"Over the past three years the Indian Navy
has made very significant progress towards capability accretion and this, is as
intended to be, in consonance with a conceived vision and plan. The past three years have seen the
publication of three major documents – the Maritime Capabilities Perspective
Plan 2012-27, the XII Plan document and the XII Infrastructure Plan document. During
XI Plan period, which concluded on 31 Mar this year close to 200 Acceptances of
Necessity (AoNs) with a total value of Rs 2,73,070 crores were obtained. Of these,
161 contracts with a total value of Rs 92,069 crores have been concluded.
A record number of 15 ships have been
commissioned into the Navy over the past three years, which include the three
Shivalik class stealth frigates – Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri – two fleet
tankers, Deepak and Shakti, one follow-on 1135.6 class stealth frigate, INS
Teg, the sail training ship, Sudarshini, and eight water-jet FACs.
Commissioning of the nuclear attack
submarine INS Chakra on 23rd Jan this year was a momentous occasion, as we are
now part of a select group of six nations that operate SSNs. Chakra has added
considerable punch to our maritime power and will aid in developing future
concepts of naval operations in this very critical sphere. You are aware that
the Arihant is steadily progressing towards its operationalisation, and we hope
to commence sea trials in the coming months.
Given our unequivocal “no-first-use commitment” a retaliatory strike
capability that is credible and invulnerable is an imperative. The Indian Navy is poised to complete the
triad, and our maritime and nuclear doctrines will then be aligned to ensure
that our nuclear insurance comes from the sea.
Our indigenous warship building program is
poised to touch new heights with 43 warships currently under construction in
our shipyards. These include the indigenous aircraft carrier, destroyers,
corvettes and submarines. Three ships of Project 15A, which are follow-ons of
the existing Delhi Class destroyers, with improved stealth features and weapon
and sensor fit are scheduled for induction commencing early next year. A
contract has also been signed with M/s MDL for four more P 15B destroyers,
which will follow the P15A ships. Four Anti Submarine Warfare Corvettes, being
built at GRSE, Kolkata, are the first stealth corvettes designed and built
indigenously as specialised anti-submarine warfare (ASW) surface combatants.
The first ship is scheduled to be inducted early next year and the others will
follow at a yearly interval.
In order to augment our offshore patrolling
capability, four offshore patrol vessels are under construction at Goa Shipyard
Limited. The ships are scheduled for induction from the end of this year
onwards. Five other offshore patrol vessels will be built at a private
Shipyard. These ships, along with two cadet training ships under construction
at another private Shipyard, are the first warship orders ever given to private
shipyards since our independence. Eight new, upgraded landing craft are also
under construction at GRSE, Kolkata and will augment the force levels in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands. These ships will replace the old Landing Craft Utility or LCUs,
which are in the process of being phased out.
Our survey ships and hydrographers are a
valuable part of the Navy and are much in demand amongst a variety of littoral
states in the Indian Ocean Region. To augment their force levels, six new
catamaran hull Survey vessels are being built by M/s Alcock Ashdown Gujarat
Ltd, at Bhavnagar. The first ship is undergoing sea trials and is scheduled to
be commissioned later this year. The construction of Scorpene submarines under
Project 75 is underway and MDL and the Department of Defence Production
maintain that the first submarine is likely to be commissioned in 2015 and the
sixth submarine by 2018.
In addition to the 46 ships under
construction, Acceptance of Necessity for 49 more ships and submarines has been
obtained. These include seven more follow-on ships of the Shivalik Class, under
Project 17-A, which are to be built at both MDL, Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata and
we are working towards contract conclusion in the current financial year.
Contracts for four water-jet FACs, to be built at GRSE, Kolkata, one more
training ship, to be built at a private shipyard and two mine hunters to be
built in South Korea are likely to be concluded during the current financial
year. Six more mine hunters will be
subsequently built at Goa Shipyard under ToT. Options for the Deep Submergence
and Rescue vessel (DSRV) are presently undergoing technical evaluation. In addition, approval for construction of six
submarines under Project -75(I) is at the final stages of approval. Requests
for Proposals in respect of four LPDs, 16 shallow water ASW ships – the order being
split between two shipyards, one survey training vessel and two diving support
vessels will also be issued in the coming months.
The Indian Navy’s preferred choice of
inducting ships and submarines has always been through the indigenous route.
Today, of the 46 ships and submarines presently on order, 43 are from Indian
shipyards. The intended induction programme is structured to continue at a pace
such that over the next five years we expect to induct ships and submarines at
an average rate of 5 platforms per year provided the yards deliver as per
contracted timelines. At the same time
it would be amiss if I did not emphasize the need for our public and private
sector shipyards to scale up their capabilities to deliver state-of-the-art
warships that meet our future needs in time frames that match global standards.
To offer a perspective, the global
average for building a ship similar to a Delhi Class is about 36 months, that
too with a stringent cap on man days. These are the standards that our
shipyards must emulate so as to contain costs of ship building. This would
result in higher productivity and capacity utilisation. The provisions of the
Defence Procurement Procedures to ‘Buy and Make Indian’ must be adopted to
synergize capabilities and implement leapfrogging technologies. The Navy’s
forthcoming LPD programme is a unique opportunity in this context.
There are three ships are under
construction in Russia. These include two more ships of the follow-on Talwar
class, being built at Yantar Shipyard in Kalingrad, with one scheduled for
induction later this year and the other next year. The third ship, of course,
is the Vikramaditya, which is currently undergoing sea trials. On the 28th of
last month the aviation trials involving the operations of the Mig 29 K from
the deck of that ship commenced. Machinery
trials are also well underway. As you may appreciate, there is hectic work
underway here in India, to receive the ship with all the infrastructure support
that would be required to be provided to the aircraft carrier.
On the aviation front too, progress has
been a source of satisfaction. The Navy’s aviation assets are being modernised
and augmented in consonance with the long term vision of the Navy. In order to
maintain effective vigil and surveillance in our area of interest, eight of the
world’s most advanced, state-of-the-art P-8I Poseidon, long-range maritime
patrol aircraft are due to be inducted commencing early 2013. In addition,
eight Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft are also planned for
induction. Procurement of additional Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is being
progressed to further augment our surveillance and reconnaissance capability at
sea.
I have already mentioned about the most
significant aviation acquisition over the past three years - the carrier borne
MiG-29K fighters. These aircraft will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s strike
capability. The first batch has already been inducted and delivery of aircraft
from the follow-on contract will commence later this year.
The rotary wing assets of the Navy are also
being upgraded to induct state-of-the-art weapons, sensors and avionics. These
include upgradation of the Kamov 28 and Sea King 42B. The new inductions amongst the helicopters
include the Multi-role Helicopters (MRH) for fleet ships. In addition, the
Naval Utility Helicopter is also planned for induction by 2016 and the Request
for Proposal should get issued any time now.
In sum, the modernization of the Indian
Navy is firmly on track. This has been possible as the Navy has ensured 100%
outgo of its capital budget over the past three years, and today our Capital to
Revenue ratio stands at a very healthy ratio of 68:32."
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