Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta Spells Out Vision 2022

[nitesh]

Antony nixes expansion of India-US Malabar naval exercise


By Indo-Asian News Service on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The defence ministry has decided against expanding the India-US Malabar naval exercise after its 2007 multilateral edition was marred by controversy due to criticism by the Left parties.


Defence Minister A.K. Antony Wednesday said this year's Malabar war game Oct 15-24 will be a purely bilateral exercise with the US Navy off the country's western seaboard.

“Only last year was Malabar a multilateral exercise. It invited a lot of criticism. Now there will be no multilateral element and it will remain an India-US bilateral exercise,” Antony told reporters here.

Last year, the Malabar exercise saw five countries - India, the US, Australia, Japan and Singapore - taking part. The event, however, was marred by controversy with the Left parties that at the time supported Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government from the outside vehemently protesting the drill and seeing it as yet another sign of the growing closeness between New Delhi and Washington.

The ministry's decision comes even as the Indian Navy has been pushing for multilateral war games as this saves on resources and on the time taken to prepare for each exercise.

“We would want to participate with as many nations as possible as it is economical in terms of our resources and time. This time, the exercise is going to be a low key affair with only one aircraft carrier of the US Navy participating as our carrier INS Virat is undergoing a refit,” a senior naval official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The US Navy will be fielding the nuclear powered carrier USS Ronald Reagan, nuclear powered submarine USS Springfield - sans its ballistic missiles - guided-missile frigate USS Thach, guided-missile destroyers USS Gridley and USS Decatur and guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville.

The USS Ronald Reagan, the US navy's newest Nimitz-class carrier, has set out to sea from Japan and will reach India's west coast after calls at a few ports en route.

The Indian Navy will be fielding a Shishumar class submarine, frigates INS Talwar, INS Godavari, INS Brahmaputra and INS Betwa, and fleet tanker INS Aditya.

The exercise will involve anti-submarine operations, submarine-to-submarine operations, flying operations and cross-deck embarkation. The drill will also involve alternating command and control, with the Indian fleet commander take over the command of the US fleet and vice versa.
Antony nixes expansion of India-US Malabar naval exercise | Latest News

[nitesh]

Govt to take final decision on Gorshkov price hike in Oct

Govt to take final decision on Gorshkov price hike in Oct

Manu Pubby
Posted: Sep 25, 2008 at 0112 hrs IST

New Delhi, September 24 India will take a final decision on price escalation of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier with Russia next month when the matter is brought before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
A senior MoD official said price negotiations for refurbishing the aircraft carrier, which started last year when Russia demanded an additional $1.2 billion for the warship over and above the contracted price of $1.5 billion, were still on and the final proposal would be put forward to the apex decision-making body next month.

The matter would also be discussed during the visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India on Monday but MoD officials made it clear that a final decision would only be taken by the CCS on the basis of a detailed report by the Indian Navy and issues raised by Russia.

While neither side is commenting on the expected price escalation for refurbishing the warship, Indian officials admit that the aircraft carrier needs more funds to replace vital parts, including two engines and a significant amount of cabling.

In addition, extensive trials planned out for the warship in Russian waters after the refit will also add to the final cost of the deal. Ministry officials say the trials can end up adding over $600 million in fuel and operating costs for the deal.
While it is clear that India will need to cough up more money for the warship, its delivery schedule still remains in doubt. The warship was expected to be delivered by 2008 but the date has now been pushed to 2012.

Russia had said its Sevmash shipyard, where the ship is being refurbished, underestimated the scale of work and costs involved. To add to this, the shipyard is undergoing a severe financial crunch with managers struggling to recruit workers for the ship.

In May, after it became clear that the price will need to be readjusted, India had asked the Russian Government to make an advance payment of $250 million to the shipyard and ensure that work does not stop. The amount would be adjusted with Russia after the final price negotiations. The Sevmash shipyard has already put 300 additional workers on the warship to increase the pace of work and has assured that sea trials will begin in 2011 to pave the way for its induction into the Indian Navy the next year.

Meanwhile, India is going ahead with the procurement of additional MiG 29 K ship-borne fighters from Russia that will be placed onboard the Gorshkov. While 16 MiG 29 K/KUB were ordered as part of the deal signed in 2004, the Defence Ministry has given the go-ahead for the procurement of 29 additional fighters over the next few years to raise additional Naval fighter squadrons.

[nitesh]

The Hindu : National : Keel-laying of indigenous aircraft carrier in December

Keel-laying of indigenous aircraft carrier in December

S. Anandan
Construction right on course using integrated hull outfitting method
Kochi: Laying of keel for India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), originally named Air Defence Ship (ADS), will take place at the Cochin Shipyard in December this year when a major construction block will be lowered into the building bay.

“We are looking forward to completing close to 400 of the total 900 blocks by the time the keel is laid. And the tonnage would be about 8,000 tonnes,” sources told The Hindu.

Despite the initial hiccups caused by non-availability of warship-grade steel, the construction is right on course using the integrated hull outfitting and painting method.

It is concurrent engineering with regard to design and construction, and steel is sourced “primarily” from the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

“The idea is to launch it in 2010 when it would have completed some 20,000 tonnes, including hull, as it cannot be launched at a higher displacement from the building bay. After about a year’s building in the refit dock, it would be launched again when every major component and everything underwater would be in place. Only outfitting would remain. If everything goes as per the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) plan, it should touch the waters in 2013,” sources said.

Originally, the carrier was to have been built by 2012. But a delay in arrival of indigenous steel — after efforts to import steel from Russia ran aground — caused it to be a year behind schedule. After steel was cut for the construction in April, 2005, there was considerable delay.

“But the country got a definite shot in the arm as we have been able to indigenously manufacture ABA-grade quality steel (which is six times stronger than the steel used for building ships). This will stand us in good stead when we embark on construction of the second carrier soon after this. Besides, this has tremendously brought down the overall construction cost,” said a Navy officer associated with warship production.

With crucial inputs from the Hyderabad-based Defence Metallurgical Research laboratory, and overall supervision of the Naval Design Bureau, SAIL, along with Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi, Krishna Industries, Nagpur and Bajrang Alloys, Raipur, has been able to “open a new frontier” in carrier building technology by fashioning the requisite quality steel, a Navy engineer said.

The Naval Materials Research laboratory, Mumbai, developed the welding technology besides carrying out corrosion-proofing of welded steel. Although about 4,000 tonnes of bulb bars required by the vessel is imported from Russia, a relatively smaller quantity is rolled and readied by Krishna Industries.

As per the original plan, the carrier would have the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Dhruv in its fleet of 30 assorted aircraft besides MiG 29 K and Ka-31.

“By the time the IAC is commissioned, the naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Tejas) would also be ready,” said a Navy engineer. Further, with the Navy now on the lookout for replacement for its ageing Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopter Sea King beyond the ALH, some changes in the carrier fleet composition are anticipated. Russian News agency, RIA Novosti, has reported that India would be buying 30 more MiG 29 Ks and two-seater MiG 29 KUBs apart from the 12 it would receive as per a 2004 contract.

“The STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) carrier will have a versatile deck from which any aircraft, MiG 29 downwards, could operate,” said a Navy officer.

[nitesh]

This news comes close to the indigenous carrier being commissioned

http://www.defence.pk/forums/indian-...tml#post199821

so it will carry the NLCA and the MiG29K both.

[nitesh]

MiG29k deliveries to begin next year: Russian official

New Delhi, Sept 29: Russia will start next year the delivery of MiG-29k fighter jets for the aircraft carrier Admiral Goroshkov which India is in the process of acquiring from Moscow.

"We plan to begin delivery of MiG29k aircraft by spring next year," Mikhail T Globenko, India Director of Russian Aircraft Corporation-MiG told reporters in New Delhi.

He said the delivery will be in batches of four aircraft and Russian plans to dispatch all aircraft by autumn.

Under the 2004 contract for the acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, India is to receive 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four two-seater MiG-29KUB with an option of ordering additional 30 fighters by 2015.

Globenko said training of Indian fighter pilots on MiG29k fighter jets has already commenced in Russia and engineers and technicians are also getting acquainted with the aircraft.

India can join in the design and development of twin seater fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), being built by the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), UAC President Alexey I Fedorov said.

He said Russia is building the single seater FGFA, which is expected to make its maiden flight next year.

Fedorov rubbished reports that Russia has hiked the price of the MiG-29k aircraft it has offered to India.

"MiG-29k price has not undergone any change," he said.

Bureau Report

Zee News - MiG29k deliveries

[nitesh]

Russia to release `interim` funds for Gorshkov refit

New Delhi, Sept 29: Breaking the Gorshkov price negotiation deadlock with India, Russia on Monday agreed to pump in funds into the aircraft carrier's refit programme as an interim measure, even as the two sides decided to extend their inter-governmental commission's tenure till 2020.

Under this arrangement, Russia would release USD 250 million to its Sevmash Shipyard for the repair of the aircraft carrier, which India bought in 2004 and renamed it INS Vikramaditya, Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi.

A decision to this effect was taken at the 8th Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) for Military and Technical Cooperation meeting, jointly chaired by Indian Defence Minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov here.

The two sides also agreed to wait for the Union Cabinet's approval to the additional cost of the refit programme before returning to the discussion table for the price negotiations.

"Moscow has agreed to invest money on Gorshkov refit and has reiterated its demand for additional USD 1.2 billion to meet escalating costs of the repairs," sources said.

New Delhi had signed an USD 1.5 billion deal with Moscow for the ship and its air complement of 16 MiG-29Ks in 2004. The aircraft carrier alone cost USD 974 million.

Later, Russians made an additional demand for USD 1.2 billion for completing the work and delivering the ship to India. Consequently, the delivery of the aircraft was further delayed and the two sides have agreed to its rescheduled induction into the Indian Navy in 2012 instead of 2009.

Bureau Report
Zee News - Russia to release `interim` funds for Gorshkov refit

[nitesh]

Navy?s training centre inches closer to reality-Ahmedabad-Cities-The Times of India

Navy’s training centre inches closer to reality
30 Sep 2008, 0456 hrs IST, Anand McNair,TNN

GANDHINAGAR: The Indian Navy’s proposed plan to set up a ship training centre at Marine National Park and Sanctuary, extending from Jamnagar coast to islands in the Gulf of Kutch, inched closer to reality after it recently got a nod in principle from Union environment ministry.

Indian Navy has to get approval of Central Empowered Committee set up by Supreme Court, official sources told TOI. The ministry recently agreed in principle to regularise the INS Valsura’s training centre at a small area of 0.41 hectares (4,100 sq mt) near Rozi port, having rejected the request on earlier occasions. This training centre has been operational here for sometime, official sources said.

Marine National Park and Sanctuary, set up in 1980, and marine forests spread in an area over 900 sq kms, support an amazing array of marine life and bio-diversity and a variety of habitats. The area is rich in coral reefs, mangroves, mudflats, creeks, estuaries etc. where major species found are sponges, corals, jelly fish, sea horse, octopus, oyster, pearl oyster, starfish, lobster, dolphin, dugong and waterfowls.

Indian Navy wanted to regularise the training centre but it’s request was rejected by the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) on the ground that it would damage marine life. However, Union ministry agreed to the Navy’s request when Gujarat government did not raise any objection to the move and assured steps would be taken to ensure marine life and mangrove forests are not adversely affected.

As far as Gujarat government was concerned, it has given its opinion on the issue. Now it is up to the Indian Navy how fast it can expedite clearance to the project by getting required approval from the Central Empowered Committee, the sources said. The Indian Navy officials were unavailable for comments on the issue.

[nitesh]

Admiral Sureesh Mehta, the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee and the Chief of the Naval Staff, formally unveiled the 'Joint Doctrine for Special Forces Operations', here today, authored by HQ Integrated Defence Staffs, Doctrine Branch. The function was attended by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee Lieutenant General HS Lidder and a number of distinguished inter-service officers.

The necessity for bringing out this latest doctrine has been mooted by current global trends where such integrated forces have operated jointly in numerous highly sensitive situations. The Special Forces of every nation are potent force multipliers. To recall India's own experience, during the latter part of the 80's, its Army and the Naval Special Forces were employed in operations conducted in Sri Lanka as part of the IPKF, while, to a limited extent, the Army and the IAF were also involved in the Maldives where they went in at the request of its government in distress.

Besides synergy and jointness amongst the three Services, all future wars or conflicts will demand the Special Forces to play an increasingly dominant role at all levels of war, be it strategic, operational or tactical. Therefore, the bringing. out of this Special Forces doctrine has been most timely and apt. Not only is it visually most appealing, it consists of an introductory and information packed nine chapters. The former provides the basic information of the respective Special Forces of the three Services that is the Para Special Forces of the Army, the Marine Commandos or MARCOS of the Navy and the Garuds of the Air Force.

Subsequent chapters cover the operational environment in which the Special Forces are likely to operate. They highlight the organisational set up and special characteristics of the Special Forces, which make them ideally suited for varied role across the entire spectrum of conflict, that is from strategic and operational level tasks to unconventional warfare and counter insurgency / counter terrorism tasks. The Doctrine also charts out the ideal command and control organisation necessary for Joint Special Forces tasking, joint planning aspects at theatre level, including operational, environmental and intelligence requirements. It has also briefly covered, apart from the aspects of detailed planning, conduct of rehearsals and integration of Special Forces in the overall theatre plans. The doctrine emphasises the need for providing timely, wholesome and accurate intelligence, fire support by attack helicopters, naval gunfire, artillery, precision guided munitions and rockets for the successful conduct of special operations. The Doctrine also highlights the importance of various aspects of joint training to achieve greater cohesion and understanding necessary for conducting joint special operations.
PIB Press Release

[nitesh]

India Today - India?s most widely read magazine.

N-submarine, what N-submarine?
Sandeep Unnithan
New Delhi, September 30, 2008

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov allowed a smile to crease his grim visage just once during his joint press conference with his Indian counterpart A K Antony on Monday. It wasn’t a joke. It was a reporter’s question about ‘speculative reports’ in the Indian media about the impending lease of a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine.

“A lot of things are being discussed in the media, but we don’t know what it is,” was Serdyukov’s pithy reply. The fact is that the Nerpa, (to be commissioned as the INS Chakra) has begun sea trials in the Russian far eastern shipyard of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in June this year.

Next month, a first batch of Indian crew are to board the submarine as she begins her sea trials in the Pacific Ocean off Vladivostok. The reluctance of either India or Russia to acknowledge the existence of the submarine, by now the worst kept secret, is a mystery.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since both India and Russia signed a secret deal in 2004 for leasing the submarine-- the thought of India being allowed to conduct legitimate nuclear trade without signing the NPT would have been laughed at and energy prices had not made Russia the assertive power it is today.

The lease is also not without precedent—the former Soviet Union leased an older N-sub on a three-year lease in 1987. The United States, the only power capable of creating a fuss over the lease, knows about the project but is yet to officially comment.

Analysts say the US couldn’t care less as long as it helped India contain a rising China which has embarked on a massive post-Cold War expansion of its underwater arm.

Both India and Russia, however, continue to hold on to the secrecy clause they signed with the contract . An Indian defence ministry official gives it a Harry Potter-esque moniker, ‘the project we do not speak about’.

The Russian version of ‘Project India’ is undoubtedly a translated version of the same. Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta was the first to speak about the project when he stated last year that it was being leased to train Indian crews to man the indigenous nuclear submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) currently building at Visakhapatnam. The Chakra is due for commissioning by August 15 next year. Too early to tell if Serdyukov will be at the press conference then.

[nitesh]

expect some delay

RIA Novosti - Russia - Russia to start MiG fighter deliveries to India in spring 2009


NEW DELHI, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India in the spring of 2009, the aircraft manufacturer's marketing director said Monday. (MiG-29 K/KUB fighters for India - Image gallery)

Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the delivery of 12 single-seat MiG-29K and four two-seat MiG-29KUB by 2009, to be deployed on the Admiral Gorshkov, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy.

"The first four MiG-29K aircraft will be delivered to India in the spring of 2009," Mikhail Globenko said, adding that the remaining 12 jets would be delivered "by the fall."

The MiG official said there was an option in the contract to supply an additional 30 fighters by 2015 and the company was in talks with the Indian navy on exercising this option.

"We are ready [to exercise this option] and it all now depends on the Indian side," Globenko said.

He also said that Indian pilots started Monday a five-month training course for MiG-29K in Russia and technical personnel had already been training in Russia for two months.

"By the time the first aircraft arrive in India, their pilots and technicians will be ready," the Russian official said.

[nitesh]

The Hindu : National : India enhances anti-submarine warfare capability

India enhances anti-submarine warfare capability

S. Anandan
Kochi: Even as Pakistan prides itself as the first South Asian country to commission into service a diesel-electric submarine, PNS Hamza, which has an air-independent propulsion system, India is on the threshold of perfecting its indigenous state-of-the-art underwater surveillance mechanism as part of its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) programme.

Nagan, the low frequency active-cum-passive towed array sonar system developed by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, with support from industrial partners such as Bharat Electronics (BE), Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Uniflex Cables and Keltron, is in the advanced stage of user evaluation trials.

Presently, the Navy operates passive only towed array sonar system from Thales (France) onboard a few platforms such as INS Mumbai, a Delhi-class guided missile destroyer.

“Nagan marks a major technological breakthrough as it is capable of long-range detection. It is meant for fitment onboard surface ships,” NPOL Director S. Ananthanarayanan told The Hindu. The NPOL, along with the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, had earlier developed Maareech, an anti-torpedo system with towed and expendable decoys. The Hindu has learnt that the Navy has already placed orders with BE for three torpedo defence systems that would be installed on ships at the Mazagaon Dock Limited.

Nagan, however, is a more complex system. “Towed array sonar system consists of a sensor array that is towed behind a submarine or surface ship. It is basically a long array of hydrophones that is trailed behind the ship using a long cable when deployed. The hydrophones are placed at equal distance on the array. This sonar is much more effective in detecting and classifying the vessels being tracked at variable depths, as noise due to turbulence of own-ship propulsion will not corrupt the signals received from the target,” said Mr. Ananthanarayanan.

“Anti-submarine warfare addresses the technological challenges of detecting quieter targets in increasingly noisy environment and the issues of detection and decoying of torpedoes. Development of passive towed array sonars during the last two decades has increased detection ranges against relatively silent submarines by an order of magnitude over the ranges obtained by the commonly used hull-mounted active sonars. Indigenous development of towed arrays over the past two decades has led to substantial competence build-up and growth of several Indian industries, in the field of electro-hydraulic winches, high density underwater connectors, electro-opto-mechanical tow cables, acoustic sensors, electronic cabinets, high performance polymer strength members and the like.”

Challenges in towed array systems lie in the deployment and retrieval of array and the understanding of the dynamic interplay of oceanic conditions and tactical scenarios. Snapping of fibre optic cable because of hydrodynamic drag and excessive deployment, and retrieval time had been major issues in the initial stages. Those, however, have been overcome.

Nagan was tested on board an offshore patrol vessel and the trials were successful.

[malaymishra123]

Nagan is something indeed to be proud of. The first indegenous towed sonar array. If it turns out to be competitive, it would be fit on all pricipal ASW combatants of the Navy.

[nitesh]

good move

Indigenous AIP submarine in 4 to 5 years: DRDO-India-The Times of India

The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) hopes to develop an indigenous Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarine in four to five
years, chief controller, Research and Development, Dr A Sivathanu Pillai has said.

Research and development work was going on at the DRDO Naval Material Research Laboratory (NMRL) in Mumbai to develop hydrogen-based fuel cells for the diesel-powered submarines, Dr Pillai told mediapersons.

"NMRL already has developed number of fuel cells," Pillai, who was at Trikkakara near here in connection with a national symposium at the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), said.

Diesel power submarines will have to surface everyday for air, while the hydrogen based technology is new and presently not operational anywhere in the world. "It is being developed by one or two countries. We are also going to develop that technology and that will be installed in the diesel submarines," he said.

The hydrogen based technology could enable submarines operate for long duration, may be 20 to 25 days under water, he said.

To a query, he said while Pakistan got AIP developed by France last month under the deal to purchase the Agosta submarines, India would be able to develop the technology indigenously.

India may also go in for AIP system from France or some other countries for the six submarines that are being constructed at Mazgaon. "But, we are not interested in that system and want a better system that is based on hydrogen," Pillai said.

[nitesh]

Kochi, Oct 03: The Indian Navy is in a "comparatively envious position" of sourcing almost 60 to 70 per cent of equipment from indigenous sources and the trend is destined to grow further in the future, a senior naval officer said today.

"The road to self-reliance has been strewn with many obstacles but close cooperation and interaction between the designing agencies and the user has successfully overcome all hurdles," Vice Admiral Sunil K Damle, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, said.

He was inaugurating a two-day national symposium on 'Towed Array Sonar Systems: Engineering and Technology' as part of the DRDO's Golden Jubilee Celebrations, at the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) here.

The navy has been consistently encouraging DRDO in indigenous research and development with its commitment to induction of Indian-designed and built systems in preference to imports, he said.

Pointing out that the hull-mounted sonars developed by NPOL and produced by Bhart Electronics Ltd, have been inducted on various naval ships and submarines in the last two decades, he said, however, "progress on development of our own low frequency sonar has been relatively slow by comparison and it is here that the challenge of the future truly lies."

In his keynote address, A Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Controller, Research and Development, DRDO, asked Kerala industrialists to make use of the offset policy of the Centre to increase indigenous defence production.

"Developments are taking place and we are in a very competitive world. Unless we come upto the stage of competitiveness in the world level, our survival will be difficult," he said.
Zee News - Navy`s indigenous defence prog to grow further: Officer

[Marshal]

Indian Navy Invites Private Sector to Participate in Defense Information Technology
Indian Navy Invites Private Sector to Participate in Defense Information Technology | India Defence
Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today called upon the Indian private industry to join hands with the armed forces on a formal platform in the Information Technology sector, which is increasingly relegating other conventional forms of warfare to the sidelines.

Inaugurating the two-day Naval Symposium on Information Systems (NAVSIS) organised jointly by the Navy and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, Mehta said the industry could help complement the Navy's IT needs by providing a good mix of security policy and up-to-date technology. "This is an opportunity for the Indian industry, as the Navy was already implementing a number of projects that incorporate latest concepts and technology," he added.

According to Mehta, the Indian Navy aimed to leverage the power of IT and achieve net-centricity through collaborative integration and a strategic partnership with the industry.

"This was specially important as a number of projects are being implemented and there is need to benchmark these as per prevalent international standards," he added. Mehta also released a Technical Journal and inaugurated an exhibition on Information Systems on the occasion.

Earlier, CII National Committee on IT and ITES Ajai Chowdhry expressed optimism that the on-going IT drive initiative by the Navy would open more business opportunities for the Indian industry.