?Guarding our 7,600-km coastline is a challenge? - Hindustan Times
In an exclusive interview
with the Hindustan Times,
Vice-Admiral Sanjeev
Bhasin, flag officer
commanding in chief of
the Western Naval
Command, said securing
India ’s western coast is
the Navy’s biggest
challenge. The threat
perception of terrorists
using the sea route, as
they did for 26/11, has
increased.
India has a huge coastline,
stretching 7,600 km, and
we have island territories
as well. We, along with
the Coast Guard, have
fortified patrolling. But
there are grey areas
where [unauthorised]
landings can be carried
out because the state
governments concerned
had not kept them under
surveillance till 26/11
occurred.
A detailed plan has been
chalked out with the
Coast Guard and the
Director General of
Lighthouses to revive
lighthouses and set up 30
radar stations along the
western coast.
Trials of two such radar
stations have started at
Okha and Kandla in
Gujarat.
The Navy has found it
tough to monitor
fishing boats.
This is a weakness
identified [and exploited]
by the terrorists. About
30,000 fishing boats are
registered in Gujarat,
20,000 in Maharashtra,
20,000 in Karnataka and
2,000 in Goa.
Radar stations fitted with
the Automatic
Identification System (AIS)
have been planned along
the coast.
AIS devices will also be
installed on these vessels.
It is a massive problem
and it cannot be taken
care of only by the Navy
and Coast Guard.
We need fishermen’s
cooperation; we want
them to be our eyes and
ears. They have been very
cooperative.
What new inductions
has the Navy lined and
when are they expected
to join the fleet?
There are 39 ships on
order; 34 of them will be
made indigenously. Over
the next two years, we ’ll
see the induction of three
ships in the Shivalik,
Talwar and Kolkata class
of destroyers.
Two fleet tankers, Deepak
and Shakti, are being
made in Italy. The first
one will be here this
month. Apart from that,
there are two survey ships
being built indigenously.
There has been some
delay in the Scorpene
submarine project, but we
should see it
commissioned by 2015.
When is the aircraft
carrier Admiral
Gorshkov, renamed
Vikramaditya, and the
indigenously built
aircraft carrier expected
to join the fleet?
Vikramaditya’s sea trials
are scheduled to start in
March 2011. It will join the
western fleet by the end
of 2012. Six MIG 29K ’s —
fighter aircraft — that will
operate from the carrier
are already flying from
[the] Goa [naval base].
We will get the remaining
aircraft in knock-down
state soon and will
assemble them at Goa. As
far as the indigenously
built carrier is concerned,
work is on at the Cochin
shipyard.
It will be equipped to
handle both the MiG 29Ks
and the naval version of
the indigenously built
Light Combat Aircraft. We
expect the carrier to be
commissioned by 2014.
How do you plan to
prop up the naval
aviation wing, which
was recently criticised
by the Comptroller and
Auditor General for
using non-operational
aircraft?
We will have eight Boeing
P8I aircraft [for long-range
maritime reconnaissance]
by January 2013.
We plan to buy four
more. A global request for
information [the first
stage of procurement] has
been floated to procure
56 Naval Utility
Helicopters to replace the
Chetak helicopters. We
are also looking at
replacing the anti-
submarine warfare
helicopter, Seaking.
When will we have the
nuclear submarine that
is being leased from
Russia? How will it
bolster our submarine
capability?
Before getting to the
leased submarine, we
have our own indigenously
built submarine, INS
Arihant. Extensive sea
trials are on.
As far as the Akula-II class
submarines, we plan to
name it INS Chakra, and
we should have it shortly.