Antony gets to see Indian Navy's strategic capabilities
The Indian Navy displayed its awesome firepower, including a state of the art anti-missile system, as Defence Minister A.K. Antony spent a day at sea to understand the strategic capabilities that make the navy a powerful force multiplier.
Fifteen frontline vessels of Mumbai-based Western Fleet, including three indigenously-built Delhi class destroyers, a submarine and also an equal number of aircraft were on the view during the 'Day at Sea' as the flotilla sailed 40 nautical miles off the county's west coast.
'The navy's primary role is to safeguard the nation's maritime interests, ranging from sea-borne trade, energy security, the exclusive economic zone, the merchant fleet, offshore oil and gas resources, ports, harbours and the long coastline,' a visibly impressed Antony noted after witnessing the demonstration Thursday and Friday from this lone aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.
'The government is committed to providing the navy with full capabilities that range from sea control to sea denial and low intensity maritime operations and humanitarian missions, while ensuring long-range sustainability,' he said.
'In tandem with the ministry of external affairs, we have been making attempts to reach out to our Indian Ocean neighbourhood and beyond,' Antony said, pointing to the 'strong defence relationship' that exists with Singapore and Vietnam.
'We are in the process of establishing closer ties with Malaysia and Myanmar. Bilateral exercises with other navies help us in enhancing inter-operability,' the minister added.
There was much on offer during the display, as destroyers, frigates, missile vessels, supported by combat jets and helicopters, flexed their muscles to demonstrate the power and capabilities of what is termed a carrier battle group. It is these capabilities that have enabled the navy show the Indian flag during what are termed friendly foreign visits to almost every major port worldwide.
But by far the highlight of the display was the late night firing of two Israeli Barak missiles at an oncoming hostile target.
Manifesting itself as an orange glow, the hostile - a Russian P-21 missile fired from INS Ganga - raced across the skies even as INS Gomti fired two Baraks that were visible as dots of blue as they charged to meet the intruder.
Moments before contact, they dimmed and seemed to slow down as their on-board computers applied a mid-course correction and then both impacted with the hostile, lighting up the sky with an orange glow.
'It was very exciting and thrilling. The result was very good,' Antony said of the Barak strike during a brief media interaction Friday, before he was flown to the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai for a 'steam past' the participating ships that brought the demonstration to a close.
The statement would serve to put at rest the purchase of the missile system with allegations of kickbacks in the deal and corruption cases being registered against former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar and some others.
There were also reports that delays and cost overruns had prompted the navy to abandon the Trishul anti-ship missile the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing and opt for new generation versions of the Barak.
Then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee had said last year that the Trishul project had been given a year-long extension to July. But given the Barak's success Thursday night, and that too in front of the defence minister, it could possibly mean the DRDO version has little chance now, military analysts said.
What exactly the navy was capable of was demonstrated in a telling manner during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict last year when a destroyer and three frigates that were on their way home after visits to Mediterranean ports evacuated over 2,000 Indians and also nationals of South Asian countries.
The Western media had termed this the 'biggest evacuation of people since Dunkirk', a reference to the French port from where hundreds of British troops had to be pulled back after being defeated by the German army at the height of World War II.
This was Antony's first major interaction with the navy and was part of his efforts to gain first-hand knowledge of the functioning of the armed forces.
He would be visiting Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh Jan 9-10 for a briefing on the India-China border and then travel to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to examine the functioning of the country's first tri-services command.
The navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sangram Singh Byce, were among those who witnessed the display.
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070105/34713.htm
The Indian Navy displayed its awesome firepower, including a state of the art anti-missile system, as Defence Minister A.K. Antony spent a day at sea to understand the strategic capabilities that make the navy a powerful force multiplier.
Fifteen frontline vessels of Mumbai-based Western Fleet, including three indigenously-built Delhi class destroyers, a submarine and also an equal number of aircraft were on the view during the 'Day at Sea' as the flotilla sailed 40 nautical miles off the county's west coast.
'The navy's primary role is to safeguard the nation's maritime interests, ranging from sea-borne trade, energy security, the exclusive economic zone, the merchant fleet, offshore oil and gas resources, ports, harbours and the long coastline,' a visibly impressed Antony noted after witnessing the demonstration Thursday and Friday from this lone aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.
'The government is committed to providing the navy with full capabilities that range from sea control to sea denial and low intensity maritime operations and humanitarian missions, while ensuring long-range sustainability,' he said.
'In tandem with the ministry of external affairs, we have been making attempts to reach out to our Indian Ocean neighbourhood and beyond,' Antony said, pointing to the 'strong defence relationship' that exists with Singapore and Vietnam.
'We are in the process of establishing closer ties with Malaysia and Myanmar. Bilateral exercises with other navies help us in enhancing inter-operability,' the minister added.
There was much on offer during the display, as destroyers, frigates, missile vessels, supported by combat jets and helicopters, flexed their muscles to demonstrate the power and capabilities of what is termed a carrier battle group. It is these capabilities that have enabled the navy show the Indian flag during what are termed friendly foreign visits to almost every major port worldwide.
But by far the highlight of the display was the late night firing of two Israeli Barak missiles at an oncoming hostile target.
Manifesting itself as an orange glow, the hostile - a Russian P-21 missile fired from INS Ganga - raced across the skies even as INS Gomti fired two Baraks that were visible as dots of blue as they charged to meet the intruder.
Moments before contact, they dimmed and seemed to slow down as their on-board computers applied a mid-course correction and then both impacted with the hostile, lighting up the sky with an orange glow.
'It was very exciting and thrilling. The result was very good,' Antony said of the Barak strike during a brief media interaction Friday, before he was flown to the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai for a 'steam past' the participating ships that brought the demonstration to a close.
The statement would serve to put at rest the purchase of the missile system with allegations of kickbacks in the deal and corruption cases being registered against former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar and some others.
There were also reports that delays and cost overruns had prompted the navy to abandon the Trishul anti-ship missile the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing and opt for new generation versions of the Barak.
Then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee had said last year that the Trishul project had been given a year-long extension to July. But given the Barak's success Thursday night, and that too in front of the defence minister, it could possibly mean the DRDO version has little chance now, military analysts said.
What exactly the navy was capable of was demonstrated in a telling manner during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict last year when a destroyer and three frigates that were on their way home after visits to Mediterranean ports evacuated over 2,000 Indians and also nationals of South Asian countries.
The Western media had termed this the 'biggest evacuation of people since Dunkirk', a reference to the French port from where hundreds of British troops had to be pulled back after being defeated by the German army at the height of World War II.
This was Antony's first major interaction with the navy and was part of his efforts to gain first-hand knowledge of the functioning of the armed forces.
He would be visiting Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh Jan 9-10 for a briefing on the India-China border and then travel to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to examine the functioning of the country's first tri-services command.
The navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sangram Singh Byce, were among those who witnessed the display.
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070105/34713.htm
