India eyes for mega-Navy expansion - $50 bn

[Maulik]

India is to invest USD 46.96 billion as part of moves to boost up its naval forces over the next 20 years adding 101 new warships, ranging from sophisticated destroyers to nuclear submarines.
"Going by the investment value, India is expected to build sophisticated destroyers, new generation and new radar vessels, nuclear submarines, and amphibious ships," Naval analyst Bob Nugent and vice president of the United States-based AMI International, said here today.

Speaking at a pre-event press conference for the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference to be held here for May 18 to 20, the international expert said that Indian investments in surface and under sea platforms would be double that of China, which was spending USD 23.99 billion to build 113 war vessels.

While, Indian naval programme would be focused on building nuclear submarines, the Chinese thrust would be on building an aircraft carrier.

India, he said was looking at building compact hi-speed and hi-tech warships, the analyst said, that Indian shipyards were in the process of completing hi-speed coastal boats to prevent Mumbai type terror attacks from the sea.

He said, that Indian naval shipyards were already operating its full capacity, raising the risk of ship building programmes running short of local yard space.

He cited that the first casualty could be India's ambitions to build six French Scorpene submarines, adding that this order could be reduced from six to three due to limited yardspace.

Maritime experts said, that India's expenditure on warship building could account for as much as 27.8 per cent of the total investment in Asia-Pacific.

They said, that India and China naval buildup programme would outstrip that of non-NATO and even Russian investments.

Other major naval investors in Asia-Pacific would include Australia - USD 14 billion, Indonesia - USD 7 billion, Taiwan – USD 16 billion, Pakistan – USD 2.85 billion and Singapore – USD 1.74 billion.

Backing his confident in the Indian investment on naval ships, he pointed out that India have built and or was in the process of completing 100 coastal boats.

Nugent stressed that the high dollar investments for each country showed the high-end naval vessels to be built in the coming years though the number of units might be small.

He said the region was already rated as the world's leading investor in the naval vessels, with 340 units, worth USD 69.1 billion, being built or to be completed over the next three years.

A further 193 naval vessels, costing USD 71 billion, were planned to be built between 2014 and 2019 in the region, he said. Nugent estimated that the region would build 236 naval vessels, an investment of USD 28.2 billion, in 2020-2030.

The large scale Asia Pacific investment on the naval ships puts the region in second place behind the United States, which is to invest USD 280 billion on 505 vessels over the next 20 years.

But Asia Pacific was ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). NATO is to invest USD 153.3 billion on 581 vessels over the same 20 year period, lower than Asia Pacific's combined USD 168.3 billion investment on 769 vessels.

According to Nugent, there was no regional "Naval Arms Races" unfolding so far, and the investment from each country would depend on the respective economic growths.

Comparatively, the Caribbean and Latin American region would invest USD 24.8 billion on 292 vessels over the next 20 years, the Middle East and North Africa USD 38.2 billion on 453 vessels, Non-NATO Europe USD 8.8 billion on 61 vessels, Russia USD 22.1 billion on 84 vessels, and Sub-Sahara Africa.

'India eyes mega-Navy spend - $50 bn' - Express India

[Maulik]

Why India started to build Blue Water Navy


An interesting article leading to insight on India's need to build a Blue water navy

India’s Blue-Water Navy – Staredown in Bay of Bengal, 1971
By Hans Johnson


INS Vikrant, preserved as a museum ship with historic airplanes in the harbor at Mumbai. Courtesy, 'Skyring,' Wikimedia Commons.
No one envied Captain Swaraj Prakash in December 1971. Prakash commanded India’s sole aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which weighed just 20,000 tons. His opponent: US Navy Task Force 74 led by the USS Enterprise, weighing in at 95,000 tons. Enterprise was also battle-hardened from years of combat off the coast of Vietnam. How did Prakash find himself in such an unenviable position?

India and Pakistan had been at each other’s throat since independence from Great Britain in 1947. At that time, the Indian Subcontinent was partitioned into the two nations. Pakistan consisted of West and East Pakistan, with India in the middle.
They simply did not get along and fought a border war in 1965. West Pakistan traditionally dominated East Pakistan. That ended in 1971 when East Pakistan declared independence and renamed itself Bangladesh.

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The West Pakistan Army brutally put down the independence movement and millions of refugees streamed into India. Tensions rose. Pakistan gambled and launched a pre-emptive air strike on India. War broke out and India invaded East Pakistan. In the Bay of Bengal, the Vikrant led a blockade imposed against East Pakistan.

Few neutrals existed during the Cold War. The Subcontinent was no different. India aligned with the Soviet Union. Pakistan was an ally of the United States.

Then–US President Richard Nixon saw the world through a balance of power and prestige in international relations. He feared Indian dominance of the region and tried diplomatically to stop India’s advance through a ceasefire.

When that failed, he turned toward military pressure. Nixon ordered Task Force 74 to the Bay of Bengal, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Captain Prakesh’s Vikrant and the Enterprise.

That bout never occurred. West Pakistan forces in Bangladesh surrendered on December 16. Task Force 74 moved off.

Had Nixon moved too slowly? Was he only bluffing? Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger said, "Everyone knows how all this will come out, and everyone knows that India will ultimately occupy East Pakistan. We must therefore make clear our position relative to our greater strategy."

India could never be sure of Nixon’s intentions but they had certainly witnessed his capabilities. They did not like the fact that a foreign navy had intervened in waters that close to India.

Even with an aircraft carrier, India was a coastal navy in 1971. For India’s politicians this simply would not do. From now on, India must have a blue water navy. Her navy would dominate waters around India with strong forces operating well off her coasts.

* * *

The Indian Navy has progressed over the last four decades. It conducts operations far from India with anti-piracy patrols off Somalia. Indian frigates have killed a number of pirates and captured their vessels. India has also deployed maritime patrol aircraft to the distant Seychelles Islands. Even further afield, India dispatched vessels to Libya in February to evacuate Indian nationals.

India is also embarked on a major expansion of her fleet. The 1971-era Vikrant is long gone, but India is building a new Vikrant twice as large along with a sister ship. India has purchased an ex-Russian aircraft carrier along with MiG-29s to fly from it.

The program in submarines is just as ambitious. An ex-Russian Akula II nuclear attack submarine has just been leased. The first of six French Scropene submarines will start joining the fleet in 2015.

Numerous frigates and corvettes are also being built in India. She will replace her aging maritime aircraft with American P-8s.

A lot has changed since 1971. India and Pakistan still don’t get along, but India and the United States are friends. The rise of China, particularly Chinese desire for a blue-water navy, causes concern from the Indian Navy. But India seems determined that the future captains of the INS Vikrant are a much formidable opponent against anyone challenging India.

[Maulik]

[newkerala.com, United States, ]

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.

[Talal]

thats a pretty huge development mayn..a 100 new warships, any idea what would they be frigates destroyers..like a unit breakdown ?

[Maulik]

thats a pretty huge development mayn..a 100 new warships, any idea what would they be frigates destroyers..like a unit breakdown ?

1 nuclear submarine and 1 aircraft carrier is operational now.
1 aircraft carrier admiral gorshkov will come from russia.
3 nuclear submarine and 3 aircraft carrier under construction in india.
Rest are friget and destroyers.

[Talal]

so like 96 frigates and destroyers ?

[Maulik]

so like 96 frigates and destroyers ?

yap.indeed, apart from that indian navy operates around 50 Mig 29 ,boeing p8i fighter planes..

[Maulik]

Indian Navy to acquire three aircraft carriers in 5-7 years: Defence Minister Antony

The Indian Navy has been acquiring sea-based assets for littoral warfare, including purchase of landing platform docks and long-range maritime surveillance aircraft, and plans to acquire at least three aircraft carriers in the next five to seven years, in addition to other assets.


An Indian Defence Ministry news release said quoting Defence Minister A.K. Antony who asked the Navy to increase Navy-to-Navy contact with the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean. This move comes five years after the service incorporated preparation for littoral warfare as part of the Navy’s long term doctrine.

Addressing top Indian military commanders at a meeting in Delhi on Oct. 27, Antony said, "The complex maritime security environment in our region requires the Navy to maintain a state of perpetual readiness operationally. You must factor in the need to be ready at all times prominently, while planning for the future. At the same time, we need to maintain, and even increase, the momentum of our Navy-to-Navy contact with the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean. Such contacts strengthen professional ties and mutual trust, and streamline interoperability issues." Antony said New Delhi is committed to the continued deployment of ships and aircraft to improve surveillance off the coast of Maldives and Seychelles to ensure maritime security from piracy.

Indian Navy to acquire three aircraft carriers in 5-7 years: Defence Minister Antony : Defense news

[Maulik]

Indian Navy to buy four more P-8I aircrafts

Indian Navy has decided to exercise its option for an additional four Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft in a bid to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

In a deal expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, the new aircraft will be in addition to the eight the Navy had ordered in January 2009, for about $2.1 billion. The new contract price is also expected to include the cost of aero-structures and avionics.

“The Indian Navy has received the necessary government approvals and has decided to go ahead with the contractual processes to acquire four additional P-8I aircraft under the options clause,” Commander PVS Satish, public relations officer for the Indian Navy told The Economic Times.

According to sources, Boeing has already submitted its draft offset contract to the defence ministry last week. “The government is considering exercising the option of adding four P-8I aircraft,” Dr Vivek Lall, vice-president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security told ET. The P-8I, which is based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the defence vendor Boeing is developing for the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8 platform.

The first of the eight P-8I aircraft, which were bought through the direct commercial sales route with Boeing, are expected to be delivered to India within 48 months of the original contract signing. The aircraft are of supreme strategic importance for India’s naval forces, with the country looking to enhance its role in the high seas.

Further, the global community has been clamouring for India to play a more dominant policing role against sea piracy in the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest commercial and military sea-routes in the world, and along the East African coast.

Also, in the ongoing scramble for sea power in the world’s thirdlargest ocean, India has been desperate to stop what it perceives as a growing Chinese hegemony in the region. Separately, Boeing has also submitted a reply to the Navy’s Request for Information for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well.

However, ministry sources did not confirm whether any of the other global defence vendors had responded to the same.
Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia’s Ilyushin, France’s Dassault and EADS . Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global Request for Procurement issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.

The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.

There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod. As with the P-8I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.

[Maulik]

India building six submarines

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Six submarines are being built at the Mazagon Docks to increase India's submarine fleet, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday.

"In addition, the existing anti-submarine capability is being augmented by induction of surface and air assets," the minister said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha.



He was asked if Pakistan had signed a deal with China to acquire six advanced submarines equipped with crucial air independent propulsion systems.



"(The) government constantly reviews the security environment and accordingly decides about induction of appropriate defence equipment and platforms including submarines for the navy," Antony said.

[Maulik]

Indian Navy foils a piracy attack, rescues Iranian vessel MV Nafis-1


Mumbai: The Indian Navy today foiled a piracy bid after it rescued merchant vessel MV Nafis-1, approximately 170 nautical miles west of Mumbai.

The Iranian-flagged vessel had been located by the Navy's Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft on August 12, which thereafter kept it under continuous surveillance.

INS Mysore, a guided missile destroyer, was dispatched to intercept the vessel with two helicopters as well as 24 of the Navy's elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS). The MARCOS carried out a thorough investigation and found two AK-47 rifles and a pistol concealed in an empty fuel tank.

MV Nafis-1 had reportedly sailed from Chah Bahar in Iran to an undisclosed location in July.

Intelligence received by the Indian Navy had indicated that the vessel could have been employed for smuggling or other nefarious activities. Inputs suggest that the vessel was likely to be carrying arms and ammunition, as well as other contraband.


Read more at: Indian Navy foils a piracy attack, rescues Iranian vessel MV Nafis-1