Indian Navy News & Discussions

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Shipping
11-November, 2016 17:57 IST
Cochin Shipyard Limited Successfully Re-fits Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya

The Cochin Shipyard Limited dispelled doubts that CSL could repair the largest Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, when on 5th November, 2016 the refit was completed a month ahead of schedule. This aircraft carrier was purchased from Russia and commissioned into the naval fleet in 2014.


Shri Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, General Manager (Ship Repair Division) at CSL said “Till INS Vikramaditya docked in Cochin Shipyard and water was pumped out of the dock and we had her sitting safely, there was a real concern on whether India could do it”.

INS Vikramaditya is one of the biggest ships owned by India and ever to have docked in India till date. In September, the Indian Navy, one of CSL’s biggest client, decided to dry-dock the carrier attached to its Karwar Naval Base at CSL for repairs on a contracted schedule of 70 days. It was clearly an opportunity for CSL to prove that India had the infrastructure as well as expertise for the task. This will also ensure readiness and preparedness with an indigenous capability in case of an emergency, without having to face the embarrassment of sending the ship outside the country for repairs.

To lay the concerns to rest, CSL tasked IIT Chennai to undertake a detailed dock floor strength analysis to prove that CSL dock indeed had the capacity to accommodate loads of this nature. The design of the dock blocks was done in-house thereafter by CSL to seat the Carrier in the dry-dock. Ultimately, CSL got the opportunity to demonstrate its capability to dock and repair INS Vikramaditya.

But, there was considerable planning & preparation to be done at CSL to accommodate the ship. This involved administrative, logistic and technical arrangements of a large magnitude. For one, INS Vikramaditya needed specially designed dock blocks made of plenty of hard as well as soft wood on which she could sit. (Shipyards typically go for a combination of concrete and wood to dry dock ships for repairs. But, in this case, plenty of "wholly wood" blocks were also used to address the loading concerns.) Another major cause for apprehension was whether this ship with higher draft would be able to clear the dry-dock sill without its propeller getting damaged, especially with the available water levels and tidal conditions in Kochi.


Then, there was water depth issue to tackle. The carrier needed higher water depth to enter the Kochi harbour. The entire outer channel, Ernakulam channel and harbour area, including dock mouth and berths at CSL were dredged to a depth of close to 14 Mtr.


While CSL was undertaking preparatory activities to enable the ship to dock, INS Vikramaditya had to berth at the ICTT Terminal nearby with a depth of 14.5 Mtr. This was to facilitate the ship to propel into Kochi on her own power.


The work package was contracted and scheduled for 70 days but certain operational requirements demanded significant compression of the time-frame and the ship was un-docked and taken out of the yard in 42 days.



Accolades have been pouring in for CSL from various quarters including the Indian Navy complimenting “CSL for working whole-heartedly 24X7 and for proving that not only is the dock fully suitable but also that that commitment and capability of Indians is second to none.”.


“It was all about human endeavour, team spirit, passion, nation building and Indian pride. CSL literally moved heaven and earth and burnt the midnight oil to complete the task entrusted to us by the Indian Navy and that too way ahead of schedule,” says a gleaming Madhu S Nair, the Chairman & Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard Limited.


Incidentally, all three aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy were in and around CSL for around a month during this period. First, INS Viraat, came into CSL for a short refit before its de-commissioning (which is understood is planned for early 2017). INS Vikramaditya, originally expected for refit at CSL in October 2016, was dry-docked in September 2016. It was virtually a touch and go situation for CSL as INS Vikramaditya came in close on the heels of INS Viraat. INS Viraat, was still berthed at Kochi when INS Vikramaditya came in to dry-dock at CSL. All this while, the third carrier, INS Vikrant, Indian's First Ingenuously built Aircraft Carrier was under construction at CSL, resulting in a situation where all the three aircraft carriers were in Cochin. The whole effort and its tremendous success augers well not only for India's most dynamic shipyard, the Cochin Shipyard Limited, but also for the nation as a whole.


***

 

[#hydra#]

Hope goi will place atleat one follow on vikrant class before vishal class.

 

[Hindustani78]

‘Aircraft carrier at a high level of operational competence’
The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya has successfully completed its first routine maintenance, a 43-day short refit, at the Cochin Shipyard, and is at a high level of operational competence and preparedness, according to the ship’s Commanding Officer Captain Krishna Swaminathan.

The maiden dry-docking of the vessel after its induction into the Navy in November, 2013, had put to rest apprehensions about the feasibility of carrying out its first cycle of underwater maintenance within India, he told the media on board Vikramaditya,

The ship arrived in Kochi in early September, and was dry-docked at Cochin Shipyard on September 23 close on the heels of the soon-to-be-retired aircraft carrier INS Viraat was undocked following its decommissioning refit.

“After the first cycle of preventive maintenance, which involved a thorough inspection of the carrier’s underwater package, was over, the vessel was undocked on November 5. Vikramaditya, a steamship, has a large number of pipes and underwater openings. The hull plates that are in contact with the corrosive medium of seawater – all got inspected,” said Capt. Swaminathan.

National capability
The vessel, he said, added a great national capability, enhancing the image of the Navy. All systems, including the long range surface to air missile (LR-SAM), the close-in weapon system (CIWS), the main gun were all in place and the process of exploiting the capabilities of the carrier and its air arm had come a long way with the ship’s company and the systems integrating well.

To a question, Capt. Swaminathan said there were initial apprehensions about dry-docking the vessel in Kochi as there were technical challenges posed by the depth of the channel, which was eventually dredged to a desired level, and the length of the carrier overshot the yard’s dry-dock length by a few metres.

“We had to a do a lot of calculations and Cochin Shipyard, with its experience of taking care of Viraat through its operational life, has done a good job.”

Madhu S. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard, told The Hindu that concerted effort by all stakeholder agencies —the shipyard, various units of the Navy, the Dredging Corporation of India, the Cochin Port and the ICTT, Vallarpadam — enabled it to complete the refit well on time. “More than project management, a sense of commitment and pride helped everyone work in tandem to do the job, a first for all.” Ahead of the induction day (November 16) of the carrier (with the pennant number R33), 33 personnel from the ship’s company carried out a 33-km run on Friday morning.

Vikramaditya will soon depart Kochi on operational deployment.

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
13-November, 2016 13:27 IST
PM lays foundation stone for development projects in Goa

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today unveiled plaques to mark the foundation stone laying of Mopa Airport, and an Electronic City at Tuam, during a function at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa.

The Prime Minister also unveiled plaques to mark the inauguration of Infrastructure for building Mine Counter Measure Vessels; and inauguration of commencement of Construction of five Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessels.




Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister began by congratulating the team which enabled India to successfully host the BRICS Summit in Goa a few weeks ago. The Prime Minister appreciated the State of Goa, for its progress.

Talking about the Airport project, the Prime Minister said he is happy that the promise made by former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is being fulfilled. He said this will benefit Goa, and give an impetus to tourism.

Referring to the Electronic City project, he said a digitally trained, modern and youth driven Goa is being shaped today, which has the power to transform India.




Referring to the recent decision of the Union Government on demonetization of Rs. 500 and Rs. 2000 currency notes, the Prime Minister said that on 8th November many people of India slept peacefully, while a few are sleepless even now. He said the Union Government has taken a key step to help the honest citizens of India, in defeating the menace of black money. The Prime Minister thanked all those who have been contributing to ensuring the success of the demonetization exercise. He said he also feels the pain, and these steps taken were not a display of arrogance. He said that he has seen poverty, and understands people’s problems.

He recalled that in 2014, people had voted to free the nation from corruption. He also mentioned the various steps that have been taken by the Union Government to curb black money.

The Prime Minister said that if any money has been looted in India and has left Indian shores, it is our duty to find out about it. He said that he was not born to sit on a chair of high office, adding that whatever he had, including his family, and his home, he had left to serve the nation.


***
AKT/NT

 

[Hindustani78]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...nce-aircraft-in-2020/articleshow/55432252.cms

India, which already operates eight of the long range sea patrol aircraft, has placed an order for an additional four planes in July this year and the Navy has shared an undisclosed list of upgrades and new features that it requires on the new planes, a senior Boeing executive has shared.

"We are looking forward to delivering the options in the July 2020 timeframe. We also have a long list of upgrades that the Indian Navy is interested in, we are working on that," Mark Jordan, Chief Engineer of the P8 program said.

While the Boeing official did not share details of the upgrades being discussed, the Indian Navy is also likely to contract for a simultaneous upgrade of its existing fleet of eight plans to the latest standard.

One of the projects being worked on the aircraft – which is equipped with Harpoon anti shipping missiles – is to give it the capacity to take in fuel while flying. While the Indian P8Is are equipped with aerial refueling system, it was not a contracted requirement from the Indian side.

Boeing officials said that the P8 planes are likely to be certified for aerial refueling by next year, giving a tremendous increase in range for maritime missions. While India does not have a tanker that is capable of refueling the P8I, it can take in fuel from American tankers – missions that have been made easy with the recent signing of a logistics sharing pact between the two nations.

India has been using its P8I fleet extensively for missions ranging from patrolling and spotting passing submarines and ships to search missions in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Large scale search missions were recently carried out by the aircraft in search of the missing An 32 transporter off the Chennai coast. India is also looking to placing some aircraft at the Andaman islands to give them more reach to patrol regions of interest.

While 12 P8Is are now contracted by the Indian Navy, Boeing is hopeful for more orders with a top executive saying that the Indian side has expressed its willingness to look at adding additional planes in the future.

****************

Currently, the Indian Air Force’s Ilyushin IL-78 air-to-air refueling tanker aircraft cannot refuel the P-8I, as they are equipped with only a probe and drogue refueling system. Since the P-8Is will form a significant part of Indian airpower, any future acquisition of refueling aircraft will have to be configured to include an aerial refueling boom system compatible with the aircraft.

P-8Is in Indian service are equipped with AGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes, and Mk-82 depth charges. The platform holds potential to include high-altitude ASW weapons like the Mk54 torpedo with a Boeing-built wing kit and net-enabled weapons like AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and very likely the upcoming Long Range Anti-Ship Missile or LRASM.

The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, when signed with the United States, holds the potential to enable and extend these operations deep into the Indian Ocean. While mutual consent is a tenet of the agreement, Indian access to certain U.S. military bases — like Diego Garcia, Djibouti, and Bahrain — to extend ASW operations is mutually reinforcing and worth exploring.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
16-November, 2016 19:45 IST
INS SUMITRA VISITS AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND FOR INTERNATIONAL NAVAL REVIEW 2016

In pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and outreach to friendly countries, the Indian Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel Sumitra, has arrived at Auckland, New Zealand today on a six day visit from 16-22 Nov 16. The ship would represent the Indian Navy at the Royal New Zealand Navy International Naval Review 2016.

The ship’s visit to New Zealand is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing maritime security cooperation between the two countries. Sumitra, is the fourth of the Saryu class ships, based on an indigenous design and constructed by M/s Goa Shipyard Ltd, India. Since commissioning in 2014, the ship has been deployed for multiple operational tasks, the most notable being ‘Operation Rahat’, which entailed the evacuation of personnel of various nationalities from war-torn Yemen in 2015. The ship has a range of 6,500 nautical miles and is capable of embarking one Dhruv / Chetak helicopter. The ship is commanded by Cdr KP Shreeshan.

During the stay in harbour, various activities are planned towards enhancing cooperation and mutual understanding between the two navies such as official calls, reception on board, ship open to visitors, guided tours for Indian Naval personnel and professional interaction between personnel of both the navies. The ship’s crew would interact professionally as well as participate in sports events and social fixtures, and all other activities as part of the International Naval Review.

 

[Mujraparty]

Locally made underwater sensors for Navy

Four key underwater sensor systems, including a distress-alert system that will enable swift rescue of submariners in case of an eventuality, designed and developed by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), the only Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory in Kerala, will be delivered to the Navy on Friday.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will hand over the systems to Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, at DRDO Bhavan.

The NPOL, which has over the decades raised the indigenous quotient of underwater sensor systems in use on Indian warships, is set to deliver Abhay, a compact hull-mounted sonar for use on shallow water crafts and smaller vessels; HUMSA-UG, which is an upgraded variant of its most successful hull-mounted sonar array system; NACS, a near-field acoustic characterisation system; and AIDSS, an advanced indigenous distress alert sonar system for submarines. Nine of the submarine distress alert systems will be installed on the Navy’s Kilo-class (Sindhughosh-class) submarines.

A spokesperson of the laboratory said the latest set of systems further underscored the commendable performance of the naval cluster of the DRDO, especially the Thrikkakara-based laboratory whose sensors are deployed on surface vessels and submarines operated by the Indian Navy.

“Abhay — an active-cum-passive integrated sonar system designed and developed for smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and patrol vessels for coastal surveillance — will be deployed on three Abhay-class corvettes in operation with the Navy to start with. Its export variant, HMS-X2, has also been cleared for export,” said the spokesperson.

The Abhay sonar is capable of detecting, localising, classifying and tracking sub-surface and surface targets in both its active and passive modes of operation. A prototype of the system, installed on a naval platform, has successfully completed all user evaluation trials as stipulated by the Naval Staff Qualification Requirements.

While the new-generation HUMSA is already in operation on vessels of various classes in the Navy, its upgraded version, HUMSA-UG with state of the art open architecture processor technologies, will be installed on seven naval ships across three classes.

The NACS is a health monitoring system that will be used to determine the in-situ performance of the sonars. “It will be used to find the frequency-dependent 3-D transmission and reception characteristics of the sonar. The NACS has been integrated with a previous variant of the HUMSA sonar, the HUMSA-NG, and proven on board warships. It will be fitted across platforms now.

The last is an emergency sound-signalling device that will speed up submarine rescue and salvage by indicating that its in distress. “It is a life-saving alarm system designed to transmit sonar signals of a pre-designated frequency and pulse shape in an emergency situation from a submarine for a long period, so as to attract the attention of passive sonars of ships, nearby submarines and all types of standard rescue vessels.


http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...nderwater-sensors-for-navy/article9355352.ece

 

[Hindustani78]

A Navy officer explains school children about the helicopter during a air display as part of the Navy day celebration in Mumbai on Wednesday. PTI Photo

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence

17-November, 2016 17:16 IST
Induction of DRDO developed Naval Systems into Indian Navy – A Curtain Raiser

Four Naval Systems developed by DRDO will be handed over to the Indian Navy by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar at a function, here tomorrow. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba will formally take over the systems from the Defence Minister which include ABHAY – Compact Hull Mounted SONAR for Shallow Water Crafts, HUMSA UG – Upgrade for the HUMSA SONAR System, NACS – Near-field Acoustic Characterisation System, and AIDSS – Advanced Indigenous Distress SONAR System for submarines. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr S Christopher will be present on the occasion.

The systems have been designed and developed by NPOL, a Kochi based premier laboratory of DRDO which has outstanding contributions and achievements in the design of SONAR systems for the Indian Navy to its credit. ABHAY is an advanced Active-cum-Passive integrated SONAR system designed and developed for the smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and coastal surveillance/patrol vessels. Designed using the latest technology in hardware architecture and advanced signal processing algorithms, the SONAR is capable of detecting, localizing, classifying and tracking sub-surface and surface targets in both its active and passive modes of operation.

The prototype of this compact SONAR ABHAY installed onboard a nominated Naval platform has successfully completed all user evaluation trials to demonstrate the features as per the Naval Staff Qualification Requirements. Indian Navy has proposed to induct this SONAR on three of the ABHAY class ships. Intensifying the command over the high seas is the HUMSA-UG that is designed for upgrading the existing HUMSA SONAR system of the Indian Naval platforms. The hardware architecture is based on the state-of-the-art open architecture processor technologies that will enable smooth upgrade of the system capabilities. This system is proposed to be installed on seven ships of three different classes of ships.

NACS determines the in-situ performance of the SONAR systems which are used to find the frequency-dependent 3-D transmission and reception characteristics of the SONAR. It is also used to measure the magnitude and phase characteristics of the SONAR transmission and reception electronics and the transducers. The NACS has been integrated with the HUMSA-NG SONAR array and proved onboard Naval platforms and this will be fitted on all frontline ships.

NPOL has also developed AIDSS, a distress SONAR that is an Emergency Sound Signaling Device which is used to indicate that a submarine is in distress and enable quick rescue and salvage. It is a life-saving alarm system designed to transmit SONAR signals of a pre-designated frequency and pulse shape in an emergency situation from a submarine for long period, so as to attract the attention of Passive SONARS of Ships or Submarines in the vicinity and all types of standard rescue vessels in operation. It is also provided with a transponder capability. With the induction of these four systems, the underwater surveillance capability of the Indian Navy will get a boost, besides providing a fillip to the quest for self-reliance in this critical area of technology.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
18-November, 2016 14:41 IST
Raksha Mantri Awards Skill Certificates to Retiring Naval Sailors

It was indeed a proud moment for the retiring naval sailors as they were awarded with “Skill Certificates” and handed over the “Placement Letters” by the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Shri Manohar Parrikar and the Hon’ble Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy in the presence of Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC the Chief of the Naval Staff at a valedictory function held at DRDO Bhawan today (18 Nov 2016).

In pursuance of the ‘Skill India’ mission launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 15 June 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on 13 July 2015 to enhance the skill sets of retiring defence personnel and to enable them to be gainfully employed in nation-building.

The Navy thereafter carried out a detailed exercise in which it compared the curriculum of the courses run in service with the National Occupation Standard (NOS) and the job profiles promulgated by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). A total of 159 courses were mapped to 258 job roles and the skill gaps identified.

The Indian Navy has achieved a major milestone with the successful completion of Pilot Batch of training of retiring sailors towards Skill Development. A total of 70 retiring naval personnel have been trained in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation in their core domain by leveraging ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’. In addition, due to the professional competence and the extensive work experience of these sailors they have also been trained for instructing and assessing.

For the pilot batch, six job profiles in retail, healthcare and electronics were selected at three training schools of the Navy namely INS Hamla and School of Medical Assistants at Mumbai and INS Valsura at Jamnagar.The training was carried out by Naval Instructors who had prior instructional experience and had undergone training with the respective Sector Skill Councils. Training of the Pilot Batch was conducted in two phases during August and September 2016 during which a total of 70 sailors were trained.

NSDC, along with its Training Partners has facilitated placement for 58 retiring sailors who participated in both phases of Pilot Batch of skill certification.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar being briefed about the working of NACS– Near-field Acoustic Characterisation System, developed by DRDO, by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba and the Secretary, R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr. S. Christopher, at the ‘Make in India’ exhibition, put up by DRDO, in New Delhi on November 18, 2016.

The Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar releasing the DRDO Procurement Manual 2016 on the occasion of handing over of four indigenous Naval Systems, developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy and distribution of Skill Certificates and Placement letters to retiring Navy personnel, in New Delhi on November 18, 2016. The Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Secretary, R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr. S. Christopher and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar and the Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy jointly distributing the Skill Certificates and Placement Letters to retiring Navy Personnel, on the occasion of handing over of four indigenous Naval Systems, developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy and distribution of Skill Certificates and Placement letters to retiring Navy personnel, in New Delhi on November 18, 2016. The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba is also seen.

Inside view of INS Chennai during a media preview arranged before the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai.

India's Vikramaditya aircraft carrier.WorldwideAircraftCarriers by Jeff Head
India, operates two smaller aircraft carriers with a third in production, but they are more reliable.

 

[sudhir007]

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/navy-rejects-paks-claim-of-pushing-back-indian-subs/20161118.htm

Dubbing it as ‘blatant lies’, the Navy on Friday denied the Pakistani Navy claim that it had prevented an Indian submarine from entering its territorial water.

“Indian Navy categorically denies the statement of Pakistani Navy as blatant lies,” Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said.

He added that the Indian Navy did not have any under water movement in the said waters as claimed by the Pakistani Navy.

A statement issued by Pakistani Navy had claimed it has proved its vigilance and operational competence by detecting and blocking an Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters.

‘The unsuspecting submarine was detected and localized south of Pakistani coast on November 16. Thereafter, despite submarine’s desperate efforts to escape detection, it was continuously tracked by Pakistan Navy Fleet units and pushed well clear of our waters,’ the statement had said.

‘Pakistan Navy fleet units detected the presence of Indian submarines in the southern parts of Pakistani waters...and restricted their activity,’ the statement said.

The spokesman claimed that Pakistan Navy had been successful in thwarting the efforts of the Indian submarines to keep their presence camouflaged.

“The Navy had constantly pursued the submarines and pushed them back,” he said.

“The Pakistan Navy is fully prepared to defend its borders and capable of responding to any aggression befittingly,” he added.

Commodore Tasneem Ahmed (retd), a Pakistani defence analyst, said Indian submarines would have been detected by air reconnaissance.

The Indian submarines might have been on an ‘intelligence gathering’ mission when detected by Pakistan Navy, Pakistani naval experts were quoted as saying by media reports.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar addressing the gathering on the occasion of handing over of four indigenous Naval Systems, developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy and distribution of Skill Certificates and Placement letters to retiring Navy personnel, in New Delhi on November 18, 2016. The Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the Secretary, R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr. S. Christopher and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy addressing the gathering on the occasion of handing over of four indigenous Naval Systems, developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy and distribution of Skill Certificates and Placement letters to retiring Navy personnel, in New Delhi on November 18, 2016. The Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Secretary, R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr. S. Christopher and other dignitaries are also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
18-November, 2016 19:04 IST
Scorpene Submarine Project

A contract was concluded between M/s Mazagon Dockyard Limited (MDL) and DCNS, France on 6th October 2005 for construction of six Scorpene Class submarines at MDL.

Government is aware of media reports regarding the leakage of details of the Scorpene submarines being built at MDL. A Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Defence to enquire into the reported leak of documents. The Committee has submitted its report, which is under examination.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Satav Rajeev and others in Lok Sabha today.

Ministry of Defence
18-November, 2016 18:18 IST
Defence Minister Inducts Four Indigenous Naval Systems

Skilled Manpower Vital for ‘Make In India’ Initiative – Parrikar

The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar handed over four Naval Systems developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy at a special ceremony here today. The four indigenously developed naval systems viz. ABHAY, HUMSA UG, NACS and AIDSS which will boost underwater surveillance capability of the Indian Navy, were formally handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba by the Minister.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Parrikar complimented the DRDO and the Navy for their successful joint venture in developing several naval systems, which will provide a fillip to the quest for self-reliance in this critical area of technology. “I expect much more synergy between the Armed Forces and DRDO in the days to come”, he said. He expressed his appreciation to DRDO for its achievements in the last two years particularly in the induction of LCA Tejas, Varunastra Torpedo, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, Rustom – II UAV and several missile programmes.

The Defence Minister said, “Skill development is one of the most important aspects of nation building because unless we have certified skilled manpower, projects like ‘Make in India’ would not succeed.” He expressed happiness that the Indian Navy has taken the lead by imparting training to a large contingent of retiring naval personnel and giving them certificates. He said that the only way to make the nation’s large pool of youth and manpower suitable for the emerging industry and business opportunities is by skilling them to take up specialized jobs.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy said skill initiative programme is the brainchild of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said the credit of pulling along the skill ecosystem in the Indian Armed Forces should go to the Defence Minister. Shri Rudy said the Defence Minister is not only involved in the skilling process technically but also socially as he has created a new pathway about the programme in the Armed Forces.

The four naval systems, ABHAY – Compact Hull Mounted SONAR for Shallow Water Crafts, HUMSA UG – Upgrade for the HUMSA SONAR System, NACS – Near-field Acoustic Characterisation System, and AIDSS – Advanced Indigenous Distress SONAR System for submarines have been designed and developed by National Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Kochi based laboratory of DRDO. ABHAY is an advanced Active-cum-Passive integrated SONAR system designed and developed for the smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and coastal surveillance/patrol vessels. HUMSA-UG has been designed for upgrading the existing HUMSA SONAR system of the Indian Naval platforms. NACS determines the in-situ performance of the SONAR systems which are used to find the frequency-dependent 3-D transmission and reception characteristics of the SONAR. It is also used to measure the magnitude and phase characteristics of the SONAR transmission and reception electronics and the transducers. AIDSS, a distress SONAR is an Emergency Sound Signalling Device which is used to indicate that a submarine is in distress and enable quick rescue and salvage.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and Secretary Department of Defence (R&D) & Chairman, DRDO Dr. S Christopher also addressed the function. Earlier, Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy jointly distributed Skill Certificates and Placement Letters to retiring Navy personnel. Amongst others, the function was attended by Scientific Advisor to RM Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajesh Aggarwal and Director, NPOL Shri S Kedarnath Shenoy.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
19-November, 2016 16:10 IST
Health Camp at Amarpur as Part of Navy Week Celebrations

As a part of Navy Week celebration, Indian Navy is conducting a free health camp for the general public from 19 to 21 Nov 16 at Amarpur village, Palwal district, Haryana. Through this outreach programme the Indian Navy will bring about awareness in the general public about the role and task of the Navy and also to encourage youngsters to consider Navy as a career.

In a glittering function, the camp was inaugurated by Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, the Chief of the Naval Staff at Government Senior Secondary School, Amarpur today, 19 Nov 16. Surgeon Vice Admiral Bipin Puri, PHS, Director General Medical Services (Navy) welcomed the dignitaries and the gathering. Shri. Ashok Kumar Sharma, DC Palwal, Ms Anju Chaudhary Asst DC Palwal and Shri Abhimanyu DSP Palwal were present at the function. Surgeon Commodore SC Gupta, Principal Director Medical Services delivered the vote of thanks.

After the inaugural function, the Chief Guest Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC visited the out-patient departments and interacted with the medical staff of doctors, nursing officers & medical technicians.

A medical team consisting of specialists, super-specialists and para-medical staff from the premiere naval hospital INHS Asvini at Mumbai have been instrumental in the conduct of the camp. The specialists will conduct out-patient consultation for medical, surgical, gynaecology, paediatric, eye, ENT, skin, cardiology and endocrinology ailments. The camp is supported by a dental chair for minor dental ailments and by laboratory, ultrasonography, echocardiography and pharmacy facilities. The camp also have facilities to screen for cancer cervix and cancer breast in women.



As prelude to the camp, a mobile laboratory with facilities to carry out blood investigations was established at four villages, viz., Balai on 12 Nov 16, Rampur Khor on 13 Nov 16, Jalhaka on 14 Nov 16 and Amarpur on 15 & 16 Nov 16. Nearly 600 people were benefited by the mobile laboratory.



***