INS VISHAL : first CATOBAR aircraft carrier

With the recent visit of US President Barack Obama, India got great deals in its bag. One of them is the sophisticated and critical technology needed for our aircraft carriers. The new-generation catapult, Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is featuring with our domestically built second aircraft carrier INS VISHAL or IAC II. We have got exactly what we needed, plus India may also buy V-22 Osprey aircrafts which are capable of Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL).





CATOBAR vs STOBAR :

In 1989 India announced a plan to replace its ageing British-built aircraft carriers, Vikrant and Viraat, with two new Aircraft Carriers. The first ship of the class, INS Vikrant also called as IAC I features a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) configuration with a ski-jump. The "ski-jump" ramp in the carrier is to assist in the take off of conventional fixed-wing aircraft, and use "trap wires" to help an aircraft land. It is designed mainly for lighter aircrafts like Mikoyan Mig-29k and HAL Tejas Mark II. Generally, STOBAR carriers are easy to operate and easy to maintain, and have low operating cost.



As the ship is based on STOBAR, it has its own drawbacks. STOBAR aircraft carriers have to maintain speeds of 20-30 knots to generate wind over deck to support the mission. In other words, it can not support launch missions in still conditions. It is also difficult to operate bulky airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft using this system which can make the carrier very vulnerable during wartime. So the need is to find solutions for all these problems, and the answer is Catapult Assisted Take-Off, Barrier Assisted Recovery (CATOBAR).



CATOBAR uses "trap lines" to stop an aircraft while landing, and a catapult to help it launch. Initially there were reports that the Indian Navy is going with steam catapult for INS Vishal. A steam catapult uses more than 600 kg of steam to launch an aircraft. Plus there is a requirement of hydraulics and oils, water to break the catapult, and associated pumps, motors and control systems.



The result is a large, heavy, maintenance intensive system which requires more manpower. On the other hand, EMALS uses an approach analogous to an electromagnetic railgun results to accelerate the shuttle that holds the aircraft.



The United Stated navy is the most experienced player in CATOBAR carriers, but all their carriers feature steam catapult system. EMALS is featuring in their new Ford class carrier, Gerald R. Ford which costs around whooping $13 billion.



CATOBAR offers more options such as supporting operations of heavier fighters, AEW aircraft and, crucially, unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), when compared with STOBAR systems. This will give Indian Navy an upper hand in the region by expanding their mission envelope with UCAVs, using the pilotless aircraft for high-risk reconnaissance and suppression of enemy air defences.





THE INS VISHAL :

INS Vishal is going to be expensive as compared to the other aircraft carriers we have. It is very hard to believe from the recent reports that it will be a conventional – powered aircraft carrier. INS Vishal is still 10 to 12 years away from reality, so India has enough time to go for a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. All US Navy's CATOBAR based Nimitz class aircraft carriers are nuclear powered. EMALS systems may need 60 MW of electricity at its peak and the 3 seconds in which one aircraft will be launched, that amount of energy could power 12000 homes.



A nuclear powered aircraft carrier is the most suitable option for the Indian navy, which will also give us outstanding power projection over a conventional aircraft carrier. We have gained some experience from INS Arihant in this field, though a submarine and an aircraft carrier are totally two different structures.



The designing of INS Vishal is also going to be a tough job for 'Directorate of Naval Design' (DND) of the Indian Navy.



Though DND has successfully designed INS Vikrant, but this is totally a new breed which needs sleek, precise and sophisticated design for faultless construction. It would be a boon for the DND if the United States could also assist India in designing of the aircraft carrier, INS Vishal. However there is nothing clear about the fighter aircraft, which will be deployed on INS Vishal.



INS Vishal will be the future of a new brand of aircraft carriers. It will dominate the Indian ocean and give India a giant leap over the Chinese. From here you can see the Indian Navy become a formidable true blue water navy capable of projecting deadly force across the Indian ocean and beyond.





Defence News - INS VISHAL : India's 1st Catobar Aircraft Carrier

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Indian Navy puts out RfI for next-gen missile vessel

SOURCE: JANES







The Indian Navy’s (IN’s) Directorate of Ship Production has issued a request for information (RfI) relating to six Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMVs) under the ‘Buy (Indian)/Buy and Make (Indian)’ category of the Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) 2013.



The RfI, issued in early February, aims to “finalise the specifications of the NGMVs to meet the Indian Navy’s requirements,” after which requests for proposal (RfPs) will be issued to selected vendors.



The RfI stipulates that the IN only welcomes responses from vendors that meet certain “minimum qualifying criteria” including the key stipulation that it should be a shipyard that has built “vessel(s) of similar specifications”.

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Indian Navy issues RfI for tactical UASs

SOURCE: JANES





The Indian Navy (IN) is seeking to buy a fleet of about 50 tactical shipborne unmanned aerial systems (UASs) under its Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) programme, according to a request for information (RfI) issued by the Directorate of Naval Air Staff (DNAS) on 5 February.



The deadline for responses is 5 March.



The UASs are to be used to improve India’s monitoring of sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) and exclusive economic zones, for anti-piracy and anti-terrorism missions, in search and rescue, and to provide automated identification system (AIS) inputs for ship tracking.



According to the RfI, the UASs should be capable of day and night operations from naval vessels 50 m or longer, both with and without helicopter decks.

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India eyes U.S. aircraft carrier technology

India eyes U.S. aircraft carrier technology as arms ties deepen | Reuters





(Reuters) - India wants to use state-of-the-art U.S. technology to boost the range and potency of a planned aircraft carrier, defence sources said, a move that would tie their arms programmes closer together and counter China's military influence in the region.



The proposal, referred to only obliquely in a joint statement at the end of President Barack Obama's recent visit to New Delhi, is the clearest signal yet that Washington is ready to help India strengthen its navy.



Ashton Carter, Obama's nominee for defence secretary, said he would take a strong interest in strengthening U.S.-India ties if confirmed, and a "great deal" could be done to expand military and defence technology cooperation.



"India is destined to be a strategic partner of the United States," Carter told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.



Although the aircraft carrier in question would not be ready for at least another decade, such cooperation could act as a balance against China's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean.



It would also represent a shift away from India's traditional reliance on Russia for military hardware, particularly if, as some experts expect, it leads to knock-on orders for U.S. aircraft in the longer term.



After years of neglect, India's navy is in the midst of accelerated modernisation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



It inducted an old aircraft carrier from Russia in 2014 to add to an ageing British vessel likely to be decommissioned in 2018. Soon after taking office last year, Modi cleared funds to ensure another carrier being built domestically was ready for service in 2018.



He also endorsed navy plans for a further carrier which would be its largest. It is this one that may be built with U.S. technology, a Defence Ministry source and two former navy vice admirals with ties to the naval establishment said.



The joint statement by Obama and Modi spoke of a "working group to explore aircraft carrier technology sharing and design" as part of the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative.



Defence officials said this could lead to direct U.S. participation in building the 65,000-tonne INS Vishal carrier.



"The U.S. Navy is the only one that operates large carriers today, so we are looking at what they can offer, what is possible," the defence source said.



MORE, BIGGER AIRCRAFT



Former Indian vice admiral Arun Kumar Singh said naval planners want a carrier that can launch heavier planes, and the only way to do that is from flat decks which U.S. carriers have instead of Russian "ski-jump" decks.



"The Americans, I believe, have said 'OK, we will help you design a ship and you also buy our catapults' to launch aircraft," he said.



Former rear admiral Ravi Vohra said the Indian navy's ultimate objective was a five-carrier fleet comprising a mix of large and small carriers.



At the heart of the proposed collaboration is a U.S. offer to share the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) developed by General Atomics and which is now being installed on the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers that are joining the navy.



The new system means jets can launch off a flat deck at a faster rate and with less fatigue to aircraft.



U.S. defence and industry officials said sensitivities over selling advanced EMALS technology to India meant any major movement on the carrier question was unlikely in the near term.



Two sources familiar with the issue added that the U.S. response to Indian overtures had been cool until very recently.



"Things are finally beginning to look a lot more positive," said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly.



For India it is a big leap. Its existing carrier force uses ski-jump ramps to help planes take off and uses wires to slow them down when landing. For that reason, planes have to be lighter and fewer in number.



With an EMALS system on a flat deck, India's navy planners hope to increase the number of aircraft on board the INS Vishal to 50 from 34 and field heavier fighter jets with longer range as well as airborne early warning aircraft.



"EMALS is one of the most revolutionary things in carrier technology because it completely changes the way you fire a plane off the top of a ship," said James Hardy, Asia-Pacific Editor for IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.



"The Chinese have been talking about getting it for their carriers for a long time ... but it's quite a big technological ask."



CHINA FORAYS WORRY INDIA



The Indian defence source said representatives of General Atomics showed the technology to members of a Naval Design Bureau working on the next-generation carrier back in 2013.



The Defence Ministry declined to comment.



China is operating a lone carrier, the 60,000-tonne Liaoning bought from Ukraine, but reports have circulated of a second carrier under development.



Beijing wants to develop an ocean-going "blue water" navy capable of defending its interests as it adopts a more assertive stance in territorial disputes with its neighbours in the South China Sea.



Modi has sought to improve ties with China, seeing it as a vital economic partner. But New Delhi has been rattled by Chinese naval forays in the Indian Ocean, including when a submarine docked last year in Sri Lanka.



Vijay Sakhuja, director of the Defence Ministry-funded National Maritime Foundation think tank, said U.S. involvement in the flight-launch technology of an Indian carrier could lead to future deals for U.S. aircraft makers.



"It is early days yet, but once we get this carrier deck technology from the U.S., maybe there will be a joint development of fighter jets to be operated out of it."



(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington; editing by Mike Collett-White, John Chalmers and G Crosse)

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Indian navy shows interest in us marine ops

Indian Navy shows interest in US Marine ops - SP's MAI



The Indian Navy and Indian Army have for long desired the capability to transport an independent brigade group, 5,000 strong, as part of a fully amphibious force modelled on the US Marines. With India in the process of building and acquiring large amphibious vessels to augment the existing INS Jalashwa and smaller ships, the idea of a marine brigade has found renewed interest among military planners, with the Indian Navy expressing interest in the way the US Marines conduct operations afresh.



India's interest is visible in the specific interest it has shown in recent events. SP's has learnt that the Indian Navy has been closely tracking and following exercises and operations of the USS Iwo Jima, a US Navy amphibious assault vessel that was conducting exercises in the Red Sea at the time US President Barack Obama was in India. Conversations are understood to have taken place about the possibility of Indian Navy visits to such vessels or exercises, and the inclusion of large amphibious vessels in future MALABAR exercises as well between the two navies.



The USS Iwo Jima and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit transited through the Strait of Gibraltar late last year, conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.





The ship has on board MV-22 Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) -- another area of interest for the Indian Navy: air operations in the amphiobious operational context. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, as part of the exercise provided security for Marines aboard a notional hostile ship, at sea on Sept. 14, 2014. The Marines conducted a Visit, Board, Search and Seizure exercise during the transit exercise, that spanned over the majority of September.



The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s (MEU) Maritime Raid Force, a detachment from Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, also demonstrated and performed fast-rope operations from a UH-1Y Huey to the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) during scheduled training in the Red Sea on Jan 26, right about the time President Obama was in Delhi. The 24th MEU remains embarked on the ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and deployed to maintain regional security in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. They also participated in a live-fire exercise aboard the ship on Jan 18.





A detachment from Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, also board a simulated enemy vessel during a visit, board, search and seizure exercise aboard a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, Jan. 15, 2015. The MRF conducted the VBSS exercise from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry. As part of the closer engagement moving forward, which includes intelligence sharing and officer exchange programs, India has highlighted amphibious assault operations as a priority area of interest for the Indian Navy. Expect to see this paint much of the visible maritime engagement in the coming months to build on the single amphibious assault exercise already conducted jointly in Andaman islands between the two navies.

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Indian Navy to equip it's aircraft carriers with EMALS

Navy to boast US’ modern launch system | idrw.org



The Indian Navy will soon equip its domestically-built aircraft carriers with US-based General Atomics’ (GA) new-generation catapult Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) — a quantum leap for the navy that currently relies on Russian ski-launch technology.



Talking to FE, Vivek Lall, CEO, US and International Strategic Development General Atomics Electromagnetics, said: “After concurrence from the US navy and permission to export, the system could provide key benefits to advance the Indian Navy.”



Lall, who visited India as part of the CEO delegation that accompanied US President Barack Obama last week, added: “The system’s flexible architecture allows for integration into a range of platforms with differing catapult configurations, enabling the launch and recovery of a wide variety of aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to enhance situational awareness. Our integrated system requires fewer personnel to operate and maintain, and provides a more fuel efficient alternative to legacy catapult systems.”



The US government’s permission to export the system to India probably came after PM Narendra Modi and Obama said they would explore ways of sharing aircraft carrier technology, said Lall, whose company has pioneered the technique.



While responding to a question, the CEO acknowledged that a significant amount of progress has been made, especially in the defence sector.



“There is potential for GA to establish a joint venture with an Indian counterpart and for this we have been in talks with several companies.”



Modi and Obama called for identification of new areas of technology cooperation through the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).



The co-development and co-production element also fits into the PM’s ‘Make in India’ development model. “Now defence minister Manohar Parikkar will seek a list of technologies from various departments and which the US can share,” a source said.



GA’s launch system can be used for a variety of warplanes, including jets and drones, unlike existing technology that is more restrictive, Lall said, adding, “We need to design, build, launch and support systems that keep services mission ready, we must develop systems that utilise electric energy more efficiently and are designed to ease maintenance and reduce lifecycle costs. Our products push the boundaries of energy and fuel efficiencies, harsh operational environments, and high reliability standards.”



The existing carriers have a ski-jump design that depends on a warplane’s own thrust to get it aloft, limiting the jets that can be deployed. GA’s system uses electromagnetic force to help propel planes into the sky. It’s being fitted to the Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), the latest generation of US carrier. The system is a highly redundant, modular design with few moving parts.

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Japan May Sell India Six Stealth Submarines

Quote:

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Russia, France, Germany and Spain ... may have to contend with Japan in the race to supply submarines to India. In keeping with their expanding strategic partnership, the Modi government has asked the Shinzo Abe administration whether it would be interested in the over Rs 50,000 crore project to build six stealth submarines in India.



With Japan recently ending its decades old self-imposed arms export embargo, New Delhi has forwarded "a proposal" to Tokyo to "consider the possibility" of making its latest diesel-electric Soryu-class submarines in India, say sources.

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Quote:

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India’s proposal comes at a time when New Delhi and Tokyo have been steadily strengthening ties under the leadership of Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Modi and Abe, both nationalistic leaders seeking to expand their respective countries’ regional profiles, are seen as enjoying a close relationship, which could help Tokyo’s chances in the competition. That being said, France, Germany and Russia have all built submarines for India in the past, TOI noted.

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India asks Japan if it’s interested in Rs 50,000 crore submarine project - The Times of India







China's Worst Nightmare? Japan May Sell India Six Stealth Submarines | The National Interest Blog

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Russia Ready to Supply India With Anaerobic Submarines

Russia Ready to Supply India With Anaerobic Submarines



Russia Ready to Supply India With Anaerobic Submarines | idrw.org



Russia could supply the Indian Navy with “stealthy” submarines, equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems if India opens a tender for them, a senior official at Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

“The Russian side is ready to supply a foreign client with a submarine refitted to meet any requests for a different exterior and equipment as formulated by the client,” the source told RIA Novosti.



In 2007, New Delhi said it was considering expanding its fleet of submarines with diesel-electric subs. One of the key requirements was for the boats to have so-called anaerobic engines.



Air-independent (closed cycle) submarines, which usually use hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, are quieter than conventional diesel-electric boats and do not have to surface or use snorkel tubes to breathe air, thereby exposing themselves to detection by radar and other sensors.



A Russian design bureau, Rubin, is currently running tests on AIP systems to be installed on the Russian Navy’s Lada-class diesel-electric submarines (Project 677) in 2015, with a new class of non-nuclear submarines with AIP engines to enter the construction phase in two years.

This comes as Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in New Delhi earlier in the day to talk over the countries’ joint military-technical ventures with his counterpart, Manohar Parrikar. The ministers have agreed to “fast-track” a host of joint projects, including work on a fifth-generation fighter jet they are building together.



India is Russia’s largest military-technical cooperation partner. According to estimates by Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, the country supplied India with $4.78 billion worth of weapons and military equipment in 2013. India also leases Russian hardware, such as the nuclear-powered Akula-class Chakra submarine.

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HDW Class 216

HDW Class 216 Submarine is a long-range multi-mission two-deck fuel cell submarine with exceptional endurance.



It features two pressure-tight compartments, high crew comfort levels and an extremely flexible payload for weapons and mission-orientated exchangeable equipment enhanced by the innovative Vertical Multi-Purpose Lock (VMPL).

1. PERMASYN® propulsion technology


2. Lithium-ion battery technology


3. Composite propeller


4. High, proven automation level


5. Compact sail


6. HABETaS® rescue system

The modular weapon and sensor mix, in combination with the submarine's air-independent features, makes the HDW Class 216 predestined for

1. Anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare


2. ISTAR - Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance


3. Land attack capability


4. Special Forces operations


5. Deployment of unmanned vehicles


6. Mine operations and mine reconnaissance.

Technical Data

• LOA ~ 90 m


• Pressure hull ø ~ 8.1 m


• Surface displ. ~ 4,000 t


• Weapon tubes 6


• Crew 33

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Indian Navy selects OTO Melara 127/64 LW gun

Defence News - Indian Navy selects OTO Melara 127/64 LW gun



Monday, January 05, 2015

By : IHS Janes

Quote:

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India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently approved the INR15 billion (USD243.5 million) procurement of 13 127 mm guns for Indian Navy (IN) warships, for which Italy's OTO Melara was the sole bidder.



Key Points



- OTO Melara's 127/64 LW - Vulcano gun system has been chosen to arm 13 Shivalik-class frigates and Delhi-class destroyers

- OTO Melara was the sole bidder for the requirement after BAE Systems decided not to go for the contest



India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently approved the INR15 billion (USD243.5 million) procurement of 13 127 mm guns for Indian Navy (IN) warships, for which Italy's OTO Melara was the sole bidder.



IN sources told IHS Jane's that OTO Melara has offered its 127/64 LW - Vulcano gun system for 13 indigenously designed and built Shivalik-class frigates and Delhi-class destroyers.



OTO Melara emerged as the solitary vendor after BAE Systems declined to field its 127 mm/62 calibre Mk 45 Naval Gun System.



The November 2013 tender stipulated that three of the 13 naval guns would be imported and the remaining 10 licence-built by state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) at Haridwar, 200 km north of New Delhi.



The MoD also wanted the vendors to undertake production, quality control and timeline guarantees for the BHEL-produced naval guns but without providing the vendor with executive or supervisory authority over the public sector company.



BAE Systems opposed this arrangement, and in an official statement declared its unwillingness to accept the "disproportionate level of risk" in the tender.



Industry sources said OTO Melara has no such reservations as BHEL has been licence-producing its 76/62 Super Rapid Light gun since the mid-1990s. The contract will require special clearance by the MoD's Defence Acquisition Council, however, as India's defence procurement procedure (DPP) discourages solitary bids.



The DPP provides for exceptions based on operational exigencies, of which the 127 mm gun procurement is one, IN sources said.



OTO Melara will also require a special endorsement from the DAC for the 127/64 LW gun as it is a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. In January 2014 the MoD accused Finmeccanica affiliate AgustaWestland of corruption in the sale of 12 AW101 helicopters.



Thereafter, the MoD suspended all contracts with Finmeccanica and its subsidiaries, except those that were at an advanced stage of negotiation.



COMMENT

Clearance for the OTO Melara gun is unlikely to be problematic as defence minister Manohar Parrikar recently rejected blacklisting defence vendors as such a move would restrict India's materiel procurement options.



"Finmeccanica has 39 subsidiaries. Should we stop dealing with all 39? I don't agree. The military needs equipment," Parrikar told a Delhi-based television news channel on 12 December.

---

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Mystery ship project gets Rs 725 crore from Centre

Mystery ship project gets Rs 725 crore from Centre



The defence ministry has sanctioned Rs 725 crore for the construction of a secret naval ship that will eventually be a part of India’s ballistic missile defence system being put in place slowly, bit by bit.



Under construction at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), Visakhapatnam, the Ocean Surveillance Ship (P-11184) is a classified project, monitored directly by the Prime Minister’s Office. The ship’s keel was laid on June 30, 2014 and the shipyard has been given a timeline of December, 2015 to finish the project.



“Once ready, it will be a vessel for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for tracking ballistic missiles, while Navy will operate it. The vessel will be used for long range surveillance of missiles,” a source familiar with the project told Deccan Herald. Last week, the Navy, HSL and DRDO reviewed the progress made in the project.



Being a classified project, not many in the armed forces and DRDO are aware of the OSS in the first place. It is being run in the same manner as the Advance Technology Vessel project, which was the code name for the indigenous nuclear submarine Arihant.

Among the advanced nations, the US, which has its own theatre missile defence shield and offers it to its allies like Japan and South Korea, has such ships.



HSL received the first financial instalment in February 2013 and one more round is expected as the OSS’s total cost is reportedly about Rs 1,500 crore. HSL was taken over by the defence ministry in 2010 for better coordination as the shipyard undertook several secret projects including construction of Arihant and two more nuclear-powered SSBN.

The ship will be having a a long open deck with space for several tracking antennae located at the aft of the forward superstructure.



Designed by Vik Sandvik Design India, it has a length of 175 mt, a beam of 22 mt, a depth of 6 mt and 10,000 tons of steel are required for its construction. It has a helicopter deck and hangar with a planned complement of 300 men. Powered by two 9,000 kw engines, the vessel’s maximum velocity would be 21 knots.



India’s missile defence shield comprises two different systems – AAD (Advanced Air Defence) and PAD (Prithvi Air Defence) – for destroying enemy missiles within and outside the atmosphere.



While the AAD (endo-atmospheric system) can kill an incoming missile within a range of 15-30 km, PAD could neutralise the target missile at a distance of 50-80 km.

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India Approves Production Of Indigenous Submarines Worth $2.9 Billion

India Approves Production Of Indigenous Submarines Worth $2.9 Billion



Source : Our Bureau , Dated : Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Quote:

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Indian Defense Ministry has approved to build six conventional diesel electric submarines indigenously. The preliminary (AON) cost of the project would be Rs.18798 crore ($2.9 billion).



However, the final cost arises through the bidding / negotiation process.



The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved constitution of a ‘Core Committee’ to identify suitable Indian shipyards to bid for construction of six submarines.



Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar said in Parliament yesterday.

---

:thumb:

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India working on mystery ship project , gets 725 crore from centre

Mystery ship project gets Rs 725 crore from Centre



The defence ministry has sanctioned Rs 725 crore for the construction of a secret naval ship that will eventually be a part of India’s ballistic missile defence system being put in place slowly, bit by bit.



Under construction at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), Visakhapatnam, the Ocean Surveillance Ship (P-11184) is a classified project, monitored directly by the Prime Minister’s Office. The ship’s keel was laid on June 30, 2014 and the shipyard has been given a timeline of December, 2015 to finish the project.



“Once ready, it will be a vessel for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for tracking ballistic missiles, while Navy will operate it. The vessel will be used for long range surveillance of missiles,” a source familiar with the project told Deccan Herald. Last week, the Navy, HSL and DRDO reviewed the progress made in the project.



Being a classified project, not many in the armed forces and DRDO are aware of the OSS in the first place. It is being run in the same manner as the Advance Technology Vessel project, which was the code name for the indigenous nuclear submarine Arihant.

Among the advanced nations, the US, which has its own theatre missile defence shield and offers it to its allies like Japan and South Korea, has such ships.



HSL received the first financial instalment in February 2013 and one more round is expected as the OSS’s total cost is reportedly about Rs 1,500 crore. HSL was taken over by the defence ministry in 2010 for better coordination as the shipyard undertook several secret projects including construction of Arihant and two more nuclear-powered SSBN.

The ship will be having a a long open deck with space for several tracking antennae located at the aft of the forward superstructure.



Designed by Vik Sandvik Design India, it has a length of 175 mt, a beam of 22 mt, a depth of 6 mt and 10,000 tons of steel are required for its construction. It has a helicopter deck and hangar with a planned complement of 300 men. Powered by two 9,000 kw engines, the vessel’s maximum velocity would be 21 knots.



India’s missile defence shield comprises two different systems – AAD (Advanced Air Defence) and PAD (Prithvi Air Defence) – for destroying enemy missiles within and outside the atmosphere.



While the AAD (endo-atmospheric system) can kill an incoming missile within a range of 15-30 km, PAD could neutralise the target missile at a distance of 50-80 km.

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NLCA ski-jump successfully

NPI completes first ski-jump successfully from SBTF. ---> LINK

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BreakingNews #NLCA #NP1 completes first ski-jump successfully from SBT

NPI completes first ski-jump successfully from SBTF. ---> LINK

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Russian specialists to serve on INS Vikramaditya on Permanent basis.

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@Ray @sayareakd @Singh @Yusuf @Kunal Biswas @Blackwater

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China's Submarines Encircling India

Submarine game: How China is using undersea vessels to project power in India's neighbourhood





Four decades after the 1971 India-Pakistan war, India's intelligence agencies are once again scanning a stretch of coastline in southern Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar was rocketed and strafed by INS Vikrant's fighter aircraft to cut off the enemy's retreat into the Bay of Bengal. Today, 43 years later, it sets the stage for China's dramatic entry into India's eastern seaboard.



Assessments from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and naval intelligence say the Bangladesh Navy will station two ex-Chinese Ming-class submarines on bases that are less than 1,000 km away from Visakhapatnam, home to the Indian Navy's nuclear powered submarine fleet and the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) missile test ranges at Balasore.



The developments on India's Arabian Sea flank are equally ominous. Intelligence officials say that over the next decade, China will help Pakistan field submarines with the ability to launch nuclear-tipped missiles from sea. Submarines, analysts say, are China's instrument of choice to not just challenge the Indian Navy's strategy of sea domination but also to undermine India's second-strike capability. These developments have been accompanied by a flurry of Chinese submarine appearances in the Indian Ocean this year-Beijing sent two nuclear submarines and a conventional submarine. Two of them made port calls in Colombo, triggering concern in New Delhi.







Toehold in the Bay



"No one interested in geopolitics can afford to ignore the Bay of Bengal any longer," geopolitical analyst Robert Kaplan wrote in a seminal essay in Stratfor in November. "This is the newold centre of the world, joining the two demographic immensities of the Indian subcontinent and East Asia." For India, the Bay of Bengal is the launch pad for a 'Look East' policy that has received renewed attention under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



The Indian Navy is enhancing force levels at its Visakhapatnam naval base even as it has begun building a secret base for a proposed fleet of nuclearpowered submarines at Rambilli, south of Visakhapatnam. Equipped with the 700-km range B05 submarine launched missiles, the Arihant-class submarines will have to patrol closer to the shores of a potential adversary. But equipped with the 3,500-km range K-4 missiles currently being developed by the DRDO, the Arihant and her sister submarines can cover both Pakistan and China with nuclear-tipped missiles from within the Bay of Bengal, providing the "robust second-strike capability" as stated in India's nuclear doctrine.



Inputs suggest Bangladesh has acquired land and fenced locations at the Kutubdia Channel near Cox's Bazar and the Rabnabad Channel near West Bengal. Kutubdia, intelligence officials say, is likely to feature enclosed concrete 'pens' to hide submarines. The possibility of Chinese submarines using this base provides a fresh equation to the strategic calculus.



"Our submarines become susceptible to tracking from the time they leave harbour," says veteran submariner and former Southern Naval Command chief vice-admiral K.N. Sushil (retired). "But a far more worrying strategy is China's ability to be able to threaten our assured second-strike capability. That effectively tips the deterrence balance."



West Coast Worries



Of greater long-term worry to Indian analysts is a strategic submarine project China finalised with Pakistan in 2010. Intelligence sources say this three-part programme will transform the Pakistan Navy into a strategic force capable of launching a sea-based nuclear weapons strike. Pakistan will build two types of submarines with Chinese assistance: the Project S-26 and Project S-30. The vessels are to be built at the Submarine Rebuild Complex (SRC) facility being developed at Ormara, west of Karachi. Intelligence sources believe the S-30 submarines are based on the Chinese Qing class submarines-3,000-tonne conventional submarines which can launch three 1,500-km range nuclear-tipped cruise missiles from its conning tower. A Very Low Frequency (VLF) station at Turbat, in southern Balochistan, will communicate with these submerged strategic submarines. The Project S-26 and S-30 submarines will augment Pakistan's fleet of five French-built submarines, enhance their ability to challenge the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier battle groups and carry a stealthy nuclear deterrent. "Submarines are highly effective force multipliers because they tie down large numbers of naval forces," says a senior naval official.



Steel sharks on silk route


Speaking in Indonesia's Parliament last October, Chinese President Xi Jinping articulated a "21st century Maritime Silk Road". His vision calls for investments in port facilities across south and south-east Asia to complement a north Asian route. This year, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) put steel into Xi's vision. In February, a Shangclass nuclear-powered attack submarine made China's first declared deployment in the Indian Ocean. This was followed by port calls made by a Han-class submarine in Colombo to coincide with a state visit by President Xi and a visit by a Song-class conventional submarine in November.



China's heightened activity in the Indian Ocean region is underscored by investments in a new port in Gwadar at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, a container facility in Chittagong and Kyaukpyu port in Myanmar. "Such developments have sharpened China's geopolitical rivalry with India, which enjoys an immense geographic advantage in the Indian Ocean," says Brahma Chellaney of the Centre for Policy Research. "Aspects related to their (Chinese) deployment in international waters are part of securing their maritime interests," Navy chief Admiral Robin K. Dhowan told journalists in Delhi on December 3.



China's new military posture reflects the 'Malacca dilemma' faced by the world's largest oil importer. Close to 80 per cent of China's crude oil imports of 11 million barrels per day, the life blood of its economy, is shipped through the narrow Malacca Strait. Any disruption to this could threaten its economic growth. "Hence, China's economic interests in the Indian Ocean have now taken on an overt military dimension," says an intelligence official.



Naval intelligence officials who correctly predicted that China would use anti-piracy patrols as a pretext for deployments in the Indian Ocean feel vindicated. Their prognosis of this game of 'weiqi'-a game of Chinese chess which uses encirclement, is gloomy. "A full-scale Chinese deployment in the Indian Ocean is inevitable," an admiral told India Today.



"You can only watch it and prepare yourself for it." The preparations include acquisitions of long-range maritime patrol aircraft such as the US-made P8-I Poseidon, investment in anti-submarine warfare and inducting new submarines and helicopters to fill up critical deficiencies in force levels.



Measured Response


China's submarine thrust into South Asia coincides with Narendra Modi's renewed emphasis on securing India's perimeter. "India's response has to be nuanced, a mixture of coercion and largesse," says Jayadeva Ranade, a former RAW official and member of the National Security Advisory Board. While the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government scoffed at encirclement theories, the new Government is clearly concerned over the creeping Chinese presence.



National Security Adviser Ajit Doval voiced India's concerns at the 'Galle Dialogue' in Sri Lanka on December 1. He cited a 1971 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution mooted by Sri Lanka calling on the "great powers to halt further escalation and expansion of their military presence in the Indian Ocean".



India's defence diplomacy has been severely limited by its inability to offer military hardware to offset the Chinese presence. Over half the military hardware of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are of Chinese origin. In 2008, India called off a plan to transfer the INS Vela to the Myanmar Navy when it discovered the vintage Russian-built submarine was past its service life.



When plans to transfer hardware materialise, they are too feeble to make a difference-a solitary helicopter such as the one gifted to Nepal by Modi in November and a small ex-Indian naval patrol craft gifted to Seychelles recently. Often, there is a demand for capabilities where India itself is deficient. Bangladeshi officials stumped Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials last year when they asked India, and not China, to provide submarines. The Indian Navy is down to just 13 aging conventional submarines. The MEA suggested Bangladesh buy Russian submarines instead. Their efforts are yet to bear fruit. It is a gap China willingly fills.



Submarine game: How China is using undersea vessels to project power in India's neighbourhood : Special Report - India Today

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Indian Navy is in the process of a transformation

Interview with the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Robin K. Dhowan. Question: The Navy is on the cusp of a whole new era, with steady infrastructure expansion, augmentation of fleet levels and enhanced induction of personnel....

Question: The Navy is on the cusp of a whole new era, with steady infrastructure expansion, augmentation of fleet levels and enhanced induction of personnel. How do you augment the training facilities to cater for the transformation and growth?



Answer: The Indian Navy is in the process of a transformation and that comes in largely from the implementation of our maritime capability perspective plan, which is a long-term plan where we have taken into account as to what the Indian Navy of the future will be. When we make this perspective plan, we actually project ourselves 15 years into the future. What will be the environment prevailing in our neighbourhood, in the Indian Ocean region; what will be the technologies that will be available at that point in time; what you really want the Indian Navy of the future to do; what will be the aspects related to threat perceptions at that point in time; what will be India’s state as a maritime nation and how will our maritime interests grow and hence the requirement of the security umbrella which is to be provided by the Indian Navy.



This, and many more factors we take into account and make a perspective plan. Now, when we start implementing the perspective plan, that’s what I call the phase of a transformation. And currently as you can see we have ships, submarines and aircraft being inducted into the Navy at regular intervals. At the same time, we have gone multidimensional. Last year, we had our first naval satellite Rukmini which has gone up into space. This has ensured that the Navy will have enough operational network footprint in the entire Indian Ocean Region. Along with this, there is a requirement to have the human resources induction, the manpower induction and at the same time development of infrastructure.



The Indian Naval Academy is the cradle where the actual human resources, the officers, are inducted. And since there is a requirement to meet with the induction of platforms, it has to cater for the enhanced rate of growth and enhanced rate of induction. To meet this we have the expansion plan, the need to have enhanced number of cadets to join the Navy. And so you have the phase-II expansion, which will take into account all aspects like the living accommodation, the training facilities, sports, classroom, laboratories – all aspects of academy infrastructure which are essential to give them sound training.





Question: But the Navy, though expanding, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. A spate of accidents has given it a bad name. What are the measures undertaken to ensure that the issues are tided over and quality of operations is attained?



Answer: The Navy is a highly professional service, and one that is technologically very advanced. For every action that needs to be carried out on board our ships submarines and aircraft, we need to follow procedures, the standard operating procedures, safety procedures and the like. And when these procedures are not followed, or not followed with alacrity, there are bound to be room for errors. And, when there is room for errors, accidents do happen.



The other aspect is that the lifespan of a ship or a submarine is nearly 30 to 35 years. Therefore we are bound to have our assets, nearly 50 per cent or so, which would be nearly 20 years old.



When we have older ships, the requirement of maintenance is that much more. And warships are meant to go harm’s way. They carry ammunition, fuel, which is [such] a combination that unless we follow safety procedures, accidents could happen. Therefore when we had these incidents, we took very serious view of that and we instituted safety procedures, safety audits, awareness and a culture of safety so that people are much more careful while operating the ships.



We must be aware that it’s a very difficult task that is performed by our sailors and officers out at sea. It’s not easy to operate in a submarine or on board a ship in rough weather or even normal weather when you have to grapple with so many things. And we need to understand that nobody would like accidents to happen.



It is the aspect related to so much good work that is done and when these get projected in a different manner, they do impact the good work that our sailors and officers are doing -- spending sleepless nights at sea so that our citizens can sleep peacefully. So all measures are being taken to minimise accidents.





Question: How is the issue of material failure being addressed?



Answer: Material failure is an aspect related to maintenance. Maintenance of ships and subs is undertaken by our dockyards. There’s an aspect related to offloading of certain parts of the work. And our aircraft are maintained by our aircraft repair yards. What we have had to ensure is that quality control in these refits is stringently observed. There are many organisations that are required to certify at the end of the refit that they are up to the mark. [These] have been made much more stringent so that from our dockyards, we get quality ships on time.





Question: Diminishing submarine strength has dogged the Navy for some time, but there has been no concrete step to address this. On the proposal for the next line of conventional submarines under P75I, which has been rejuvenated recently, are things moving fast?



Answer: Submarines are a very important part of the naval inventory because they help us realise our task as far as sea denial is concerned in the blue water operations. What we did firstly was to make sure that the operational-cum-refit cycles of our existing submarines was looked at very carefully to see that the operational submarines would be fully operational and combat ready. We are also undertaking an aspect related to their service life extension so that we can give them a longer lease of life—both to the Kilo-class and the SSKs.



Then we took stock of the ongoing submarine construction programme, the P75 Scorpenes, to see that there will be no further delays in their induction schedule. The first submarine will roll out in September 2016 and our intention is to speed up induction of the remaining five in a reasonable period of time. Apart from that, we have INS Chakra on lease, a very potent platform. INS Arihant is being made ready for sea trials. It will go out shortly and we are making all efforts to see that its first sea sortie takes place on completion of harbour trials.



Coming on to P75I, we have put up a proposal [for six conventional submarines] and we have had the first acceptance of necessity by the government with regard to making all the P75I submarines within the country, in Indian shipyards. This proposal is now being processed for approval at various levels and we are hopeful that this will speed up the induction of the Indian submarines.





Question: Now that we have a fully-operational INS Vikramaditya and the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant getting ready for launch, are you thinking of retiring the old warhorse, INS Viraat?



Answer: We assess the aspect related to service life of a ship based on its material state and also on force-levels. As and when the time for Viraat is appropriate and we have adequate force-levels coming for induction and based on the material state of Viraat that decision will be taken.





Question: The Navy has every reason to be unhappy about the LCA Navy development programme, which has been marred by time overruns and poor pace of development. Does the Navy still need it?



Answer: It is a very important programme for us because INS Vikrant, our first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier under construction at Kochi, will be capable to operate the LCA. So it will be very important for us that the LCA programme is speeded up so that the induction can take place in a time-bound schedule. We have conveyed this to the agencies concerned and are monitoring the progress of this very closely. We hope to start the trials of this at the SBTF [Shore-based Test Facility] in Goa and pave the way for the LCAs to get inducted. Yes, there has been a delay and this is certainly a cause for concern and all efforts are being put in place to see that the progressive trials of the LCA are expedited to get this aircraft inducted.





Question: But are the makers listening and showing signs of improvement?



Answer: The responsibility [to deliver the aircraft] is that of ADA [Aeronautical Development Agency] and the HAL [Hindustan Aeronautics Limited] and we have very high level periodic meetings. We have conveyed to the MoD [Ministry of Defence] and [the Department of] Defence Production our concern over the delay and it is at these high-levels that it is being monitored now.





Question: Is the Navy interested in procuring more ALH [Advanced light Helicopters] Dhruv?



Answer: We need additional ALH for our coastal security requirements. We will need them for shallow water ASW[anti-submarine warfare] requirements. Currently we use them for SAR [search and rescue] and as utility helicopters; that’s what we will be primarily using them for.



Naval aviation as such is at the threshold of major inductions at this point in time. We have inducted the MiG29 K fighter and trainer versions, which are operating from on board INS Vikramaditya. We will have additional aircraft inducted to consolidate their operationalisation process.



For long-range maritime recce, we have inducted six P8-I aircraft, based at INS Rajali [at Arakkonam]and these have been a tremendous boost as far as our long range maritime patrol is concerned because they can operate and carry out surveillance in large areas of the Indian ocean region, our primary area of interest. They are fitted with equipment and weapons for anti-submarine warfare. Two more [aircraft] will complete the first lot. And we have a case in progress, using the option clause, for four additional aircraft.





Question: An initiative of the Indian Navy which has gone a long way in building allies across the seas is IONS [Indian Ocean Naval Symposium]. It has helped the Navy build bridges of friendship with countries like Australia, traditionally believed to be an ally of China. Australia is in IONS chair now. The forum is expanding and has firmed up its charter of business. Are we now ready to take observers on board?



Answer: IONS is an Indian Navy initiative which currently has 35 member nations. Its chair rotates every two years and Australia is in the chair right now. In 2016, it will pass on to another Navy of an Indian Ocean littoral. The global commons or the blue seas or the sealines of communication as we call them are gaining new-found importance as each day goes by because the current century is the century of the seas. In that requirement, it is the maritime interests of all the littoral states which are important and safety and security at sea is not easy because sea is no longer a benign medium. Today the challenges in the maritime domain extend from piracy to asymmetric warfare to maritime terror. When you have those kind of challenges, the global commons are too huge for any Navy, however robust, to police it on its own.



Therefore, it just leads you to a conclusion that the global commons or the maritime domain lends itself for maritime cooperation. So, structures like IONS come into play. Since we look at all aspects which are of concern to friendly Navies—from piracy to pollution and HADR [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] -- we have joint working groups debating issues in a bid to come up with solutions.



Then, we carry out exercises with friendly foreign Navies. We have our ships showing the operational footprint of the Indian Navy in our area of interest; we carry out capacity building and capability enhancement with other navies in the Indian Ocean Region so that they can come up to some standard and be part of this cooperation process.



Indian Navy is in the process of a transformation: Navy chief - The Hindu

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Interview with chief of naval staff admiral Robin K. Dhowan

Indian Navy is in the process of a transformation: Navy chief - The Hindu







Question: The Navy is on the cusp of a whole new era, with steady infrastructure expansion, augmentation of fleet levels and enhanced induction of personnel. How do you augment the training facilities to cater for the transformation and growth?



Answer: The Indian Navy is in the process of a transformation and that comes in largely from the implementation of our maritime capability perspective plan, which is a long-term plan where we have taken into account as to what the Indian Navy of the future will be. When we make this perspective plan, we actually project ourselves 15 years into the future. What will be the environment prevailing in our neighbourhood, in the Indian Ocean region; what will be the technologies that will be available at that point in time; what you really want the Indian Navy of the future to do; what will be the aspects related to threat perceptions at that point in time; what will be India’s state as a maritime nation and how will our maritime interests grow and hence the requirement of the security umbrella which is to be provided by the Indian Navy.



This, and many more factors we take into account and make a perspective plan. Now, when we start implementing the perspective plan, that’s what I call the phase of a transformation. And currently as you can see we have ships, submarines and aircraft being inducted into the Navy at regular intervals. At the same time, we have gone multidimensional. Last year, we had our first naval satellite Rukmini which has gone up into space. This has ensured that the Navy will have enough operational network footprint in the entire Indian Ocean Region. Along with this, there is a requirement to have the human resources induction, the manpower induction and at the same time development of infrastructure.



The Indian Naval Academy is the cradle where the actual human resources, the officers, are inducted. And since there is a requirement to meet with the induction of platforms, it has to cater for the enhanced rate of growth and enhanced rate of induction. To meet this we have the expansion plan, the need to have enhanced number of cadets to join the Navy. And so you have the phase-II expansion, which will take into account all aspects like the living accommodation, the training facilities, sports, classroom, laboratories – all aspects of academy infrastructure which are essential to give them sound training.



Question: But the Navy, though expanding, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. A spate of accidents has given it a bad name. What are the measures undertaken to ensure that the issues are tided over and quality of operations is attained?



Answer: The Navy is a highly professional service, and one that is technologically very advanced. For every action that needs to be carried out on board our ships submarines and aircraft, we need to follow procedures, the standard operating procedures, safety procedures and the like. And when these procedures are not followed, or not followed with alacrity, there are bound to be room for errors. And, when there is room for errors, accidents do happen.



The other aspect is that the lifespan of a ship or a submarine is nearly 30 to 35 years. Therefore we are bound to have our assets, nearly 50 per cent or so, which would be nearly 20 years old.



When we have older ships, the requirement of maintenance is that much more. And warships are meant to go harm’s way. They carry ammunition, fuel, which is [such] a combination that unless we follow safety procedures, accidents could happen. Therefore when we had these incidents, we took very serious view of that and we instituted safety procedures, safety audits, awareness and a culture of safety so that people are much more careful while operating the ships.



We must be aware that it’s a very difficult task that is performed by our sailors and officers out at sea. It’s not easy to operate in a submarine or on board a ship in rough weather or even normal weather when you have to grapple with so many things. And we need to understand that nobody would like accidents to happen.



It is the aspect related to so much good work that is done and when these get projected in a different manner, they do impact the good work that our sailors and officers are doing -- spending sleepless nights at sea so that our citizens can sleep peacefully. So all measures are being taken to minimise accidents.



Question: How is the issue of material failure being addressed?



Answer: Material failure is an aspect related to maintenance. Maintenance of ships and subs is undertaken by our dockyards. There’s an aspect related to offloading of certain parts of the work. And our aircraft are maintained by our aircraft repair yards. What we have had to ensure is that quality control in these refits is stringently observed. There are many organisations that are required to certify at the end of the refit that they are up to the mark. [These] have been made much more stringent so that from our dockyards, we get quality ships on time.



Question: Diminishing submarine strength has dogged the Navy for some time, but there has been no concrete step to address this. On the proposal for the next line of conventional submarines under P75I, which has been rejuvenated recently, are things moving fast?



Answer: Submarines are a very important part of the naval inventory because they help us realise our task as far as sea denial is concerned in the blue water operations. What we did firstly was to make sure that the operational-cum-refit cycles of our existing submarines was looked at very carefully to see that the operational submarines would be fully operational and combat ready. We are also undertaking an aspect related to their service life extension so that we can give them a longer lease of life—both to the Kilo-class and the SSKs.



Then we took stock of the ongoing submarine construction programme, the P75 Scorpenes, to see that there will be no further delays in their induction schedule. The first submarine will roll out in September 2016 and our intention is to speed up induction of the remaining five in a reasonable period of time. Apart from that, we have INS Chakra on lease, a very potent platform. INS Arihant is being made ready for sea trials. It will go out shortly and we are making all efforts to see that its first sea sortie takes place on completion of harbour trials.



Coming on to P75I, we have put up a proposal [for six conventional submarines] and we have had the first acceptance of necessity by the government with regard to making all the P75I submarines within the country, in Indian shipyards. This proposal is now being processed for approval at various levels and we are hopeful that this will speed up the induction of the Indian submarines.



Question: Now that we have a fully-operational INS Vikramaditya and the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant getting ready for launch, are you thinking of retiring the old warhorse, INS Viraat?



Answer: We assess the aspect related to service life of a ship based on its material state and also on force-levels. As and when the time for Viraat is appropriate and we have adequate force-levels coming for induction and based on the material state of Viraat that decision will be taken.



Question: The Navy has every reason to be unhappy about the LCA Navy development programme, which has been marred by time overruns and poor pace of development. Does the Navy still need it?



Answer: It is a very important programme for us because INS Vikrant, our first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier under construction at Kochi, will be capable to operate the LCA. So it will be very important for us that the LCA programme is speeded up so that the induction can take place in a time-bound schedule. We have conveyed this to the agencies concerned and are monitoring the progress of this very closely. We hope to start the trials of this at the SBTF [Shore-based Test Facility] in Goa and pave the way for the LCAs to get inducted. Yes, there has been a delay and this is certainly a cause for concern and all efforts are being put in place to see that the progressive trials of the LCA are expedited to get this aircraft inducted.



Question: But are the makers listening and showing signs of improvement?



Answer: The responsibility [to deliver the aircraft] is that of ADA [Aeronautical Development Agency] and the HAL [Hindustan Aeronautics Limited] and we have very high level periodic meetings. We have conveyed to the MoD [Ministry of Defence] and [the Department of] Defence Production our concern over the delay and it is at these high-levels that it is being monitored now.



Question: Is the Navy interested in procuring more ALH [Advanced light Helicopters] Dhruv?



Answer: We need additional ALH for our coastal security requirements. We will need them for shallow water ASW[anti-submarine warfare] requirements. Currently we use them for SAR [search and rescue] and as utility helicopters; that’s what we will be primarily using them for.



Naval aviation as such is at the threshold of major inductions at this point in time. We have inducted the MiG29 K fighter and trainer versions, which are operating from on board INS Vikramaditya. We will have additional aircraft inducted to consolidate their operationalisation process.



For long-range maritime recce, we have inducted six P8-I aircraft, based at INS Rajali [at Arakkonam]and these have been a tremendous boost as far as our long range maritime patrol is concerned because they can operate and carry out surveillance in large areas of the Indian ocean region, our primary area of interest. They are fitted with equipment and weapons for anti-submarine warfare. Two more [aircraft] will complete the first lot. And we have a case in progress, using the option clause, for four additional aircraft.



Question: An initiative of the Indian Navy which has gone a long way in building allies across the seas is IONS [Indian Ocean Naval Symposium]. It has helped the Navy build bridges of friendship with countries like Australia, traditionally believed to be an ally of China. Australia is in IONS chair now. The forum is expanding and has firmed up its charter of business. Are we now ready to take observers on board?



Answer: IONS is an Indian Navy initiative which currently has 35 member nations. Its chair rotates every two years and Australia is in the chair right now. In 2016, it will pass on to another Navy of an Indian Ocean littoral. The global commons or the blue seas or the sealines of communication as we call them are gaining new-found importance as each day goes by because the current century is the century of the seas. In that requirement, it is the maritime interests of all the littoral states which are important and safety and security at sea is not easy because sea is no longer a benign medium. Today the challenges in the maritime domain extend from piracy to asymmetric warfare to maritime terror. When you have those kind of challenges, the global commons are too huge for any Navy, however robust, to police it on its own.



Therefore, it just leads you to a conclusion that the global commons or the maritime domain lends itself for maritime cooperation. So, structures like IONS come into play. Since we look at all aspects which are of concern to friendly Navies—from piracy to pollution and HADR [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] -- we have joint working groups debating issues in a bid to come up with solutions.



Then, we carry out exercises with friendly foreign Navies. We have our ships showing the operational footprint of the Indian Navy in our area of interest; we carry out capacity building and capability enhancement with other navies in the Indian Ocean Region so that they can come up to some standard and be part of this cooperation process.



The question of observers will have to be decided by the member nations.

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Parrikar calls for a robust Coastal Security system

Today is the sixth anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and India is still struggling to make the entire coastal security a foolproof system. However, when Manohar Parrikar took over as the Minister of Defence (MoD), he made it clear that India needs a robust defence system to protect country from potential enemies. This he said while inaugurating the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) of Navy in Gurgaon last week.



“One thing I will promise. I have been given a task. I will see that India is strengthened, and the country is in such a position that people will not dare for a confrontation”, Parrikar said. The Minister advocated a multipronged strategy to deal with security threats in lieu of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He asserted that there would be Zero Tolerance to Error ” in defence deals. Making observations, the Minister said that countries with good Navies ruled the world. While referring to a Chinese submarines calling at a Sri Lanka port, he said, “Today probably that is the reason why our neighbours are trying to get their Navy everywhere in the Indian Ocean and other areas.”



Parrikar praised the IMAC and said he appreciates the “quick and fast delivery” of system because he thinks it should ensure “99.99 per cent” against incidents like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks by earlier detection. The IMAC has been set up to provide coastal security and to avert tragic incidents like the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. It is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communications and Intelligence Network (NC3I Network), and is a joint initiative of Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Bharat Electronics Ltd to improve coastal surveillance.



Parrikar described it as ‘a bold initiative’ and ‘a reply of this great nation to the Mumbai attack but at the same time, he candidly admitted that the surveillance network has still some gaps which need to be plugged because commercial ships which navigate in the Indian waters pose a serious threat to the country’s security. He said this is an enormous task considering the fact that there are about two to three lakh fishing boats operating in our coast lines and the active cooperation of the State Governments is required to achieve one hundred per cent success.



Defence Minister also said besides coastal security, we have to protect our interests in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). He said some of our neighbours are trying to get their Navies in the Indian Ocean and our Navy must be watchful of their activities. “We do not want to be offensive but we must be strong enough to deter our enemies from casting

an evil eye upon us”, he said.



But to make Defence and its allied services a robust one is no child’s play because there is a need to synergise all the Armed forces with the entire coastal security system because they will be able to play a pivotal role in making the mechanism more integrated, which it currently lacks. In fact, there is no attempt to formally integrate the Coast Guard, which is also been called as the Armed Force of the Union, with the other forces, especially with the Indian Navy (IN).



Surprisingly, things haven’t changed much since 26/11, despite the fact that there is a cordial relation between Indian Navy and the Coast Guard and joint operations are also conducted without hiccups but in the absence of any formal mechanism, therefore, this can lead to problems in future. Another problem being that Coast Guard component has been kept out of the ambit of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS), meaning that the service is not likely to be placed under the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as and when it is created. For some unknown reasons, it has been treated like one of the Central Police Organisations (CPOs), even though the service is an Armed Force of the Union and functions under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).



Therefore, the dearth of resources at sea makes it all the more important for all the Central agencies operating at sea to coordinate more and pool their resources to obtain optimum results. Both Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are diverse in nature but with a common goal to protect the country. The Indian Navy can immensely benefit from the Coast Guard because they have experienced mariners who have gained the knowledge of the sea through extended and extensive sea-time on numerous ships, boats and small craft – experience which cannot be traded. In fact, these mariners can take up any Naval task, with very little additional military training. The Coast Guard can also bring to the Navy a pool of officers with command experience. With numerous smaller ships and patrol vessels, these officers would be an invaluable asset for any sudden expansion of Naval assets and responsibilities in tough times. It is therefore essential that Coast Guard should be able to “dissolve” into the Navy in case of any eventuality and the Navy must be able to “fuse” Coast Guard in times of war by suitably equipping it and frequently exercising with it.



This becomes more significant when China is trying to dominate the Indian Waters, while conveniently parking its vessels in Sri Lanka.



Moreover, India’s maritime interests are also growing faster in terms of sea trade and other economic activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to analysts, Indian offshore oil assets are spread over an area of over 48,000 square kms and are expected to double by 2015. With growing trade, mostly by sea, which is increasing, therefore, it protection of EEZ is the need of the hour. Any laxity on the India’s part may cripple the economic lifeline of the nation. Thus, there is a need to consolidate Indian maritime defence in the best possible way. It is also being feared with the increase in water activities, terrorism may shift into maritime realm. This will let the terrorists exploit the vulnerabilities of global trade and shipping and disrupt the sea lines of communications. They could even carry out attacks on hub ports.



However, to counter such threats, India needs to keep its coastline and the waters around under constant surveillance. Proactive and preventive capabilities are essential and the maritime forces have to play a lead role.



Although the NC3I network links 51 Naval and Coast Guard stations, located along the coast and on island territories. The network provides these stations coastal surveillance information obtained from various sensors, such as the coastal radar chain of the Indian Coast Guard and automatic tracking systems and electro-optical cameras. The network rides on dedicated terrestrial data circuits, as well as, satellite communication, which will help the stations in remote locations to be networked. The IMAC is the centre where data from various sensors and databases is aggregated, correlated and then disseminated to various stations for enhanced awareness. The software on which the coastal surveillance will be carried out incorporates hi-tech features like data fusion, correlation and decision support features thus facilitating better decision making.



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