Indian Navy

The Ministry of Defence has signed more than 180 contracts valued at over Rs 1,96,000 crore with the Indian Industry since 2014 while a few are in the pipeline to be signed in near future.

1. Members of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome all of you to this year’s Navy Week Media interaction. 

2. At the outset I would like to acknowledge your contribution towards shaping the maritime discourse in the country. We are also happy to note that the media has presented news, opinions and enlightened debates on naval and maritime matters quite regularly. 

A batch of three trainee officers of the 7th Dornier Conversion Course (DOCC) including a lady officer qualified as Dornier pilots and were awarded the coveted golden “Wings” at a simple and solemn ceremony held at INS Garuda on 02 Dec 19.

Indian Naval Air Squadron 314, the sixth Dornier aircraft squadron was commissioned on 29 Nov 19 at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar. Vice Admiral MS Pawar, AVSM, VSM, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the Hon’ble President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, awarded the President’s Colour to Indian Naval Academy (INA) on 20 November 2019.  The President’s Colour - the highest honour that is bestowed upon a military unit - was received by Academy Cadet Captain Sushil Singh on behalf of the INA in an impressive parade comprising 730 cadets of INA and a 150 - men Guard of Honour.

The United States on Wednesday approved sales of thirteen naval guns to India. The purchase will cost over USD one billion to India, said an official statement.

“The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DGCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on November 19, 2019,” the statement said.

Military Generals have often been accused of fighting tomorrow’s war with yesteryear experiences which will never occur in the future. Hitherto fore, they could get away with it since warfare was evolutionary. One could relate to the past and project it into the future without missing the woods for the trees. The much-touted Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) revolutionized the weapon systems through technology but the battlefield remained confined to Land, Sea and air. That was the past.

Indian Navy’s quest for the modern minesweepers, at last, appears to be over. Russia, India’s all-weather strategic and defence partner, during the recently concluded military-technical cooperation meeting, offered its latest Project 12701 Alexandrit-E class minesweepers Transfer of Technology (ToT).

Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff visited INS Baaz, Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar Island and spent a day with the personnel stationed in various units in Campbell Bay and extended Warm Greetings and Best Wishes to the personnel and their families on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. 

The second edition of bi-annual Naval Commanders’ Conference 2019 which commenced on 22 October 2019, concluded on 24 October 2019 after three days of fruitful deliberations. 

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh addressed the Naval Commanders’ Conference here today and expressed his pleasure in meeting the senior leadership of the Navy.

 A seminal achievement was accomplished in the quest for technologies related to operation of indigenous fighter aircraft from aircraft carriers. On 29 September, 2019, LCA Naval Prototype-2 launched off the ski jump at 1621 hours and then subsequently “trapped” at 1631 hrs on the arresting gear site (both locations situated at Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa).

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh today said, the Government is making concerted efforts to modernise the Navy and equip it with the best platforms, weapons and sensors to deal with any conventional and unconventional threats to India’s maritime interests. Shri Rajnath Singh was speaking at the launch of INS ‘Nilgiri’, the first of the Navy's seven new stealth frigates, at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai.

 Government is deeply conscious of the requirements of the Armed Forces and remains committed in providing requisite focus and financial support for its modernisation, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh said today at the Commissioning Ceremony of indigenously built submarine INS Khanderi in Mumbai.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) called ‘Ship Builder to the Nation’, is one of India’s leading Defence public sector undertaking shipyards under the Ministry of Defence continuing their service to the nation with ‘’Make in India’’ programme. They delivered the second Scorpene submarine ‘KHANDERI’ to the Indian Navy at an event held in Mumbai today.

VAdm G Ashok Kumar, AVSM, VSM, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff with the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition and Director General of Naval Design in attendance held a curtain raiser today, for the commissioning of ‘Khanderi’, the second Project 75 Submarine, launch of ‘Nilgiri’, the first ship of Project 17A and inauguration of Aircraft Carrier Dry dock at Mumbai on 28 Sep 19. Shri Rajnath Singh, the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri will be the chief guest for all the three events. 

Today is a golden letter day in the history of Indian Naval Aviation.

A contract for installation and commissioning of nine Precision Approach Radars (PARs) was concluded today between Ministry of Defence and M/s Data Pattern (India) Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 380 crores under ‘Buy Indian’ category.

A Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between Naval Air Enclave (NAE), Kochi and Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL) was signed on 08 Aug 19 in a formal function held at CIAL.

Sixth ship of Class of Eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark-IV vessels - IN LCU L-56 - was commissioned by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam today. It is 100th warship of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, a Mini Ratna Category 1 & leading shipyard of the country.

Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff, addressed the delegates from the industry and SENIOR ECHELONS OF Indian Navy during the FICCI international Seminar on ‘Nation Building Through Shipbuilding’, today, at New Delhi.

Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy today said that there is enough headroom in mercantile marine sector for India to attain the critical mass and become a hub for defence shipbuilding.

Speaking at the ‘International Seminar on Nation Building through Shipbuilding’, organised by FICCI, Admiral Singh said that shipbuilding can contribute immensely to the vision of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.

 Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 313, the fifth Dornier aircraft squadron was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM AVSM ADC Chief of the Naval Staff at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Air Enclave, Meenambakkam, today, on 22 Jul 19.  Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, AVSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Rear Admiral KJ Kumar VSM, Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Na

PIB, July19

Considering the huge potential of industrial growth in defence and aerospace (both civil and military) and challenges of meeting the financial needs for mega aviation projects in India, it is important to think of establishing an organisation like Indian Defence Finance Corporation (IDFC) on the lines of Indian Railway Finance Corporation, IRFC, said Dr. R. K.

The Chief Guest VAdm AK Saxena, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A), addressed the media, delegates from the industry and Indian Navy during the Curtain Raiser on FICCI international Seminar on ‘Nation Building Through Shipbuilding’ today at FICCI Conference room, New Delhi.

Vice Admiral A.K. Saxena, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, Indian Navy today said that India needs to expand its capability in building world class warships to merchant vessels in the run up to the ‘International Seminar on Nation Building Through Shipbuilding’ later this month.

In a significant development in the indigenous shipbuilding, Ministry of Defence has issued four shipbuilding Requests for Proposal (RFP) amounting to Rs 15,000 crore for the acquisition of various ships and craft for the Navy and the Coast Guard.  While the RFP for 06 nos Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMVs) has been issued to seven shipyards, RFPs for 08 nos Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) and 12

In October 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Security gave approval to the formation of three agencies for the armed forces namely, Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency (DSA) and Special Operations Division. These agencies would directly serve under the command of the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee. All three agencies would be headed by a two-star officer (Major General equivalent). Service personnel from the Army, Air Force and Navy would be posted in these agencies based on the requirement and qualifications.

Admiral Karambir Singh assumed command of the Indian Navy today        (31 May 19) as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired AKASH-MK-1S missile from ITR , Chandipur, Odhisa on 25 and 27 May 2019. Akash Mk1S is an upgrade of existing AKASH missile with indigenous Seeker. AKASH Mk1S is a surface to air missile which can neutralize advanced aerial targets. The Akash weapon system has combination of both command guidance and active terminal seeker guidance. Seeker and guidance performance have been consistently established in both the missions. All the mission objectives have been met.

The Indian Navy achieved a significant milestone in enhancing its Anti Air Warfare Capability with the maiden cooperative engagement firing of the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM). The firing was undertaken on the Western Seaboard by Indian Naval Ships Kochi and Chennai wherein the missiles of both ships were controlled by one ship to intercept different aerial targets at extended ranges.

Vela, the fourth Scorpene class submarine being constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the Indian Navy, was launched today, on 06 May 2019, by Mrs Veena Ajay Kumar, wife of Dr Ajay Kumar, IAS, Secretary Defence Production, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. VAdm AK Saxena, CWP&A was also present during the launching ceremony.

The Defence Acquisition Council, the apex procurement body of the Ministry of Defence, on Friday, approved a proposal to buy 10 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters for Rs 3600 crore ($500million) from Russia. The Ka-31s are expected to be deployed on the aircraft carrier and the Grigorovich-class frigates.

The Ka-31 is an upgraded version of the Ka-28, operational with the Navy. Since 2003, India has purchased 14 Ka-31 helicopters.

Ministry of Defence (MoD), on Monday, awarded a contract to build eight anti-submarine vessels to public sector shipyard Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers. The Kolkata based shipyard will deliver the boats within 84 months.

According to an MoD statement, “The 1st ship is to be delivered within 42 months from contract signing date and subsequent balance ships delivery schedule will be two ships per year.”

Leading an Indian delegation, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, on Friday, visited the Russian shipyard to overview the manufacturing of the Project 11356 Frigates. The Kaliningrad based shipyard is currently manufacturing the hull and the body of the ship. The Shipyard is also involved in the capability enhancement of the Ministry of Defence owned Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) in building the other ships of the project.

Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of the Naval Staff launched the third ship of Project 15B, Guided Missile Destroyer Imphal, today (20 April 2019) at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai. This launch marks yet another significant milestone in the annals of the indigenous warship design and construction programme of India.

Indian Navy Ships Kolkata and Shakti are scheduled to arrive Qingdao, China on 21 Apr 19 to participate in the International Fleet Review as part of 70TH Anniversary celebrations of PLA (Navy). International Fleet Review (IFR) is a parade of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, and is organised by nations to promote goodwill, strengthen cooperation and showcase their organisational capabilities. IFR also serves as an ideal platform for world’s navies to showcase their prowess and indigenous ship designing and ship building capabilities in a global/ international arena.

Indian Navy’s submarine arm celebrated 50 years of Golden service to the nation on December 8, 2017, commemorating the date in 1967 when India’s first Foxtrot class submarine INS Kalvari, was commissioned at Vladivostok. And a week later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with fanfare commissioned Navy’s first Scorpene submarine of the Project 75 also named INS Kalvari on December 14 at the Mazagon Dock, Mumbai.

Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC the Chief of the Naval Staff, inaugurated the maiden ‘state-of-the-art’ Virtual Reality Centre (VRC) at the Directorate of Naval Design (Surface Ship Group), today.

 Ships of the First Training Squadron (1TS) INS Tarangini, INS Sujata, INS Shardul and ICGS Sarathi entered Port Victoria, Seychelles on 06 Apr 19. While Tarangini had sailed from Kochi, the other three ships had arrived from Port Beira, Mozambique after undertaking a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief mission Op Sahayata in the wake of the devastating Cyclone Idai which hit that country. The visiting ships were accorded a warm reception and were received alongside by Cdr Varun Panicker, Naval Attaché (NA) along with his staff.

The Naval Investiture Ceremony for 2019 was held at the naval helicopter base INS Shikra of Western Naval Command (WNC), Mumbai on April 10.

The Indian Navy and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) today inked a MoU to undertake joint research and development of advanced technologies for the Indian Navy. This will be a collaborative arrangement between labs of CSIR, the Indian Navy and Indian industry.

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of twenty-four (24) MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters for an estimated cost of $2.6 billion.  The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

Yard 2097 (LCU L 56), the sixth of the class of LCU MK IV ships, have been built and delivered by M/s GRSE Ltd today, on 30 March 19 at Kolkata. This is the 100th ship delivered by the DPSU in Kolkata. The construction of the ship was overseen by Warship Overseeing Team, Kolkata. 

The Combat Management System (CMS) for the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) developed with M/s Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (TPSED), in collaboration with Weapon and Electronics System Engineering Establishment (WESEE) and M/s MARS, Russia was handed over by Mr Sukaran Singh, CEO and MD, M/s Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. to Indian Navy/ Chief of Materiel, Vice Admiral GS Pabby, PVSM, AVSM, VSM on 28 Mar 19 at M/s TPSED, Bengaluru, on successful completion of all tests and trials.

The Government have appointed Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, presently Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Eastern Naval Command as next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from afternoon of May 31, 2019. The present Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba retires on the same day. 

Just four days after the inauguration of a joint facility for manufacturing of AK-203 rifles in Amethi, India, on Thursday, signed a three billion dollar deal with Russia for the lease of second Akula class nuclear submarine. This is the third nuclear submarine lease agreement between the two nations.

India, currently, operates INS Chakra, an Akula Class nuclear attack submarine (SSN), operational with the Eastern Naval Command. Russia leased the SSN to India for a period of ten years in 2012.

An Annual Review of India's opportunities and Challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region

1. Admiral RK Dhowan, Chairman National Maritime Foundation, Adm Arun Prakash, Former CNS,
   Adm J Colombage Former Commander Srilanka Navy,
   Adm S Jayantha Perera Former Commander Srilanka Navy, Flag Officer, esteemed veterans, luminaries of the academic and industrial sectors, friends from foreign countries, representatives of the media, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Ministry of Defence has taken steps to ensure implementation of announcement by the Prime Minister on 15th August, 2018 regarding grant of Permanent Commission to Women officers in the Armed Forces.

During the Zhuhai, China’s aviation shows a new wide-body aircraft developed jointly by Russia and China was unveiled.

In a first of its kind, Ministry of Defence has issued Expression of Interest (s) for shortlisting of potential Indian Strategic Partners and foreign OEMs for the ‘Procurement of 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) for the Indian Navy on 12 Feb 19. These helicopters will replace Chetak Helicopters and will be utilised for albeit SAR, CASEVAC, LIMO, passenger roles and torpedo drops. 95 helicopters out of 111 will be manufactured in India by the selected Indian Strategic Partner.  The case was approved by DAC on 25 Aug 18.

Union Government, on February 1, in its budget for the current financial year 2019-20, has allocated over Rs 3, 18, 000 crore for the defence needs excluding the defence pension. This is for the first time that the allocation for the defence has exceeded three lakh crore mark.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in a landmark decision today, also approved indigenous construction of six submarines for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs. 40,000 crores. This is the second project under the MoD’s ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model that aims at providing a significant fillip to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme. SP model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM to set up production facilities in the country.

Government of India has sanctioned, three new Naval Air Squadrons to be setup in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Besides this, the Central Government has also sanctioned manpower towards manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier Surveillance Squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands. It is pertinent to mention that the contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with HAL (Kanpur) on 29 December, 2016 with delivery commencing in January'19. This is a substantial contract for the indigenous HAL built Maritime Surveillance version of the Dornier 228 aircraft.

It was an eventful year for Ministry of Defence. Government of India took policy decision to set up two Defence Production Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Tamil Nadu. These would go a long way in making India self-reliant in defence production through ‘Make in India’ initiatives. It was also a year of another milestone for women empowerment in the country when the first-ever all-women crew circumnavigated the globe in an indigenously built 56-foot Indian Navy Sailing Vessel, ‘INSV Tarini’.

Background

1. ‘White Shipping’ information refers to the information on merchant shipping. This information is available primarily through the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which are equipment fitted on merchantmen with more than 300 Gross Registered Tonnage as mandated by the International Maritime Organisation. The AIS information from ships comprises name, MMSI number, position, course, speed, last port visited, destination etc.