ashok321
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NAVAL DEFENSE MANUFACTURING - LEARNING ON THE JOB
The recent commissioning of new indigenous vessels like the Kolkata and Kamorta class and a host of other crafts have thrown a spotlight on India's warship building program. Many have hailed it as roaring success. No doubt our ships are world class by any standards and added to that they are built at a fraction of the cost of comparable ships built overseas. Nevertheless to a keen observer our shipbuilding program suffers from many constraints. Let us examine some of these
Even while our ship design skill has matured the reality is that many of the sensors, weapons and propulsion that go into these vessels are foreign sourced. For instance the highly capable MF-Star radar mounted on the Kolkata destroyers is sourced from Israel. So also the various guns and SAM missiles mounted on a host of other crafts. This critical dependency is undesirable from the point of view of national security and also leads to project delays if the systems are not delivered or developed in time. It also escalates costs.
Time and cost overruns. For a developing country like ours delays in high tech projects are inevitable. For even while the shipyards have to stick to delivery schedules in construction they simultaneously have to develop a wide network of suppliers to support the project. This often involves hand holding various small enterprises to produce the various components required for the project. Although this is being done to create an ecosystem for shipbuilding and is a necessity this endeavor contributes to delays and cost over runs.
Poor work culture at the state owned shipyards. Although the defence shipyards are doing a commendable job they suffer from the same malaise as other public sector undertakings such as excessive trade unionism, shoddy management etc.
The above shortcomings have to be addressed expeditiously by all the stakeholders or else our endeavor to create a truly capable warship building program will always remain a work in progress. Now that we have also embarked on an export drive any delays for foreign buyers will cost us dearly in terms of our prestige and strategic interests.
Author: Edelbert Kmenlang Badwar
The recent commissioning of new indigenous vessels like the Kolkata and Kamorta class and a host of other crafts have thrown a spotlight on India's warship building program. Many have hailed it as roaring success. No doubt our ships are world class by any standards and added to that they are built at a fraction of the cost of comparable ships built overseas. Nevertheless to a keen observer our shipbuilding program suffers from many constraints. Let us examine some of these
Even while our ship design skill has matured the reality is that many of the sensors, weapons and propulsion that go into these vessels are foreign sourced. For instance the highly capable MF-Star radar mounted on the Kolkata destroyers is sourced from Israel. So also the various guns and SAM missiles mounted on a host of other crafts. This critical dependency is undesirable from the point of view of national security and also leads to project delays if the systems are not delivered or developed in time. It also escalates costs.
Time and cost overruns. For a developing country like ours delays in high tech projects are inevitable. For even while the shipyards have to stick to delivery schedules in construction they simultaneously have to develop a wide network of suppliers to support the project. This often involves hand holding various small enterprises to produce the various components required for the project. Although this is being done to create an ecosystem for shipbuilding and is a necessity this endeavor contributes to delays and cost over runs.
Poor work culture at the state owned shipyards. Although the defence shipyards are doing a commendable job they suffer from the same malaise as other public sector undertakings such as excessive trade unionism, shoddy management etc.
The above shortcomings have to be addressed expeditiously by all the stakeholders or else our endeavor to create a truly capable warship building program will always remain a work in progress. Now that we have also embarked on an export drive any delays for foreign buyers will cost us dearly in terms of our prestige and strategic interests.
Author: Edelbert Kmenlang Badwar
