Indigenous nuke submarine in two years: Navy chief
India's first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, will be inducted into the Navy fleet in two years. ''INS Arihant will be inducted into the Navy in two years or so,'' Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma told reporters here ahead of the Navy Day on December 4.
However, Verma refused speak about Russia leasing out its Akula-II 'Nerpa' nuclear-powered submarine to India for 10 years. "I have no response for that," he said to queries on when Nerpa would join the Indian Navy.
Arihant, the first submarine under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme, was launched for sea trials on July 26 this year at a naval yard in Visakhapatnam by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gurcharan Kaur.
"It (Arihant) demonstrates a quantum leap in the shipbuilding capabilities of the country. It is a nuclear- powered submarine, which is indigenously designed and constructed," Verma said.
The endurance of the submarine was only limited by the endurance of the crew, food and provisions that it could carry, he said.
The submarine is now undergoing wide-ranging trials in harbour to prove that the various systems fitted on board perform as per their design. This would be followed by extensive sea trials before it is commissioned into the Navy.
Navy fleet to grow by 40 warships soon
The Navy is all set to increase its fleet strength by another 40 warships within the next decade, taking its existing 130-warship fleet to a 170-warship fleet.
It will also improve its aviation wing strength by inducting 60 more aircraft and another 60 helicopters during the same period.
Navy chief Verma today said that these new inductions would be done as per its Maritime Capability Perspective Plan till 2017.
"The Navy has placed orders for 34 ships with Indian shipyards and another six ships with foreign shipyards. Among those to be inducted include Destroyers, Frigates, Fast Attack Craft, Fast Interceptor Boats, Survey Vessels, submarines and Fleet Tankers," he added.
Upset over delays in warship delivery at Indian defence shipyards, Verma said there was a need to "revisit" the shipbuilding strategies and warned that the Navy would be forced to go in for imports if the domestic shipyards were unable to meet the demands of the Navy.
The present rate of delivery of warships from the three defence public sector shipyards was one ship a year.
The Navy has ordered ships with foreign shipyards in the case of 'Talwar' class frigates -- being built in Russia, the 'Gorshkov' aircraft carrier also from Russia and two Fleet Tankers being built in Italy.
Indian Navy chief to meet Chinese delegation
The Navy chief will meet a visiting Chinese defence delegation Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two navies.
Verma said India and China share common concerns.
“The Chinese delegation is here. I will be meeting them in the evening (Wednesday). I may be meeting them for the first time but there have been occasions earlier when officers from both navies have interacted,” Verma told reporters.
“The main thrust during the discussion is that whatever is coming in the media should not be misunderstood,” Verma added.
The Indian Navy has for long expressed apprehension about the increased presence of its Chinese counterpart in the Indian Ocean region and hopes to blunt its thrust through greater cooperation. A joint exercise by the two navies has been in the offing for some time now.
“Chinese energy flows through the Indian Ocean Region. I expect the concern are similar to ours.... We are both growing economies,” said Verma.
Earlier this year former Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had made the first visit by an Indian Navy chief to China.
During the International Fleet Review held to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Indian Navy's guided missile destroyers INS Mumbai and INS Ranveer, the guided missile corvette INS Khanjar and the tanker INS Jyoti also participated.
Indian and Chinese warships have been making calls at each other’s ports as part of growing confidence building measures between the two sides. The two nations, who fought a brief but bloody war in 1962, have been steadily ramping up their military ties.
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2006 during a visit to Beijing by then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee that said they would hold joint military exercises, join forces in counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts and also cooperate in search and rescue operations.
Revisit warship building strategies at Defence yards
Upset over delays in warship building schedules of Defence shipyards, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma today said there was a need to "revisit" the shipbuilding strategies.
"We need to revisit the building strategies of the (Defence) shipyards. There is a need to do much more. Construction schedule is where our shipyards lag. The reason for delays is the basic method of construction (adopted by the shipyards)," Verma told reporters.
The Navy has currently given orders for 34 ships in three different shipyards but the rate of delivery is only one ship per year, he said.
Though his force had been the first to stress on indigenisation, Verma said if the indigenous shipbuilding was not meeting its needs, the Navy would be forced to go in for imports.
The Navy has ordered ships with foreign shipyards in the case of Talwar class frigates -- being built in Russia, the Gorshkov aircraft carrier also from Russia and two Fleet Tankers being built in Italy.
The Navy's fleet strength was set to increase by 40 ships, and 60 aircraft and an equal number of helicopters. The new orders would take the number of warships to 160 and aircraft to about 290 within the next decade. It currently has 130 ships and another 190 aircraft and helicopters in service.
