a very substantial amount,” Admiral Verma said.

 

[black eagle]

Indigenous nuclear submarine in two years: Navy chief

India
’s first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, will be inducted into the Navy fleet in two years.

“INS Arihant will be inducted into the Navy in two years or so,” Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma told reporters here ahead of the Navy Day on December 4.

However, Verma refused speak about Russia leasing out its Akula-II ‘Nerpa’ nuclear-powered submarine to India for 10 years. “I have no response for that,” he said to queries on when Nerpa would join the Indian Navy.

Arihant, the first submarine under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme, was launched for sea trials on July 26 this year at a naval yard in Visakhapatnam by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gurcharan Kaur.

“It (Arihant) demonstrates a quantum leap in the shipbuilding capabilities of the country. It is a nuclear- powered submarine, which is indigenously designed and constructed,” Verma said.

The endurance of the submarine was only limited by the endurance of the crew, food and provisions that it could carry, he said.

The submarine is now undergoing wide-ranging trials in harbour to prove that the various systems fitted on board perform as per their design. This would be followed by extensive sea trials before it is commissioned into the navy.

Indigenous nuclear submarine in two years: Navy chief IDRW.ORG

 

[Sridhar]

Indian Navy's New Fleet Replenishment Vessel


The first of two Italian-built fleet replenishment vessels of a new class will be commissioned into the Indian Navy by July next year. The second vessel will follow in the latter half of 2011.

LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: Indian Navy's New Fleet Replenishment Vessel

 

[Sridhar]

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Navy outlines huge acquisition plans, Chief reiterates indigenisation






Reiterating the need for fast acquisitions the Naval Chief, Admiral Nirmal Verma, today differentiated between the functioning of shipyards abroad and in India. Explaining that the shipyards abroad built huge blocks, which were completely kitted out and put together, while in India the entire exercise was undertaken in one place, which took a lot of time, the Chief today laid emphasis on indigenisation of military equipment, saying that it helped in long term maintainence, citing air surveillance radars, sonars and combat management systems as examples of indigenous success.

As on date the ships on order indigenously at various shipyards are four anti-submarine corvettes and six fast attack crafts at the Kolkata-based GRSE, one indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being manufactured by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), three destroyers, three stealth frigates and six submarines being built by the Mumbai-based Mazagaon Docks Limited, four offshore patrol vessels and one sail training ship being built by Goa Shipyard Limited and six survey vessels by the Alcock Ashdown Gujarat Limited.

While the Indian shipyards took a lot of time, the system followed by the shipyards abroad, that of producing ships in fully-kitted out blocks to be joined together, was an expensive proposition, said the Chief today ahead of the Navy Day, adding that Indian shipyards could do better. It required extra manpower and infrastructure to follow the system abroad.

As far as the delay in the first of the six Scorpene submarines, being built by Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL), was concerned, which was to be rolled out in December 2012 and thereafter, one each every year till December 2017, there were some teething problems, said Defence Minister A K Antony today in Parliament, that the delay was due to to time taken in absorption of technology and delays in augmentation of industrial infrastructure and procurement of MDL purchased materials (MPM), adding that the delay in scheduled delivery of submarines is likely to have an impact on the envisaged submarine force levels. Meanwhile the request for information for the second line of submarines has been completed.

Outlining the Navy's plan for the future the Chief emphasised on both consolidation and growth to move concurrently. While on order from abroad are three Krivak-Class frigates from Russia, the first of which has just entered trials, aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, renamed INS Vikramaditya, which will soon have its fourth and final price negotiations when the Russian team arrives in India, and there are two fleet tankers being built in Italy, required to replenish and sustain ships on cruise.

Refusing to comment on the lease of the Nerpa Class nuclear submarine from Russia, Admiral Verma however assured that the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant would be operational in a couple of years.

About the air arm of the Navy, the Chief clarified that the focus in the next financial year would be on helicopters. While the 16 MiG-29K fighter aircraft for INS Vikramaditya would be coming in soon, an additional order for 29 of them would be placed soon, and request for information for other naval fighter aircraft has been sent to countries who make these aircraft, to study options for future aircraft carriers like the second IAC, which would have a different design and look. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) would also be part of the air arm of the Navy. The tender for six meduim range maritime reconnaisance aircraft will be released this year and procurement of 16 multi role helicopters to replace the existing anti-submarine warfare Seaking helicopters, and 47 Advanced Light Helicopters to replace the Chetaks is on the horizon.

While the indigenously made stealth frigate, the first of the three Shivalik-class, made by MDL-Mumbai, has been undergoing trials in Mumbai and would be ready for induction soon. The last weapons and firing trials of the MiG-29K fighter aircraft concluded today and the first lot of two fighters and two trainers would be joining the Indian Navy within this month.

Chindits: Navy outlines huge acquisition plans, Chief reiterates indigenisation

 

[Sridhar]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QKkSf03VuFY/SxZ8a1_mZwI/AAAAAAAABPY/QXr8Q-kXJLM/s1600/DSC_0491.JPG

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QKkSf03VuFY/SxZ8aYMJkBI/AAAAAAAABPQ/urlJWwUcRQw/s1600/DSC_0488.JPG

MiG-29K completes its last firing and weapons trials today in Russia, first lot expected within this month.

Chindits: MiG-29K completes its last firing and weapons trials today in Russia, first lot expected within this month.

 

[frankenstein]

indian navy is also looking Amphibious Assault Ships like Mistral class LHD. Any news about that.:dfi-1:

 

[enlightened1]

indian navy is also looking Amphibious Assault Ships like Mistral class LHD. Any news about that.:dfi-1:

Yes, from yesterday's NCOS press meet:

The Navy is acquiring a number of platforms – frigates, destroyers, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, mini counter vessels, fast interceptors and tankers while finalising design for the landing platform dock on the lines of INS Jalashwa (USS Trenton).
Source

 

[x11]

IAC satellite picture

Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

 

[RAM]

Training of first batch of naval force from Jan 11

Over 1,000 officers and sailors of the Navy, forming part of the Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB), a new naval force formed to protect naval bases and coastline, will commence their training at INS Dronacharya from January 11 next.

The Cabinet Committee on Security had recently approved the formation of the SPB for Force Protection Duties, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral K N Sushil told reporters on board INS Krishna here.

The navy personnel, who will undergo the training are below 25 years of age, he said.

The force will be equipped with Fast Interceptor Crafts, small arms and will also be suitably trained for a wide spectrum of coastal security tasks, Mr. Sushil said.

In the first week, small arms training will be imparted, after which there will be a capsule on navigation, to be followed by a consoldiated training on fast interceptor crafts. A week-long training will also be held on INS Shivaji where the entire crew will be ‘cross trained’

As the nodal agency for coastal security in Kerala, the Southern Naval Command in collaboration with other security agencies, was determined to provide comprehensive security for the state, he said.

A major exercise on coastal security was conducted in October involving various agencies including police, customs and coastguard and a similar exercise was being planned for Lakshadweep Islands in the near future, he said.

Much needs to done in terms of security of minor ports, monitoring of unmanned landing points and a fool-proof identification for all the sea-going craft and their crew, the Vice-Admiral said.

Post 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the government had also asked the navy to conduct marine orientation training for CISF personnel and three batches of 253 CISF men have undergone training. About 500 CISF personnel are expected to be trained every year from 2010, he said.

On the recent incident of a French yacht making unauthorised entry into Indian waters, he said the naval personnel had gone on board to check if they were involved in any clandestine activities, but they found nothing suspicious and the yacht was allowed to leave.

About the delay in the completion of infrastructure facilities at Ezhimala academy, he said most of the training infrastructure was complete while work on some more facilities like hospitals are yet to be completed. The navy has been assured that by the middle of next year it would be completed, he said.

Twenty warships from nine countries have called at Kochi port since December last year for goodwill and operational reasons. A significant increase in foreign ships calling at Kochi is due to large deployment of many navies in the piracy infested Gulf of Aden region.

The Kochi bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal will commence operations from December 6, he said.

The Hindu : News / National : Training of first batch of naval force from Jan 11

 

[SATISH]

IAC satellite picture

Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

That is not the IAC...been seeing that pic for the past 4 years....

 

[ironman]

‘We have already imbibed this technology at the higher end of the learning curve’
Chairman and managing director, Mazagon Dock Limited,
Vice Admiral H.S. MALHI (retd) AVSM, VSM

On Project 17

We are building three frigates of the Shivalik class, also called Project 17, of which the first ship is now in the final stages of being commissioned. Last time when we met, I had mentioned some issues with the GE turbine engine. That had set us back by a few months. We were keen on delivering the ship prior to monsoons this year. However, that deadline could not be met. The ship has undergone a number of trials at sea. At the moment, she is dry-docked, after which a final machinery trials are planned. The ship will be delivered to the Indian Navy early next year. We are conducting the trials in conjunction with Navy’s Overseeing Team as well as the ship’s staff and Naval Trial Agencies. The second ship of Project 17 will be delivered seven to eight months after the delivery of the first one. The third one will take that much more time after the delivery of the second one. Our biggest constraint is deploying limited number of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)’s representatives simultaneously on three ships for carrying out equipment trials and defect rectifications, if any.

On Project 15A

Our other major project is 15A, which is progressing very smoothly. The first ship of this Project will be out in August 2011 and the next two will follow in August 2012 and 2013. The first destroyer, which was launched nearly a year and a half ago, is being outfitted at the moment. The second one was launched on September 18 this year. This was the first launch at MDL and indeed in the country to be pontoon-assisted. Pontoon-assisted launch overcomes the tidal constraints, which we face owing to limited depth of water along our waterfront. The other advantage of this type of launching is that weight of the ship at launch is no longer a restricting factor and, therefore, much more pre-launch outfitting is possible.

We put pontoons fore and aft and take her out. This has been a big success and we are very proud of it. The third one will also be a pontoon-assisted launch, in March next year.

On Submarine Building

The third project that we are currently working on is Scorpene Submarine, where we have made considerable progress fabricating the pressure hull. The first boat is almost complete. In fact, we have progressed so well that the fabrication of the pressure hull for the fourth boat has also commenced. At the moment, we are waiting for the equipment to come from various OEMs. On receiving this equipment, it will be put on to the cradles and installed in the hull. Once all the equipment goes in, the hull will be welded together to form the submarine. For majority of the equipment, we are through with various stages of price negotiations and now we only have to place the order. Contrary to some press reports, our collaboration with the OEM is progressing very smoothly. Both sides are very happy with absorption of technology. All the issues that we had in the beginning pertaining to the infrastructure and industrial means (since we had not undertaken submarine construction for many years) have been resolved in very quick time. The skills of our workers are being admired by our collaborators, who consider them on par with the best in the world. In fact, the number of non-conformities or the defects that come up during construction have reduced drastically. We are really proud of our welders, structural fitters and other operatives. As far as infrastructure is concerned, we have procured additional equipment, so that work can be speeded up. At the same time, we are also setting up a full-fledged workshop with requisite facilities in order to carry out simultaneous construction of the hull at two different sites. This is being done to catch up, at the earliest possible, with delay which was not envisaged. This workshop will be set up at our Alcock Yard, where we earlier did heavy engineering work for the ONGC.

Despite our efforts in compressing the time-frame, there may be some delay in delivering all six submarines by the contractual date of December 2017, which is common in such complex project. To put this programme in perspective, TOT has been a huge success. We have imbibed the technology of constructing pressure hull very well.

On the Second Line of Submarines

Given the success achieved in TOT and immense capital invested in setting up enabling infrastructure and above all, intricate skills mastered by our workers, it would be downright silly, to put it mildly, in not throwing our hat in the ring for the next lot of submarines. As per our plan, the fabrication work on all six pressure hulls will be completed by 2011. Our workshops will then be ready to commence fabrication of the next lot by 2012. In fact, these facilities will lie idle in case the order for the next lot is not in place by then. In order to compress the time frame, as I said earlier, we are setting up a parallel line of construction in a new workshop at Alcock Yard. This second line can be used for the follow-on orders.

We are confident about our capabilities. It stands to reason, that a shipyard, which has in the past successfully delivered two SSK (Submarine to Submarine Killers) Submarines under German collaboration and is currently building six state-of-the-art SSKs, will have an edge over any other yard in the country in terms of skills and infrastructure to handle any such future projects. I would feel that there wouldn’t be anybody better equipped than us in the country. May I add here, that in terms of construction technology, building an SSK is far more complex than any other type of submarines, conventional or non-conventional, since SSKs are much more silent. It does not make sense for another shipyard learning on the job, since we have already imbibed this technology at the higher end of the learning curve. Moreover, capability aside, there are a number of intangibles. The workforce employed in submarine construction acquire a mind-set of their own, which lays greater stress on hygiene in work areas, use of correct tools and above all, a high degree of quality consciousness. I can see this difference on a daily basis between submarine construction and shipbuilding. All this comes from many years of submarine building work. I hope we don’t fritter away this capability like we did in the Nineties, which was really the Lost Decade.

On Future Projects

We are currently negotiating Project 15B for follow-on destroyers. While the project has been approved, we are in discussion with the Indian Navy and the ministry of defence. We are expecting an order of four ships. We are also looking forward to four frigates under Project 17A. The difference between Project 17 and 17A would be in the mode of construction. We will do ‘integrated construction’ in making 17A frigates. This is where the modernisation of the shipyard comes in.

On Modernisation

We are moving very rapidly on modernisation of the yard and will complete this process in 2011. This will entail making a new wet basin to enhance our berthing capacity. Every time a ship is launched, it needs a berthing area for outfitting. We will also have a 300 ton Goliath crane (136m long and 92m high), which will straddle two existing slipways as well as the new Modular Workshop. This will be below the crane and will have a retractable roof, so that the blocks can be lifted and placed on the slipway. All the shipyards across the world have these facilities. The defence shipyards have only now embarked on this Modernisation programme. Once all this is in place, we will be able to do build ships faster. Constructing a ship through completely outfitted blocks will also enable us to farm out some block construction to other shipyards, private or public, and thus hasten shipbuilding process.

On Challenges

The major challenge is to bring about a change in the mindset. We have not had any delivery or commissioning of ships at MDL since 2001. And eight years is a long period. There is quite a difference in fabrication and outfitting phases of shipbuilding and the ‘Delivery’ phase. The Delivery phase which includes extensive tests and trials, including sea trials, calls for a more proactive attitude. One has to be very nimble-footed, quick in decision-making, good at ensuring and better coordination amongst trial various agencies. The mindset has to change completely, from fabrication and outfitting to operation of machinery and weapon systems. Getting people to reorient their thinking and mindset has been a major challenge. The other challenge has been to upgrade and create infrastructure in keeping with our company’s plan to meet the current and future requirements. We are building new facilities at Alcock Yard. Earlier, since the Offshore work was going on, we weren’t sure how best we would be able to utilise this space. Now, that we are no longer in Offshore business, our roadmap for Alcock Yard is quite clear. We will have second line of construction and third line of frigate destroyer construction there. We also have some land with waterfront at Nhava. This area is on lease from ONGC. We are talking to them for some sort of division of this area, so that we utilise the water front to launch ships from there or for outfitting work and to hasten the pace through parallel construction.

On Limited Capacity of Indigenous Shipyards

One could certainly look at private shipyards to bridge the gap in capacity available. As regards capability for integrated construction we will need some hand-holding from shipyards abroad, who have adopted this method of construction. This will be in the area of Build Strategy and detailed design.

On Making Ships Abroad or Within the Country

There is no gainsaying that all avenues for shipbuilding must be explored to meet the requirement of the navy, so that Maritime security imperatives are not compromised. We need to consider whether to build ships indigenously or go abroad to meet this requirement. Considering that indigenous warship-building is a strategic capability, it would be in the country’s interest, in the long run, that we encourage this activity. A fine balance really will have to be struck in between these two imperatives. It is possible that in the short term, one may get a ship a couple of years early from a foreign shipyard than if it was to be built indigenously. However, the spin-offs of building indigenously will tend to outweigh advantages, if any, of procuring from abroad. This is especially evident in areas of ancillaries’ development, standardisation and spurring infrastructure growth. There is certainly more comfort and confidence in building a ship within the country and this should not be compromised.

On Public-Private Shipyard Partnership

At present, there is no private shipyard in the country that has built a warship. Considering that we are moving towards integrated ship-building, the way forward is, to farm out construction of some Blocks. These blocks of up to 250-280 tons could be built at private shipyards. This will help the private shipyards initially to undertake warship construction with overseeing provided by the navy. In due course, the private shipyard will be well-poised to construct an entire warship. This ‘Lead Shipyard Concept’ exists all over the world. I think that both the public and private shipyards have their pluses and minuses and we should come together in a partnership to derive maximum benefit from each other.

On Level Playing Field for the Defence Shipyards

Once a naval order is placed with the defence shipyard, it becomes a captive supplier for the Service. In the case of foreign shipyards, when a contract is signed, it is made clear that the design would be frozen at a certain point. This does not happen with us. Though, as the ‘fixed price’ contracts take hold, we will have to insist on this. It is not uncommon for design modifications to happen at very advanced stages of construction, where some modifications are charged and others are absorbed. Partly due to this, slippages take place. Moreover, there is the C3I factor, that is, the CVC, CBI, CAG and Information as in RTI. They certainly provide the necessary checks and balances, which have made PSU, weather the storm, even in times of recession. However, on the flip side, they hang like the sword of Damocles over the PSUs, leading to slow decision-making, and in some cases, stifle initiative. The private shipyards have an edge here. Their procurement processes are certainly faster. However, they are looking only at the bottom line. As a DPSU, we have a certain responsibility towards the nation and the armed forces. No matter what happens, the ship will get delivered irrespective of how much the Company has made or lost.

As you may know, GRSE is in a very advance stage of forming a JV with DCNS. We are looking to tap that for our requirement. Most shipyards abroad will not agree to provide inputs for design alone. They want some ship construction order placed on them before they provide assistance with design. Designing a ship for modular construction, after all, is an important IPR.

On the Future of Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design

Over time, the role of the Directorate of Naval Design should ideally be confined to providing the concept design. They should formulate general staff requirements and ask the shipyards to take on from there. In the short term, DGND must leave the detailed design entirely to the shipyards. Project 17A should be a big step in this direction as the DGND, in any case, has not undertaken detailed design for modular construction before.

FORCE - A Complete News Magazine on National Security - Defence Magazine

 

[ironman]

Expansion plans of Indian Navy on Navy Day​

New Delhi, Dec 4 : The three chiefs of Defence staff today, on the occasion of Navy Day paid their homage to the martyrs at the national war memorial at India Gate.

Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and Air Chief Marshal PV Naik paid floral tributes to the soldiers at the war memorial.

The navy, the smallest of India''s defence forces operates one of the largest forces in the Indian Ocean with a fleet of more than 155 vessels, but many of its ships are old and due for replacement.

There were presently 40 ships and submarines on order, as per navy chief. Indian navy is acquiring a number of platforms - frigates, destroyers, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, mini counter vessels, fast interceptors and tankers, while finalising the design for the landing platform dock on the lines of INS Jalashwa.

The Navy Chief had said earlier that the Navy plans to increase its fleet strength from 130 to 170 warships within the next decade in a bid to establish itself in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said 60 more aircraft and 60 helicopters would also be inducted in the aviation wing of the fleet during the same period.

Admiral Verma on Wednesday said that the Indian Navy would be acquiring 40 warships and new fighter jets indigenously and from abroad.

Indian cabinet committee on security had recently approved the formation of ''Sagar Prahari Bal'' or SPB, a new naval force formed to protect coastlines and naval bases of India. The 1,000 officers and sailors of the Indian navy forming part of SPB will commence their three-week training from January 11 at Kochi.

December 4 is celebrated every year as Navy Day.

 

[ironman]

The weary state of the Indian Navy ​

December 4th, 2009
By Arun Kumar Singh

As is well known, after 26/11 the Indian Navy (IN) was given the additional responsibility of coastal security. It is a common military principle that the “security of own base” is paramount. It is foolhardy to conduct distant blue water operations only to find that your unguarded base (eg, Mumbai) has been devastated by terrorists, or by a surprise enemy strike. Navy Day, on December 4, 2009, is an appropriate occasion to talk about the “blue water” requirements of the Navy.

Any Navy takes about 15 to 20 years to build a capability based on crystal-ball-gazing for the next half-a-century. Unfortunately, this crystal ball is not always accurate and urgent changes become essential sometimes. The Indian Navy, already saddled with blue water anti-piracy patrolling off the distant Gulf of Aden, needs to factor in the threat of maritime terror, while its limited budget needs to be optimised to also cater for the Chinese Navy’s blue water threat, expected by 2025, along with the needs of nuclear-submarine-based second-strike capability.

Medium naval powers like Britain and France maintain a fleet of a dozen tactical nuclear submarines (SSNs) and four strategic nuclear submarines (SSBNs), but have decided to keep only one aircraft carrier each. The Chinese (when they get their carrier in 2012) will have a similar ratio, while the Russians have a much higher ratio of nuclear submarines to carriers. America, with global expeditionary warfare capabilities, is an exception — it has 62 nuclear submarines and 11 aircraft carriers. I was, therefore, surprised by a foreign media news item which said that “India has recently lodged a firm expression of interest to buy one of the two state-of-the-art 65,000 tonne carriers, which are still being built by in the UK” (due for delivery in 2016, but deemed “unaffordable” by the British since the F-35 fighter jets meant for it would cost $150 million each at 2009 prices).

Large aircraft carriers, though vital for blue water sea control operations, are very expensive to buy ($3-4 billion each, depending on the size), operate and maintain. A carrier needs to operate a minimum mix of 30 to 50 or more expensive aircrafts, (fighters, air early warning aircraft, helicopters). Each carrier, in addition, requires a protective screen of about six expensive destroyers or frigates and a replenishment tanker for refuelling.

Notwithstanding the high costs, it is a fact that the Indian Navy requires two aircraft carriers for blue water operations, which only carriers can perform. These would be the INS Vikramaditya (ex-Gorshkov) due to be commissioned in 2012, and the INS Vikrant (being built at Kochi shipyard), due for delivery after 2016. Each of these could carry a mix of about 30 aircraft and helicopters. Any proposal of buying a third aircraft carrier would come at the expense of badly-needed platforms like submarines, frigates, destroyers etc. An aircraft carrier has a life of 50 years. However, given the estimated 20-year-life of the second-hand INS Vikramaditya, and the fact that it would take us 20 years to get government sanction, design and build it, there is a need to begin the process for a replacement indigenous aircraft carrier now.

Coming to other blue water operations, the first involves anti-piracy patrols off the Gulf of Aden, which are being carried out since August 2008 by destroyers and frigates costing about Rs 5,000 crores and Rs 3,000 crores each, respectively. A cheaper and more-cost effective option would be to use long-range offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), costing around Rs 300-500 crores each. A dozen such platforms are needed for anti-piracy patrols and also for protection of offshore oil rigs (three OPVs are already being built in Goa, and nine more need to be ordered).

The second aspect of blue water operations involves controlling or denying (during wartime) the “choke points” through which all ships must pass before entering or exiting the Indian Ocean region. This task is best performed by conventional submarines, SSNs, frigates/destroyers and Long-Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) aircraft .

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report of August 2008 brought out the shortcomings of our ageing conventional submarine force and submarine rescue capabilities. Since the 30-year indigenous submarine building plan is running a few years behind schedule, the government needs to consider outright import of six conventional submarines with air independent propulsion system, and two submarine rescue systems. Three imported destroyers, with BMD (ballastic missile defence) capability and three imported frigates are also needed, since Indian defence shipyards are overbooked, and force levels are declining.
If media reports about a Russian-built Akula SSN being inducted into the Navy in 2010 are indeed true, than it’s welcome news, but more would be needed, and ideally ones that are indigenous.

Next, I come to the SSBN Arihant which was launched on July 26, 2009. Here too, for deterrence to work, more indigenous SSBNs would be needed, with missile ranges of about 5,000 km. To monitor shipping in specific areas of the Indian Ocean region, there is a need to import long-range (1,500 miles) high frequency “sky wave” coastal radars. Similar radars are in service in China, Australia and Russia. These are different from the short-range (40 miles) coastal radars being inducted by the Indian Coast Guard.

Lastly, I come to the issue of modern digital data links and network-centric warfare. Having completed phase one of the data link (i.e. real time situational awareness), the Indian Navy with its dedicated satellite (launch in 2010), should move to phase II, i.e. “real time fusion of various sensors and shooters”, which would mean that data provided by one sensor platform would be accurate and timely enough for another platform to fire its weapons at the designated target.

To conclude, more money is needed. The government must increase the defence budget from its present 1.99 per cent to over three per cent of the gross domestic product. The Indian Navy needs to additionally prepare not only for the nuclear era, but also for BMD and maritime terrorism.

* Vice-Admiral Arun Kumar Singh retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam

 

[jakojako777]

Creating maritime muscle

 

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The President releases Naval History Book
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20:19 IST
The traditional ‘At Home’ function hosted by the Chief of Naval Staff at the Navy house was well attended by dignitaries from the Government and the Armed Forces.

Apart from the President Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil, other notable dignitaries present included the Prime Minister, Vice President, Raksha Mantri, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff the Defence Minister of France Mr. Harve Morin and Commander of the US Pacific Command (PACOM) Admiral Robert Willard.

During the event, the supreme commander of Indian Armed Forces released the final book in the trilogy on Naval history by Late Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, viz ‘Transition to Guardianship’. The book deals with the great strides that the Indian Navy had made from 1990 – 2000 as it increased its sphere of influence form the shores of Africa, in the west, to the continent of Australia, in the east.

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PVS/AKR


PIB Press Release .

 

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MiG-29Ks for Gorshkov aircraft carrier arrive in India

New Delhi: Ending a year-long wait, the first batch of MiG-29K naval fighter jets, purchased from Russia for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, arrived in Goa Friday evening, three years ahead of the warship.

These MiG-29Ks are part of the 16 ordered for USD 526 million in 2004 along with Gorshkov, which is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy only by 2012-end.


"The first batch of the MiG-29K fighters' parts have landed in INS Hansa, the naval air station in Goa, last evening," Navy spokesperson Commander PVS Satish said here on Saturday.

The aircraft parts, packed in containers in a knocked down condition, landed here by an AN-124 cargo aircraft, considered to be the biggest operational military aircraft of Russian-Ukrainian origin.

Now, Navy's aviation engineers would assemble the aircraft at the Goa air base, where it would be stationed and operated from land till the time Gorshkov enters service.

Meanwhile, the Navy has decided to place a follow-on order for the MiG-29Ks from Russia and it could purchase an additional 29 aircraft soon, taking the total number of the carrier-borne fighter jets to 45.