Indian Navy News & Discussions

[marcos98]

India to receive the K-152 Nerpa submarine in October\November 2010

Russia will transfer its Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine for a 10 year-lease to India in the autumn, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has said.

"The training of the crew has been concluded, most of the tests have been carried out — everything is almost at the finish line," Mikhail Dmitriyev told journalists in New Delhi after a meeting of the Russian-Indian high-level supervisory committee on military and technical cooperation on Tuesday.

He said India would receive the K-152 Nerpa submarine in October or November 2010.

The lease follows an agreement inked between New Delhi and Moscow in January 2004, with India funding part of the Nerpa's construction at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur shipyard in the Russian Far East with an initial $650 million.

The Nerpa, the Akula-II class nuclear submarine, was scheduled to be inducted in the Indian Navy as INS Chakra by mid-2008 but technical problems delayed the process. After that, just as it began its sea trials in November 2008, 20 sailors and technical workers were killed on it due to a toxic gas leak when the automatic fire extinguishing system malfunctioned.

After repairs, which cost an estimated 1.9 billion rubles ($65 million), the Nerpa is now fully operational.

Akula II class vessels are considered the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Dmitriyev also expressed hope that Russia and India would sign a contract on the joint development of a new fifth-generation fighter within the next three months.

The sides earlier agreed to develop both a single-seat and a two-seat versions of the aircraft, which would be most likely based on Russia's T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter, by 2016.

Russia has been developing its fifth-generation fighter since the 1990s. The T-50 aircraft was designed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia's Far East.

Russian officials have already hailed the fighter as "a unique warplane" that combines the capabilities of an air superiority fighter and attack aircraft.

 

[RPK]

INS Jyoti To Visit Brunei For Queen's Baton Relay | Local News


Bandar Seri Begawan - The Indian Naval Ship INS Jyoti under the command of Captain A Venugopal, NM VSM, Commanding Officer, as part of her eastward deployment will be visiting Muara Port on a goodwill visit from June 8-11.

The visit coincides with the Queen's Baton Relay which will be organised in Brunei on June 9. The sailors from the ship are expected to take part in the Queen's Baton Relay. The visit also commemorates the long friendship and maritime cooperation between the two nations, according to a press release. India and Brunei share many areas of common interest and concerns including economic co-operation, science and technology. The two navies also shares common perceptions regarding measures to fight piracy at sea, pollution control and protection of oil energy resources traversing the sea line of communication.

During the stay in Muara, the commanding officer will call on the local military and civil dignitaries. In addition many social and professional interactions between the two navies including sports fixtures have been planned. A reception will also be hosted onboard INS Jyoti on June 10 where the Queen's Baton will also be on display. The reception is expected to be attended by dignitaries from the diplomatic community, Royal Brunei Armed Forces and prominent members of the Indian community in the Sultanate. The ship will also be kept open for the public visit.

INS Jyoti, the biggest ship of the Indian Navy is an underway replenishment tanker of the Eastern Fleet. The ship is capable of embarking and transferring, 28,000 tonnes cargo comprising various grades of fuel, fresh and feed water to other fleet ships whilst underway and is commanded by Captain A Venugopal NM VSM and has a crew of 19 officers and 170 sailors. The visit by the Indian Naval Ship is part of increasing engagement between India and Brunei Armed Forces under expanding bilateral ties, spurred by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

The Indo-Brunei defence cooperation has been growing steadily and as part of growing naval interaction between the two navies, visits by high level delegation and regular visits by war ships to Brunei are taking place. Also, in the recently concluded BRIDEX-2009 the Indian Naval Ships INS Airavat and INS Khukri visited Muara Port. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

 

[Indian-Devil]

Guys relax....hitting a moving warship is not as easy as its made out to be..that too with a ballistic missile with a pre-determined trajectory.

Enough air defence missiles are there to take care of that....So chill

I believe Barak was designed keeping these in mind, and I think Barak -2 should also be available for the air defence by that time.

Seniors pl let me know if barak is getting integrated to Vikramaditya
Tx

Hi Guys, If Chineese are able to make DF-21 as Anit ship ballastic missile on moving targets, then it will be really a threat for Aircraft carriers. As existing Air Defence systems which are available on the AC or big warships are not sufficient to give cover for an incoming missile @ 10 mach. They are designed for cruise missiles or aircraft or UAV etc which have max speed not more than 2-3 mach. So it will be really a difficult task for both, chineese to hit a Aircraft carrier in Sea which is travelling at 25-32 knot by a ballastic missile. And its difficult task for opposition also to destroy a incoming missile at 10 mach.

 

[sudhir007]

Navy rescues sick Jordanian from ship off Goa - Goa - City - The Times of India

MARGAO: A Indian Navy helicopter responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel Al Hamra on Saturday morning and evacuated a sick Jordanian man on board before taking him for treatment to the Salgaocar Medical Research Centre (SMRC), Vasco.

The patient Mohamad Abdallah Ayyad was suffering from severe appendicitis on the ship which was about 80km from the Goa coast.

The Indian Naval authorities swung into action immediately and a Chetak helicopter was launched from INS Hansa at 9.40am.

The crew comprised Cdr A Barkataky, Sub Lt Vinoth, LAD GS Sen and LAD Bhupinder.

Since there was no place to land, the helicopter had to be manoeuvred by the pilot so as to winch up the patient. The evacuation was executed promptly and in a professional manner, despite strong winds.

The patient was brought back to INS Hansa, the naval air base, Goa, at 11.30am.

He was then handed over to the shipping agents and transferred for further treatment to SMRC, informed Cmdr Mahesh Joshi, naval PRO.

 

[Indiarox]

Hi Guys, If Chineese are able to make DF-21 as Anit ship ballastic missile on moving targets, then it will be really a threat for Aircraft carriers. As existing Air Defence systems which are available on the AC or big warships are not sufficient to give cover for an incoming missile @ 10 mach. They are designed for cruise missiles or aircraft or UAV etc which have max speed not more than 2-3 mach. So it will be really a difficult task for both, chineese to hit a Aircraft carrier in Sea which is travelling at 25-32 knot by a ballastic missile. And its difficult task for opposition also to destroy a incoming missile at 10 mach.

only missile which can travel at 10 mach or higher is the Topol SS 27

 

[Tejas-MkII]

Navy planning to procure four AEW&C planes

New Delhi, June 7 (PTI) Looking to strengthen its surveillance capabilities and control over the maritime zone, Indian Navy is planning to procure four aircraft carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) planes.

"We are planning to procure four carrier-based AEW&C aircraft to carry out airborne surveillance, detection and tracking of airborne and surface contacts and control air interceptions and air strikes," Navy officials told PTI here.

At present, the Navy operates the carrier-borne Kamov-31, which were procured from Russia for early warning roles.

Using AEW&C aircraft on aircraft carriers will help in expanding the area under surveillance near the area of their deployment, they added.

"The control over the area would also be increased as the AEW&C aircraft can detect enemy fighter and maritime patrol aircraft and direct the fighter planes attached with it towards them and take them out," officials said.


fullstory

 

[Marxist]

Zvezdochka signed sub contract with Indian Navy

The Zvezdochka yard in Severodvinsk has signed a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defence on the service and modernization of the “Sindhurakshak” diesel-powered submarine.

The contract is the first ever negotiated by Zvezdochka without middlemen, Regnum reports.

The Zvezdochka yard had been responsible for service of Indian subs since 1997.

The “Sindhurakshak” is one of India’s ten Sindhughosh-class diesel-electric submarines, an Indian variant of the Russian Kilo class subs. They were designed as part of Project 877, and built under a contract between Rosvooruzhenie and the Indian Ministry of Defence.

According to Wikipedia, the submarines have a displacement of 3,000 tonnes, a maximum diving depth of 300 meters, top speed of 18 knots, and are able to operate solo for 45 days with a crew of 53. The final unit was the first to be equipped with the 3M-54 Klub (SS-N-27) antiship cruise missiles with a range of 220 km.

Zvezdochka signed sub contract with Indian Navy - BarentsObserver

 

[BanglaBhoot]

By WALTER LADWIG

Later this week, a flotilla of Indian warships will complete a month-long deployment to the Pacific that included visits to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. Such an event may be surprising to some, because India is rarely considered a major Asia-Pacific power. However, over the past 18 years New Delhi has made a concerted effort to direct its foreign, economic and military policies eastward. If the country stays on this course, it could become an important force for regional economic and security stability.

India's eastward focus began in the economic sphere in 1991 with attempts to link its own liberalizing economy to the dynamic "tigers" of Southeast Asia. This process has been slow and sometimes halting. But two decades on, India is set to ink a free trade agreement with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that will link 1.6 billion people with a combined GDP of $1.5 trillion by 2012.

These economic linkages are leading to military cooperation with countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Those governments see India as, in the words of Singaporean Minister-Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, "a useful balance to China's heft." This is all the more important as the Obama administration appears to be paying less attention to Asia even as China is increasingly asserting itself.

India already possesses the world's fifth-largest navy and Asia's only operational aircraft carrier. Having introduced its first indigenously constructed nuclear submarine last year, the navy is in the process of acquiring a number of new diesel-electric submarines and surface vessels, as well as three aircraft carriers that will house the most advanced maritime strike aircraft in the region.

New naval facilities constructed in India's eastern island chains, roughly 500 miles from the mouth of the Straits of Malacca, will facilitate its power projection into the Pacific. The navy has been conducting joint exercises with other Southeast Asian countries for years. These drills run the gamut from annual training with the Singaporean navy on antisubmarine warfare and advanced naval combat to the maneuvers with both Indonesia and Thailand emphasizing coordinated antipiracy exercises in the Straits of Malacca.

Now India is extending its influence beyond Southeast Asia. Shared concerns over the Beijing-Islamabad-Pyongyang nuclear proliferation axis led to a "long-term cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity" with South Korea, which includes a free-trade pact, bilateral security cooperation and agreements on joint defense production.

More significant is India's strategic partnership with Japan, founded on a shared desire to see a peaceful multipolar Asia based on democratic values. The two countries will sign a free-trade agreement later this year and have already institutionalized defense cooperation, high-level military exchanges and joint naval exercises in both the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Japan.

And although Australia's ties with India have cooled somewhat under sinophile Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a 2009 strategic partnership between the two nations pledges "policy coordination on regional affairs in the Asia region," which is a diplomatic euphemism for shared concerns over China's growing power.

India's increasing role in the Asia-Pacific has been firmly supported by the region's premier naval power, the United States. Since 2001, the U.S. and India have conducted over 40 joint military exercises, including one of the largest multilateral naval exercises ever held in the region, Malabar 2007, which featured three aircraft carriers, 28 surface vessels, 150 aircraft and over 20,000 personnel from India, the U.S., Japan, Australia and Singapore. A 10-year Indo-U.S. defence pact signed in June 2005 deepened intelligence-sharing, military technology transfers, missile-defense collaboration and arms sales.

The question for New Delhi will be how best to leverage this progress for additional security and improved relations throughout the region. Although India's "Look East" policy has clearly met with success, there are many in India who still fail to acknowledge the vital role it is poised to play in Asia. The ability of countries in the region to partner effectively with India would be enhanced significantly were New Delhi to define more concretely its vision for the country's broader role in Asia.

India's partners also will need to learn how to work with the rising regional power. It will be critical to understand that India is not seeking to be a junior partner in an anti-China coalition, but is pursuing its own interests as an emerging power. Heartache will result if policy makers, especially in the U.S., attempt to force India into a familiar mold such as the U.S.-Britain "special relationship." Instead, Washington should champion India's robust participation in key regional economic and political institutions such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group and the Asean Regional Forum.

The Obama administration to date has placed a higher priority on strengthening its ties with Beijing than on pursuing the closer relationship with New Delhi initiated during the Bush administration. That may be changing. President Obama himself recently said, the U.S.-India relationship is the "indispensable partnership of the 21st century." Now it's time to partner more effectively with India in practice.

Walter Ladwig: India Sets Sail for Leadership - WSJ.com

 

[brahmastra]

The navy and army have sent a proposal to the government seeking permission to transport a 5,000-strong armed infantry and special forces troops, tanks and weapons - an independent brigade group (IBG) - on foreign shores for active operations. This capability has both been controversial and strategically provocative.

It has been learnt that after years of consultations, the army and navy have finally started seeing eye to eye on the modalities required to incrementally build up the capability to deliver a full brigade- strength contingent of troops - including two special forces units - with arms, ammunition, vehicles and weapons outside the Indian mainland.

"The need to move forces is in keeping with the expanded security focus on India's island territories and the ability to deliver forces expeditiously for humanitarian relief operations," navy spokesperson Commander PVS Satish said.

While the financial implications of such a capability are being worked out, they will involve integrated expenditure on larger amphibious assault vessels, equipment and joint training.

The army has an IBG, the 340 Independent Infantry Brigade under Jodhpur- based 12 Corps, for amphibious assault operations.

It re-raised the 91 Infantry Brigade early last year for amphibious warfare.

But the navy currently only has the capacity to transport a little less than two battalions on expeditionary missions. The move now is to crank up that capacity more than twice over for a full IBG. Former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash said it was absolutely essential that the navy built up the capacity to transport a brigade- sized group across the seas. "We have 1,200 island territories. We have energy investments worth thousands of crores far from our shores. We have huge diaspora in the Middle East. If there was a Kargil-like situation on any of our island territories, we would need adequate boots on the ground for combat. There are also other liabilities such as piracy and potential hostage situations.

Being able to transport a couple of battalions isn't nearly enough," he said.

Sources said the process to obtain approval from the government began under the previous navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, currently India's high commissioner to New Zealand.

The case is said to have been taken up afresh in February this year by the chiefs of staff committee for consideration by the defence minister.

While formal approval is yet to come, the government has indicated it is in principle inclined to approve the proposal.

The capability received a cursory mention in an official technology roadmap document published by the defence ministry last month.

Vice Admiral (retd) Madanjit Singh, navy's former western commander, said: "It is a major capability that the navy is looking at and will necessarily be a joint effort in consultation with the army. Such a capability is useful for operations, humanitarian relief and rescue operations." The Centre and South Block have always been wary about discussing expeditionary capabilities, considering the implications of such operations and India's carefully nurtured image of a country with no belligerent ambitions.

While the establishment has always guised amphibious capabilities as an imperative for more efficient humanitarian relief operations, there have been several recent signs that assault and combat are very much part of the plan.

On April 14, a detachment of Indian soldiers conducted a landmark joint amphibious assault exercise with US Marines off the coast of San Diego on board the US Navy's landing vessel, USS New Orleans . In February last year - five months after the South Block formalised India's first joint amphibious warfare doctrine - the three forces conducted the biggest joint landing operation of troops (a battalion of the 91 Infantry Brigade re-raised in 2009 as an amphibious brigade) on Gujarat's Madhavpur beach after departing the navy base at Karwar, south of Goa.

Leaving little to the imagination, the South Block had announced then that the exercise proved that the forces could conduct "swift and intense conflict during military operations". Apart from being in the market for four- six more large amphibious landing ships to augment the American-built INS Jalashwa inducted almost three years ago, there are other items on order that indicate the desired amphibious assault readiness.

The most recent was the army's expression of interest in procuring up to 4,000 amphibious assault rifles for the infantry.

 

[sudhir007]

Walter Ladwig: India Sets Sail for Leadership - WSJ.com

Later this week, a flotilla of Indian warships will complete a month-long deployment to the Pacific that included visits to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. Such an event may be surprising to some, because India is rarely considered a major Asia-Pacific power. However, over the past 18 years New Delhi has made a concerted effort to direct its foreign, economic and military policies eastward. If the country stays on this course, it could become an important force for regional economic and security stability.

India's eastward focus began in the economic sphere in 1991 with attempts to link its own liberalizing economy to the dynamic "tigers" of Southeast Asia. This process has been slow and sometimes halting. But two decades on, India is set to ink a free trade agreement with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that will link 1.6 billion people with a combined GDP of $1.5 trillion by 2012.

These economic linkages are leading to military cooperation with countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Those governments see India as, in the words of Singaporean Minister-Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, "a useful balance to China's heft." This is all the more important as the Obama administration appears to be paying less attention to Asia even as China is increasingly asserting itself.

India already possesses the world's fifth-largest navy and Asia's only operational aircraft carrier. Having introduced its first indigenously constructed nuclear submarine last year, the navy is in the process of acquiring a number of new diesel-electric submarines and surface vessels, as well as three aircraft carriers that will house the most advanced maritime strike aircraft in the region.

New naval facilities constructed in India's eastern island chains, roughly 500 miles from the mouth of the Straits of Malacca, will facilitate its power projection into the Pacific. The navy has been conducting joint exercises with other Southeast Asian countries for years. These drills run the gamut from annual training with the Singaporean navy on antisubmarine warfare and advanced naval combat to the maneuvers with both Indonesia and Thailand emphasizing coordinated antipiracy exercises in the Straits of Malacca.

Now India is extending its influence beyond Southeast Asia. Shared concerns over the Beijing-Islamabad-Pyongyang nuclear proliferation axis led to a "long-term cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity" with South Korea, which includes a free-trade pact, bilateral security cooperation and agreements on joint defense production.

More significant is India's strategic partnership with Japan, founded on a shared desire to see a peaceful multipolar Asia based on democratic values. The two countries will sign a free-trade agreement later this year and have already institutionalized defense cooperation, high-level military exchanges and joint naval exercises in both the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Japan.

And although Australia's ties with India have cooled somewhat under sinophile Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a 2009 strategic partnership between the two nations pledges "policy coordination on regional affairs in the Asia region," which is a diplomatic euphemism for shared concerns over China's growing power.

India's increasing role in the Asia-Pacific has been firmly supported by the region's premier naval power, the United States. Since 2001, the U.S. and India have conducted over 40 joint military exercises, including one of the largest multilateral naval exercises ever held in the region, Malabar 2007, which featured three aircraft carriers, 28 surface vessels, 150 aircraft and over 20,000 personnel from India, the U.S., Japan, Australia and Singapore. A 10-year Indo-U.S. defence pact signed in June 2005 deepened intelligence-sharing, military technology transfers, missile-defense collaboration and arms sales.

The question for New Delhi will be how best to leverage this progress for additional security and improved relations throughout the region. Although India's "Look East" policy has clearly met with success, there are many in India who still fail to acknowledge the vital role it is poised to play in Asia. The ability of countries in the region to partner effectively with India would be enhanced significantly were New Delhi to define more concretely its vision for the country's broader role in Asia.

India's partners also will need to learn how to work with the rising regional power. It will be critical to understand that India is not seeking to be a junior partner in an anti-China coalition, but is pursuing its own interests as an emerging power. Heartache will result if policy makers, especially in the U.S., attempt to force India into a familiar mold such as the U.S.-Britain "special relationship." Instead, Washington should champion India's robust participation in key regional economic and political institutions such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group and the Asean Regional Forum.

The Obama administration to date has placed a higher priority on strengthening its ties with Beijing than on pursuing the closer relationship with New Delhi initiated during the Bush administration. That may be changing. President Obama himself recently said, the U.S.-India relationship is the "indispensable partnership of the 21st century." Now it's time to partner more effectively with India in practice.

 

[Avatar]

The future might seem difficult but look back 50 years and see where India has come today, and you will know nothing is impossible.

 

[AViet]

First, ASEAN GDP alone is already over 1.5 trillions, not including India GDP.
Second, you may talk a little bit early about India leadership in Asia-Pacific. I do not think any country in the region seriously look into India for military protection against China, other than lip service from diplomats. Military cooperation, perhaps.
Third, some Indian here like to shamelessly boast about themselves too much. Ethnic Chinese in South East Asia are generally looked up with respect, fear and hatred from ancient time in history. But I can not say the same about Indian immigrants in South East Asia. The opposite may be true. That is a fact you should face when dealing with even weaker South East Asian countries, let alone Vietnam.

 

[KS]

First, ASEAN GDP alone is already over 1.5 trillions, not including India GDP.
Second, you may talk a little bit early about India leadership in Asia-Pacific. I do not think any country in the region seriously look into India for military protection against China, other than lip service from diplomats. Military cooperation, perhaps.
Third, some Indian here like to shamelessly boast about themselves too much. Ethnic Chinese in South East Asia are generally looked up with respect, fear and hatred from ancient time in history. But I can not say the same about Indian immigrants in South East Asia. The opposite may be true. That is a fact you should face when dealing with even weaker South East Asian countries, let alone Vietnam.

Thanks for not looking us with hatred....we out there to make friends ...not enemies.

BTW this was the Chola empire at its zenith with its sway over Maly peninsula,Laos,indonesia etc.

Link

2 nd Link

 

[sudhir007]

The future might seem difficult but look back 50 years and see where India has come today, and you will know nothing is impossible.

yes but if you see the behavior of Indian government or MOD against IN you will find the answer. GOI or MOD does not have much faith or you can say ignoring navy more with the limited budget. but now scenario is change from this decade can you can find our navy will be Rock-on in next 10-15yr. Now Goi want to domination in the south Asia and make impact in the world.

 

[Kinetic]

It will be foolish of India, Japan and Singapore if they don't go for military block with in next decade.