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PIB Press Release

Chairman and Managing Director of Garden Reach and Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, (GRSE), Rear Admiral (Retd) KC Sekhar, presented a cheque for Rs. 24.77 crore to the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in New Delhi today towards dividend to the Government of India for the financial year 2008-09. Shri RK Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence were also present on the occasion.

This is the third year in succession that GRSE, a Defence PSU has paid the same amount towards dividend to the Government which amounts to 20 % of the share capital. GRSE expects to achieve a Value of Production of Rs. 850 crore in financial year 2009-10 as against Rs. 673 crore achieved in financial year 2008-09.

To facilitate construction of larger warships, GRSE has initiated a Rs. 530 crore modernisation programme in its Main Unit. The modernisation is expected to be completed by July 2011. Post – modernisation, GRSE will have one each of large Dry Dock and large Inclined Berth, both 180 meters long in addition to the present infrastructure. These will be supported by modern integrated Paint Cell, Modular Hall, allied Workshops and a 250 ton goliath crane. The modern infrastructure facilities will enable the shipyard to undertake construction of large ships with modular concept of construction. With this modernisation, GRSE will be able to build large vessels like the LPDs and frigates in shorter time frame.

GRSE has acquired the Raja Bagan Dockyard at Kolkata from the CIWTC in July 2006. This dockyard is also under rapid modernisation. At present, the Water Jet fast Attack Crafts are being contructed in this unit. GRSE is contemplating to build more sophisticated smaller vessels in Raja Bagan Dockyard. GRSE is currently building four anti-submarine Warfare Corvettes and 10 Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts (four have already been delivered) for the Indian Navy besides about 80 Fast Interceptor Boats for the Ministry of Home Affairs. GRSE has received order for eight Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs), in recent past, for use by the Indian Coast Guard. Construction of these IPVs will commence soon.
On the engineering field, GRSE has shown excellence in manufacturing Portable Steel Bridges, Marine Pumps, Ship Borne Equipment and Marine Engines. GRSE has also obtained patent for invention of double lane portable steel bridges. With a view to provide a viable flexibility to the Navy in operating helicopters from warships, the Company has developed a Common Helicopter Traversing System (HTS), for use by different types of helicopters. GRSE is in talks with international players in the fields concerned for obtaining technology for Railless HTS. This will enhance the capability of the Navy in heli-operation to a great extent.
 
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New boat of Coast Guard commissioned

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Adding more teeth to its coast guarding capabilities off the Kerala coast, the Indian Coast Guard on Friday commissioned an Interceptor Boat fitted with ultra modern navigational and communication equipment.


Governor R.S.Gavai formally commissioned the vessel C-144 at Vizhinjam.

To be based at Beypore, the boat will help enhance close-coast surveillance capabilities.

The 26-metre vessel, displaces 90 tons and was built by ABG Shipyard Ltd, Surat.

Commanded by Commandant Chandra Shekhar Joshi, the boat has one Officer and ten personnel.

It has an endurance of 500 nautical miles with the economical speed of 25 knots and can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots.

Post-Mumbai attack last year, Coast Guard is pursuing an urgent enhancement of its surveillance capabilities.

It has drawn up the Coast Guard Perspective Plan (2007-22) and Development Plan (2007-12).

The present force level and manpower will be doubled. Further, the government has sanctioned 14 new Coast Guard stations. Each new station will have two fast speed boats, to undertake search and rescue, close coast patrol, and to respond to calls on a required basis.

Air Vice Marshal Rajinder Singh, Senior Air Staff Officer, Southern Air Command; and Inspector General S.P.S.Basra, Commander, Coast Guard (West) were present.
 
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Four MiG-29 fighter jets to join Indian navy in October

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MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) - The first four Russian-made MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets, purchased by India for the modernized Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, will be delivered to the Indian navy in October, an Indian defense source said.

Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the supply of 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs to India as part of a $1.5 billion deal to deliver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian navy.

"The aircraft are expected to arrive in mid-October. They will be assembled and tested in flight. After that they will be put in service [with the Indian navy]," the source said.

The official said that as the Admiral Gorshkov is still being overhauled in Russia, the aircraft will be temporarily based on land.

The two MiG-29Ks and two MiG-29KUBs were officially transferred to India earlier this year. They were inspected by Indian technical experts and used in a five-month flight training course for the Indian pilots.

Meanwhile, Russia and India are still negotiating a new deal on the completion of the Admiral Gorshkov overhaul.

Under the original 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, work on the aircraft carrier was to have been completed in 2008.

However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization, and asked for an additional $1.2 billion, which New Delhi said was "exorbitant."

After long-running delays and disputes, India offered in February 2008 to raise the refit costs for the aircraft carrier, docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the past 12 years, by up to $600 million.

Russia said it was not satisfied with the proposed amount, and the issue of the additional funding remains unresolved.

Talks on the additional funding agreement are currently underway. Russia has pledged to finish the Admiral Gorshkov's overhaul as soon as possible and deliver it to India in 2012 if the additional $1.2 bln funding is provided by New Delhi.

According to Russian media, India has no alternative but to allocate the required funds, despite recent objections from the government's accounting office, because the Indian Navy desperately needs to replace its INS Viraat, which, although currently operational, is now 50 years old.

After modernization, the carrier will join the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya, and is expected to be seaworthy for 30 years.


Four MiG-29 fighter jets to join Indian navy in October - source | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

Old news already post in this thread & also create another thread why u posting this news. Please check before posting
 
. .
old news but usefull

Mumbai. The Indian Navy holds a fine record of operating submarines including the nuclear-propelled missile fitted Charlie K-73 INS Chakra (1987-91) from the late 60s, but its submarine strength has waxed and waned for one reason or the other.

..:: India Strategic ::.. Indian Navy going in for a Second Line of Submarine Construction
The Navy has come under criticism recently by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for allowing the operational state of submarines to fall to 16, half of them being two obsolete Foxtrot and aging Kilo class of the Soviet vintage. And the strength is set to fall further.

The Navy has come under criticism recently by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for allowing the operational state of submarines to fall to 16, half of them being two obsolete Foxtrot and aging Kilo class of the Soviet vintage. And the strength is set to fall further.

The two old Foxtrot class boats are to be decommissioned. The programme to build six Scorpene submarine at the Mazagaon Docks is experiencing a one year delay in delivery and the first boat will be commissioned only in 2013.

The Navy therefore needs to take a long term view for its future. Ten years ago, the Government sanctioned a two line 30 year submarine building plan. It was also envisaged that India would become an exporter of submarines. The Navy’s submarine arm rightly clamoured for a submarine centric Navy, but there has always been a sort of contest between those favouring induction of submarines and those asking for aircraft carriers.

Although some allege that the aircraft carrier lobby has been stronger, objectively speaking, the Navy actually lacks in both these capabilities.

However, two aircraft carriers, the 45,000 tonnes INS Vikramaditya and the 37,500 tonnes Air Defence Ship (ADS) are under the process of re-fitment or construction and it would be sometime before they are operational after due trials.

Russia has delayed the delivery of Vikramaditaya, formerly Admiral Gorshkov by three years, while the ADS, being built with design consultancy from Italy’s Fincantieri, is also delayed slightly.

The two aircraft carriers are estimated to cost around USD 4 billion. The costs of aircraft, helicopters and some offensive and defensive weapons would be additional.

The Navy should have gone in for a second line of submarines much earlier, but it was only recently that the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, formally announced the programme go-ahead at a conference at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

The ongoing project for 6 French Scorpene submarines commenced in 2005. These boats are to be supplied with underwater tube launched subsonic MBDA Exocet missiles with 120 km range and European-made torpedoes. The project is being executed by the French Armaris/DCNS and Spanish-Navantia combine at a cost of $ 3 bill in the congested East yard at Mazagon Docks.

A legal charge of wrongdoing in the deal however, filed by Transparency International still breathes in Delhi’s High Court, keeping naval officers in the project occupied in courts, threatening the project with further delay. On the aircraft carriers side, Russia has asked for revision of its contract to refurbish Vikramaditya, or Gorshkov, demanding an additional $1.2 billion over the earlier settled price of $975 million.

Nonetheless, the spotlight is shining on the Navy’s upcoming choice for its second line multi-billion dollar indigenous submarine building programme. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in this regard are under release by the Minsitry of Defence (MOD).

To recall, it was the alleged HDW scandal of the 1980s that had put a halt to India’s ambitious submarine building programme, for no fault of the Navy. An excellent facility which had been built up at the East Yard of the Mazagon Docks by 1985, had to be disbanded after two HDW-IKL 1500 ton design submarines INS Shalki and Shankul, had been successfully built and commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1992.

An innocuous telegram from India’s Ambassador in Germany, inquiring if the 7.5% commission was to be paid for more submarines as for the first four, set in motion a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry. HDW was blacklisted, and the inquiry finally died a natural death in 2006.

India’ s ambitions to build submarines in numbers in India were disrupted. In fact, Admiral Mehta pointed out in his lecture at the IDSA that “India lost the opportunity to become a premier submarine building nation.” In the interregnum, the Indian Navy acquired 10 double decked Kilo class boats from the erstwhile Soviet Union, between 1986 and 2000.

They had to be sent back to Russia for midlife refits and conversion to fire Klub missiles at great cost to the exchequer. The latest INS Sindhuvijay recently arrived after successful Klub firing trials in July 2008 off St Petersburg.

Efforts are being made at Hindustan Shipyard to develop this capability. Russia’s Rosoboronexport has set up Rosboronservice as an agency to facilitate supply of spares and Russian experts but for such specialised submarine refits, a nation needs to possess its own submarine building facilities with specialized welding techniques and workers to execute tasks in confined spaces. This expertise is becoming gradually available at Vishakapatnam, thanks to India’s Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a name given to India’s indigenous nuclear submarine project.

The hull of this vessel has progressed well at Vishakpatnam’s Ship Building Centre (SBC)’s dry dock and awaits launch. The Navy’s planners have been engaged in examining the bids for the second line of submarine building, which include Spain’s Navantia S-80A, HDW’s 214, DCNS French Super Scorpene and an Italian Fincantieri offer of S-100 in collaboration with Rubin of Russia.

Earlier the Russian builders of the Amur class had put up a proposal with India’s Larsen and Tubro to set up a submarine building facility, and L&T as it is known, even offered to build the Scorpene submarines.

L&T is investing around $2.5 billion in this area, and is also a partner in the ATV project. The project was under wraps for a long time, and only recently, its existence was admitted by the Chief of Naval Staff.

All bidders for India’s second line of submarines have confirmed that they will be able to install a plug of 4/8 under water vertically launched missiles of the BrahMos variety, and Mr Sivathanu Pillai CEO of Brahmos Aerospace Ltd, who is also the Controller of all naval DRDO projects, has stated that the underwater launch of BrahMos from a submarine will pose no problems.

In fact, indications are that it is just about to be a reality. India’s former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the architect of the successful BrahMos joint venture, has also articulated the same sentiments. The length of the S-100 based on the Amur 1650 submarine has been increased from 66.8 meters to 73.1 meters to incorporate the BrahMos.

At the same time, BrahMos itself is being modified to make it smaller. The current economic turmoil in the West which has taken the world by surprise, and the recent rise of Russia, India’s trusted strategic partner, need to be considered as possible factors in the decision-making process, although Defence Ministry sources insist that any deals would be on merit..

India’s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP 2008) also harps on political considerations being arbiters in the final selection of strategic defence purchases. It needs airing that India, with Russian help from Rubin and other yards and suppliers has already stealthily acquired very impressive indigenous submarine building skills in its classified 8000 ton ATV nuclear submarine project.

Many systems have been indigenised at the Defence Materials Department (DMD) at Hyderabad for the project, and experience in construction of the sections assisted by Russian technology have been mated in the hull, awaiting launch.

The skills so acquired need to be harnessed and unleashed for future submarine building programmes. Leading Indian suppliers like KSB Pumps, L&T, Walchand Industries , Bharat Electronics, Godrej Boyce, Tatas, Jindal Pipes and other contractors at Vishakapatnam are looking forward to becoming suppliers for the S-100 project.

It is also opportune perhaps now to lift the veil of secrecy over the $ 1.5 billion ATV project as Indian suppliers and vendors have been informed of more orders in the pipe line to make the project viable for them. India’s nuclear deterrence from the sea is dependant on the ATV project and its follow-on vessels.

Presently, the Indian Navy has a depleting conventional operational submarine fleet. And as a thumb rule, only 60 per cent of a submarine fleet is operational for war patrols at any given time.

From its pre-eminent strength of 21 underwater killer submarines, which included the nuclear Charlie class boat, India has only seven operational submarine platforms, and at a time when the Navy aspires for ‘Blue Water capability’.

The world is also witnessing the dramatic rise of the Chinese PLA (Navy)’s large submarine fleet, which Indian planners need to consider. India’s nuclear doctrine includes the caveat of “No First Use” but mandates a Triad of arsenal in which the IndianNavy is expected to provide for India’s nuclear deterrence from the sea.

India’s Sukhanya class OPVs are being modified to fire the 300 km Dhanush SSM which DRDO claims is nuclear capable, but it would be a folly in this day and age to arm surface ships with nuclear warheads for deterrence, as they would be tracked and targeted.

Stealthy nuclear submarines are the answer.

On offer, the S-100 based on the Amur has been designed by Fincantieri which has consultancy of the Navy’s 37,500 ton Aircraft carrier being built at Cochin and the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering (CDBME).

It has been described by its legendary General Designer Yuri Kormilitsin, a well wisher of the Indian Navy, as being a fourthgeneration SSK that had been conceived as an underwater hunterkiller SSK. The submarine has
the ability to destroy surface and submerged targets using both torpedoes and BrahMos guidedmissiles.

The SSK’s design incorporates comprehensive signature management techniques including the use of noise-absorbing elements.

The machinery is mounted on the nose and vibration-attenuated mounts. Notably, the single-hull architecture, a first in Russian submarine-shipbuilding practice, has helped reduce the acoustic signature by 300 per cent when compared to the earlier double-hulled Project Kilo class SSKs.

Politically, the Russian defence connection is essential for India, as it was announced after President Medvedev’s recent visit to India in early December.

Russia is set to supply four more nuclear power plants with lifetime uranium supplies, in addition to the two VVER-1000 MW each under construction at Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu. Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Ivan Kaminskih, who has also been dealing with India’s ATV, is involved in the project.

The Indian Navy is also awaiting the transfer of the nuclear Akula class submarine Nerpa on lease, after it is successfully commissioned into the Russian Navy as part of the established procedures before transfer to another country.

Nerpa suffered an accident off Vladivostok on trials when its Freon fire fighting system was inadvertently operated, killing 21 workers. There was no damage to the vessel, and those who perished died because the number of gas masks on board was much less than the number of people on the vessel.

Authoritative sources told India Strategic that Nerpa had a lot of workers on board as part of the tests that day, but the number of gas masks was limited according to the number of the crew. “That’s how the tragedy happened.”

Nerpa is expected to be the Navy’s platform for the training of the ATV crew.

The DRDO-ATV nuclear submarine project has engineering support and equipment from Russia, and includes supply of the essential enriched uranium fuel for ATV’s hybrid Indian designed reactor. A large team of DRDO, BARC and Kalpakkam-based atomic research scientists and many naval officers and technicians have been trained in nuclear submarine engineering directly under the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which also controls the Department of Atomic Energy.

When this maiden nuclear submarine venture succeeds and India’s ATV Captain reports from sea that he is under way on steam generated by nuclear power, it will truly be an achievement the nation can be proud of.

In due course, DRDO hopes to arm ATVs with underwater long range K-15 Sagarika missiles from universal vertical launcher plugs built by L&T. Three missile firing trials from an under water platform have been successfully carried out and the same missile is being adapted in a 5 canister version for vertical launch from shore.

The missile, designated Shaurya, can be configured for several attack roles, and could replace the Agni 1, as it can be stored in underground silos also.

The Indian Navy has also trained key personnel at Sosnoy Bar in Russia near St Petersburg and appointed an Inspector General of Vice Admiral rank to oversee the nuclear submarine project at NHQ.

The Government has to appreciate that the Russians, who have supplied the engines for the BrahMos missile, have been quick to have grasped India’s requirements for its second line of submarines and to make the Italian- Russian choice for the Navy’s second line a win-win long term choice, where the experience of the ATV and Scorpene can be mated.

This is where the Russian-Italian collaboration could score in India’s selection for the second line.

It is not fully western in origin, which tap can be shut off as was experienced during Western sanctions in the past, The submarine on offer will have commonalities with India’s ATV which has Indian suppliers. The Russians have carried out tests to launch the BrahMos in an equivalent mock up of a submarine and had earlier offered the elongated hump backed Amur 1650 ton submarine to the Indian Navy.

The $ three billion-plus second line of submarine building will be a critical decision for India’s maritime ambitions.
 
.
old news but usefull

The Choice will be Critical

Mumbai. The Indian Navy holds a fine record of operating submarines including the nuclear-propelled missile fitted Charlie K-73 INS Chakra (1987-91) from the late 60s, but its submarine strength has waxed and waned for one reason or the other.

..:: India Strategic ::.. Indian Navy going in for a Second Line of Submarine Construction
The Navy has come under criticism recently by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for allowing the operational state of submarines to fall to 16, half of them being two obsolete Foxtrot and aging Kilo class of the Soviet vintage. And the strength is set to fall further.

The Navy has come under criticism recently by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for allowing the operational state of submarines to fall to 16, half of them being two obsolete Foxtrot and aging Kilo class of the Soviet vintage. And the strength is set to fall further.

The two old Foxtrot class boats are to be decommissioned. The programme to build six Scorpene submarine at the Mazagaon Docks is experiencing a one year delay in delivery and the first boat will be commissioned only in 2013.

The Navy therefore needs to take a long term view for its future. Ten years ago, the Government sanctioned a two line 30 year submarine building plan. It was also envisaged that India would become an exporter of submarines. The Navy’s submarine arm rightly clamoured for a submarine centric Navy, but there has always been a sort of contest between those favouring induction of submarines and those asking for aircraft carriers.

Although some allege that the aircraft carrier lobby has been stronger, objectively speaking, the Navy actually lacks in both these capabilities.

However, two aircraft carriers, the 45,000 tonnes INS Vikramaditya and the 37,500 tonnes Air Defence Ship (ADS) are under the process of re-fitment or construction and it would be sometime before they are operational after due trials.

Russia has delayed the delivery of Vikramaditaya, formerly Admiral Gorshkov by three years, while the ADS, being built with design consultancy from Italy’s Fincantieri, is also delayed slightly.

The two aircraft carriers are estimated to cost around USD 4 billion. The costs of aircraft, helicopters and some offensive and defensive weapons would be additional.

The Navy should have gone in for a second line of submarines much earlier, but it was only recently that the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, formally announced the programme go-ahead at a conference at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

The ongoing project for 6 French Scorpene submarines commenced in 2005. These boats are to be supplied with underwater tube launched subsonic MBDA Exocet missiles with 120 km range and European-made torpedoes. The project is being executed by the French Armaris/DCNS and Spanish-Navantia combine at a cost of $ 3 bill in the congested East yard at Mazagon Docks.

A legal charge of wrongdoing in the deal however, filed by Transparency International still breathes in Delhi’s High Court, keeping naval officers in the project occupied in courts, threatening the project with further delay. On the aircraft carriers side, Russia has asked for revision of its contract to refurbish Vikramaditya, or Gorshkov, demanding an additional $1.2 billion over the earlier settled price of $975 million.

Nonetheless, the spotlight is shining on the Navy’s upcoming choice for its second line multi-billion dollar indigenous submarine building programme. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in this regard are under release by the Minsitry of Defence (MOD).

To recall, it was the alleged HDW scandal of the 1980s that had put a halt to India’s ambitious submarine building programme, for no fault of the Navy. An excellent facility which had been built up at the East Yard of the Mazagon Docks by 1985, had to be disbanded after two HDW-IKL 1500 ton design submarines INS Shalki and Shankul, had been successfully built and commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1992.

An innocuous telegram from India’s Ambassador in Germany, inquiring if the 7.5% commission was to be paid for more submarines as for the first four, set in motion a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry. HDW was blacklisted, and the inquiry finally died a natural death in 2006.

India’ s ambitions to build submarines in numbers in India were disrupted. In fact, Admiral Mehta pointed out in his lecture at the IDSA that “India lost the opportunity to become a premier submarine building nation.” In the interregnum, the Indian Navy acquired 10 double decked Kilo class boats from the erstwhile Soviet Union, between 1986 and 2000.

They had to be sent back to Russia for midlife refits and conversion to fire Klub missiles at great cost to the exchequer. The latest INS Sindhuvijay recently arrived after successful Klub firing trials in July 2008 off St Petersburg.

Efforts are being made at Hindustan Shipyard to develop this capability. Russia’s Rosoboronexport has set up Rosboronservice as an agency to facilitate supply of spares and Russian experts but for such specialised submarine refits, a nation needs to possess its own submarine building facilities with specialized welding techniques and workers to execute tasks in confined spaces. This expertise is becoming gradually available at Vishakapatnam, thanks to India’s Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a name given to India’s indigenous nuclear submarine project.

The hull of this vessel has progressed well at Vishakpatnam’s Ship Building Centre (SBC)’s dry dock and awaits launch. The Navy’s planners have been engaged in examining the bids for the second line of submarine building, which include Spain’s Navantia S-80A, HDW’s 214, DCNS French Super Scorpene and an Italian Fincantieri offer of S-100 in collaboration with Rubin of Russia.

Earlier the Russian builders of the Amur class had put up a proposal with India’s Larsen and Tubro to set up a submarine building facility, and L&T as it is known, even offered to build the Scorpene submarines.

L&T is investing around $2.5 billion in this area, and is also a partner in the ATV project. The project was under wraps for a long time, and only recently, its existence was admitted by the Chief of Naval Staff.

All bidders for India’s second line of submarines have confirmed that they will be able to install a plug of 4/8 under water vertically launched missiles of the BrahMos variety, and Mr Sivathanu Pillai CEO of Brahmos Aerospace Ltd, who is also the Controller of all naval DRDO projects, has stated that the underwater launch of BrahMos from a submarine will pose no problems.

In fact, indications are that it is just about to be a reality. India’s former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the architect of the successful BrahMos joint venture, has also articulated the same sentiments. The length of the S-100 based on the Amur 1650 submarine has been increased from 66.8 meters to 73.1 meters to incorporate the BrahMos.

At the same time, BrahMos itself is being modified to make it smaller. The current economic turmoil in the West which has taken the world by surprise, and the recent rise of Russia, India’s trusted strategic partner, need to be considered as possible factors in the decision-making process, although Defence Ministry sources insist that any deals would be on merit..

India’s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP 2008) also harps on political considerations being arbiters in the final selection of strategic defence purchases. It needs airing that India, with Russian help from Rubin and other yards and suppliers has already stealthily acquired very impressive indigenous submarine building skills in its classified 8000 ton ATV nuclear submarine project.

Many systems have been indigenised at the Defence Materials Department (DMD) at Hyderabad for the project, and experience in construction of the sections assisted by Russian technology have been mated in the hull, awaiting launch.

The skills so acquired need to be harnessed and unleashed for future submarine building programmes. Leading Indian suppliers like KSB Pumps, L&T, Walchand Industries , Bharat Electronics, Godrej Boyce, Tatas, Jindal Pipes and other contractors at Vishakapatnam are looking forward to becoming suppliers for the S-100 project.

It is also opportune perhaps now to lift the veil of secrecy over the $ 1.5 billion ATV project as Indian suppliers and vendors have been informed of more orders in the pipe line to make the project viable for them. India’s nuclear deterrence from the sea is dependant on the ATV project and its follow-on vessels.

Presently, the Indian Navy has a depleting conventional operational submarine fleet. And as a thumb rule, only 60 per cent of a submarine fleet is operational for war patrols at any given time.

From its pre-eminent strength of 21 underwater killer submarines, which included the nuclear Charlie class boat, India has only seven operational submarine platforms, and at a time when the Navy aspires for ‘Blue Water capability’.

The world is also witnessing the dramatic rise of the Chinese PLA (Navy)’s large submarine fleet, which Indian planners need to consider. India’s nuclear doctrine includes the caveat of “No First Use” but mandates a Triad of arsenal in which the IndianNavy is expected to provide for India’s nuclear deterrence from the sea.

India’s Sukhanya class OPVs are being modified to fire the 300 km Dhanush SSM which DRDO claims is nuclear capable, but it would be a folly in this day and age to arm surface ships with nuclear warheads for deterrence, as they would be tracked and targeted.

Stealthy nuclear submarines are the answer.

On offer, the S-100 based on the Amur has been designed by Fincantieri which has consultancy of the Navy’s 37,500 ton Aircraft carrier being built at Cochin and the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering (CDBME).

It has been described by its legendary General Designer Yuri Kormilitsin, a well wisher of the Indian Navy, as being a fourthgeneration SSK that had been conceived as an underwater hunterkiller SSK. The submarine has
the ability to destroy surface and submerged targets using both torpedoes and BrahMos guidedmissiles.

The SSK’s design incorporates comprehensive signature management techniques including the use of noise-absorbing elements.

The machinery is mounted on the nose and vibration-attenuated mounts. Notably, the single-hull architecture, a first in Russian submarine-shipbuilding practice, has helped reduce the acoustic signature by 300 per cent when compared to the earlier double-hulled Project Kilo class SSKs.

Politically, the Russian defence connection is essential for India, as it was announced after President Medvedev’s recent visit to India in early December.

Russia is set to supply four more nuclear power plants with lifetime uranium supplies, in addition to the two VVER-1000 MW each under construction at Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu. Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Ivan Kaminskih, who has also been dealing with India’s ATV, is involved in the project.

The Indian Navy is also awaiting the transfer of the nuclear Akula class submarine Nerpa on lease, after it is successfully commissioned into the Russian Navy as part of the established procedures before transfer to another country.

Nerpa suffered an accident off Vladivostok on trials when its Freon fire fighting system was inadvertently operated, killing 21 workers. There was no damage to the vessel, and those who perished died because the number of gas masks on board was much less than the number of people on the vessel.

Authoritative sources told India Strategic that Nerpa had a lot of workers on board as part of the tests that day, but the number of gas masks was limited according to the number of the crew. “That’s how the tragedy happened.”

Nerpa is expected to be the Navy’s platform for the training of the ATV crew.

The DRDO-ATV nuclear submarine project has engineering support and equipment from Russia, and includes supply of the essential enriched uranium fuel for ATV’s hybrid Indian designed reactor. A large team of DRDO, BARC and Kalpakkam-based atomic research scientists and many naval officers and technicians have been trained in nuclear submarine engineering directly under the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which also controls the Department of Atomic Energy.

When this maiden nuclear submarine venture succeeds and India’s ATV Captain reports from sea that he is under way on steam generated by nuclear power, it will truly be an achievement the nation can be proud of.

In due course, DRDO hopes to arm ATVs with underwater long range K-15 Sagarika missiles from universal vertical launcher plugs built by L&T. Three missile firing trials from an under water platform have been successfully carried out and the same missile is being adapted in a 5 canister version for vertical launch from shore.

The missile, designated Shaurya, can be configured for several attack roles, and could replace the Agni 1, as it can be stored in underground silos also.

The Indian Navy has also trained key personnel at Sosnoy Bar in Russia near St Petersburg and appointed an Inspector General of Vice Admiral rank to oversee the nuclear submarine project at NHQ.

The Government has to appreciate that the Russians, who have supplied the engines for the BrahMos missile, have been quick to have grasped India’s requirements for its second line of submarines and to make the Italian- Russian choice for the Navy’s second line a win-win long term choice, where the experience of the ATV and Scorpene can be mated.

This is where the Russian-Italian collaboration could score in India’s selection for the second line.

It is not fully western in origin, which tap can be shut off as was experienced during Western sanctions in the past, The submarine on offer will have commonalities with India’s ATV which has Indian suppliers. The Russians have carried out tests to launch the BrahMos in an equivalent mock up of a submarine and had earlier offered the elongated hump backed Amur 1650 ton submarine to the Indian Navy.

The $ three billion-plus second line of submarine building will be a critical decision for India’s maritime ambitions.
 
.
No Gorshkov deal during Antony's trip: Rediff.com news

No new deal on the modernisation of the Kiev class aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov will be signed during Defence Minister A K Antony's three-day Russia [ Images ] visit beginning Tuesday, the Indian envoy in Moscow [ Images ] said.

"Another round of negotiations will be continued mid-November. The negotiations are proceeding well," Indian Ambassador Prabhat Prakash Shukla said on the eve of Antony's arrival.

He said no new deal on the modernisation of Gorshkov will be signed during the visit.

Shukla indicated that efforts are on both sides to achieve a mutually acceptable agreement on the additional price of Gorshkov up-gradation asked by the Russian Sevmash shipyard.

"The guiding principle is the understanding to reach an agreement as fast as possible," he said.

Under the initial $1.5 billion contract signed in New Delhi [ Images ] in January 2004, Russia was to deliver retrofitted aircraft carrier in August 2008.

However, the Sevmash shipyard later demanded that $974 million allocated for the upgradation of the 44.5 thousand tonner vessel, given to the Indian Navy 'free of cost', was not enough to complete the work and demanded an additional sum of $2.2 billion.

Ahead of Antony's visit Russia successfully conducted the landing and take-off trials of the MiG-29K carrier-based fighters developed for India on its only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.
 
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Navy Chief meets Marine Commandoes in J&K



“Fight a militant like a militant”.

:cheers::cheers:
 
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Penguin ASHM on offer for Navy
Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is offering its Penguin littoral anti-ship missile for the Indian Navy's bid to purchase 16 multimission maritime helicopters. Among other helicopters, the missile is certified on the Eurocopter-Agusta-Fokker NH90 and the Lockheed-Sikorsky MH-60R that are contenders in the Navy's multi-role helicopter (MRH) competition.

 
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Nerpa-Chakra bhai-bhai!
As the Russian RIA-Novosti news agency on Friday reports with reference to 'a high-ranking fleet official': the Nerpa nuclear attack submarine will enter service with Russia's Pacific Fleet in December 2009 and will then be leased out to the Indian Navy. "The submarine has undergone a range of sea trials, and [final] state tests will begin in late October or early November, after which the Nerpa will be adopted by the Pacific Fleet," the spokesman said. He said a crew of Indian submariners would undergo a course of training together with Russian specialists and servicemen in early 2010. They will subsequently operate on their own under the supervision of Russian instructors, after which the submarine will be leased to the Indian Navy under the name INS Chakra. India reportedly paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine. End of report.

The Indo-Russian special relationship in nuclear sphere is continuing despite growing Obama's pressure for 'non-proliferation', and could be only comparable to the relationship between US and GB in strategic weapons
Defunct Humanity: Nerpa-Chakra bhai-bhai!
 
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Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) or the Indian Navy




The above four slides explain what exactly is the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), which L-3 MAPPS is supplying for the Indian Navy's three Project 17 FFGs, three Project 15A DDGs and four projected Project 15B DDGs. These 10 watships will also have on board the EMDINA combat management system (CMS) originally co-designed by the Indian Navy's Weapons and Electronic Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE) and TATA Power as part of project MEDINA for further details, proceed to: TRISHUL: CMS, Radars & VLS Modules Of Project 1135.6 FFG & Project 17 FFG).
The EMDINA CMS is a follow-on to the EMCCA Computer Aided Action Information System (CAAIS), also co-developed by WESEE and TATA Power, under Project MECCA and is presently on board the three Project 16 FFGs, three Project 16A FFGs and three Project 15 DDGs.
 
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India Mulls Land-Based E-2D
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The Indian navy is reevaluating the design of its future aircraft carriers and showing interest in the U.S. Navy’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (Emals), which is in development by General Atomics.

Emals uses a linear motor drive instead of steam pistons to accelerate aircraft for takeoff. India uses short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) Sea Harriers from its current carrier, the INS Viraat, which is near retirement. The navy has been waiting some time for the refurbished Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov, now due for delivery in 2012, and is working with Fincantieri of Italy on two carriers.

“When catapult technology
improves, we are looking at building conventional carriers with electric rather than steam catapults,” former Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Sureesh Mehta tells DTI. With more than 7,500 km. (4,660 mi.) of coastline to patrol, experts say India needs at least five carriers.

For near-term patrol and force-projection needs, India is evaluating the Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Discussions are underway following export authorization in August by the U.S. government to Northrop Grumman covering the latest version of the E-2.

India has a requirement for six E2Ds, which it hopes to use in surveillance sorties and antiterrorism patrols.

John Beaulieu, E-2 new business manager for the U.S. Navy, made an 8-hr. presentation in August to Indian navy officials who requested technical clarifications following a request for information in 2008. Northrop Grumman has been asked to supply a shore-based version of the E-2D, since India’s carrier-based naval aircraft are not catapult-launched.

Shore-based operations may be the only way to go for the E-2D, as the navy has no carrier besides the Viraat. Sixteen MiG-29K fighters on order will equip the Gorshkov, which, when it arrives, will accommodate ski-jump takeoffs and arrested landings.

During his term as chief of staff, Mehta said the navy needed a robust overhead surveillance capability. India seems to be following the U.S. Navy’s approach by ordering the Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft to replace aging Tupolev Tu-142M turboprops.

India has also been interested for years in an aircraft that provides airborne early warning and battle management command and control. The E-2D, fitted with Lockheed Martin’s AN/APY-9 radar, would increase the territory India monitors by 300%.

Critics say the E-2 has low endurance, a cramped cabin, is expensive to operate and designed primarily for communication gear that is unique to the U.S. Navy. “We have addressed the extended fuel range to give 8 hr. of flight time,” says Beaulieu. “The only similarity to the E-2C and the E-2D is the shadow it casts on the tarmac.”

Northrop Grumman has, moreover, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to develop a “wet wing” that holds additional fuel and permits the aircraft to fly for 8 hr.

“The E-2D is designed for maritime operations and [its radar] has a unique capability against air and surface targets,” says Beaulieu. A detailed life-cycle analysis calculated on flight hours using an E-2C indicates a cost of less than $3,000 per flight, he adds.

The interoperability of the E-2D with the U.S. Navy and NATO through data links is another advantage. “Interoperability is a very important aspect. It’s fine to have this airborne early warning system up in the air, but if you cannot communicate with not only our forces, but our allies around the world, it doesn’t do us, or [India], much good,” Beaulieu says. “If India desires to be interoperable with the U.S. Navy and NATO through data link systems, this is the platform of choice.”

The U.S. Navy wants Emals to replace large and heavy steam catapults. The trend toward heavier, faster aircraft will result in launch-energy requirements that exceed the capability of steam catapults. While the U.S. design might be too big for India, the launch stroke can be reduced and power supplies are modular. Electrical power would need to be added to a carrier with Emals, but high-energy-density flywheels will replace the low energy density of a steam accumulator.
 
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Russia's Pravda has claimed an impressive salvo fire and intelligent coordinated attack capability for the Brahmos missile. INS Rana (R), seen here with the US Navy Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group during Malabar 2008, is equipped with four Brahmos launchers and is capable of a salvo attack. Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gary Prill


October 19, 2009, (Sawf News) - Russia's Pravda has claimed an impressive salvo fire and intelligent coordinated attack capability for the Brahmos missile.

The capability allows a missile salvo to intelligently takeout multiple ships from within a formation, such as a aircraft carrier group.

Missiles fired in a salvo stagger their attack and automatically reassign themselves new targets if the primary target, say an aircraft carrier is destroyed.

Here is the capability in Pravda's words.

The missiles are so clever that they not only detect a target but develop a plan of attack based on the enemy's air defense. They know exactly which target is the primary one, which of them is an attacker and which is a defender. When the main target is destroyed, they re-prioritize and continue with the attack. Now even more advanced missile is on the way.

News Copyright © Sawf News
 
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A future generation US Aircraft carrier equipped with EMALS. Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman

October 20, 2009, (Sawf News) - Indian Navy is inclined to fit the under development Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (Emals) on its new aircraft carriers, instead of ski jumps.

Emals is currently being developed by General Atomics for future US aircraft carriers.

Both, the currently operational but aging INS Viraat, and the on-order-since-for-ever INS Vikramaditya are fitted with ski jumps to assist take off.

"When catapult technology improves, we are looking at building conventional carriers with electric rather than steam catapults," says former Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Sureesh Mehta.

The Navy has projected a requirement of at least five carriers to effectively patrol the country's 7,500 km. (4,660 mi.) coastline.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is currently building INS Vikrant, a 40,000 ton aircraft carrier designed with the help of Italian company Fincantieri under Project 71. Work on the second aircraft carrier is expected to start before the first one is delivered to the Navy by the end of 2014.

News Copyright © Sawf News.
 
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