Indian Navy News & Discussions

[sudhir007]

:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::

Agencies
Moscow, Sept 8:
India has paid another staggering USD 102 million to Russia, to speed up refit work on the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, pending a final agreement on a huge price hike of almost USD 2 billion demanded by Moscow.
"The advance payment of USD 102 million has given a fillip to repairs and refit works. The workforce would be increased to 2500 for work in two shifts," spokesperson of the Sevmash shipyard Anastasia Nikitinskaya said as Russian officials committed that they would meet the 2012 delivery deadline.
The increasing delay in the delivery of the warship has been described by President Dmitry Medvedev as the 'sole irritant' in Indo-Russian relations.
The issue came up in the delegation level talks between President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her Soviet counterpart on September 3, during her first state visit to the country.
Director General of Severodvinsk-based Sevmash shipyard Nikolai Kalistratov along with his Chief Engineer was also present at the talks held at Kremlin.
Under the initial USD 1.5 billion contract signed in New Delhi in January 2004, Russia was to deliver retrofitted aircraft carrier in August 2008.
However, the Sevmash shipyard later demanded that USD 974 million allocated for the upgradation of the 44.5 thousand ton vessel, given to the Indian Navy 'free of cost', was not sufficient and demanded an additional sum of USD 2.2 billion. According to Chairman of Russian Technologies State Corporation, Sergei Chemezev, the talks are currently underway for negotiating a new agreement, which may be signed in mid-October. An Indian delegation is expected in Moscow later this month to finalise the accord, even as media reports have suggested that New Delhi's final offer was to pay an additional amount of USD 1.2 billion. Sources here say that although the cost escalation was a 'natural' process due to changed requirements of the Indian Navy, a lot of money paid by India had 'dried up' in the banks for almost four years, with practically no work done on the warship.
Upgradation of Gorshkov, to be inducted as INS Vikramaditya, is expected to be completed in 2011, after which it would undergo sea-trials for delivery in 2012.

 

[ejaz007]

India Gets 2 Fast Attack Boats To Fight Terrorists
By vivek raghuvanshi
Published: 10 Sep 2009 10:48

NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy has received two fast attack boats that will be used to counter sea-based terrorism and will be built by state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers of Calcutta.

The delivery Sept. 10 is part of a bigger order for scores of the vessels, which are called water jet-propelled fast-attack craft, or WJFACs.

WJFACs are designed to be effective even in shallow waters, and have day-night surveillance capability and firepower that will enhance coastal security, an Indian Navy official said.

The 325-ton WJFACs just delivered, the INS Cheriyam and INS Cora Divh, can achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots and measure about 50 meters in length. The Navy is likely to receive more than 50 WJFACs in the next three years, the official added.

After the Mumbai terrorist attacks Nov. 26, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers received orders for 78 WJFACs from the Indian Home Ministry to be deployed along state coastlines.

The Navy is acquiring the WJFACs to replace the existing Seaward Defence Boats.

India has put the acquisition of anti-terror weapons on its fast track in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, including fighting terrorists on the sea. The Ministry of Defence has cleared equipment and weaponry under this category worth more than $1 billion, boats, including fast attack boats, interceptor craft, hovercrafts and offshore patrol vessels.

India Gets 2 Fast Attack Boats To Fight Terrorists - Defense News

 

[sudhir007]

Tognum: Details

MTU Series 2000 and 4000 engines to be main propulsion units for new Indian Coast Guard craft
Specifications include MTU Callosum and Blueline automation systems for propulsion control and ship monitoring
Tognum subsidiary MTU Asia secures contract worth 32.5 million euro

Friedrichshafen/Singapore, 10 September 2009. The Engines Division of propulsion and power specialist Tognum has received two orders for the supply of MTU engines and automation systems for 23 new ships for the Indian Coast Guard. The total value of the contracts is 32.5 million euro. The engines are to be delivered between the end of 2009 and the end of 2011.

“These contracts secured by MTU Asia demonstrate once again that business in the government vessels sector is a very steady, strong and essential component of our overall portfolio. It is also especially important in economically difficult times“, states Rainer Breidenbach, Tognum COO with responsibility for the Engines Division.

Eight new Inshore Patrol Vessels are to be powered by triple Type 16V 4000 M90 engines with an output of 2,720 kW (3,648 bhp) each. In combination with waterjets, they will propel the vessel at speeds up to 35 knots. The systems to be supplied for the 48-meter patrol vessels include the MTU Callosum ship automation system with an integrated solution for monitoring all ship’s services that also incorporates fire detection and extinguishing systems. The reliable, easy-to-maintain and low fuel consumption engines enable the patrol vessels to remain at sea for a prolong period of time without having to return to base to replenish supplies.

The Tognum Group is also supplying 30 MTU Type 16V 2000 M92 engines each capable of 1,630 kW (2,186 bhp) for 15 Interceptor Boats in the 26-meter class. They will provide the boat with a top speed of 35 knots. Engine control and system monitoring will be performed by the MTU Blueline automation system.

The Series 4000 engines will be delivered as assembly kits to the licensed producer in India, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata, for local assembly and testing. Meanwhile, the Series 2000 units will be sent to the Bharati shipyard in Mumbai.
The construction of the new ships is part of an expansion of the Indian Coast Guard. The varied duties of the Indian Coast Guard are fishery protection, combating smuggling and terrorism, prevention of illegal immigration, search and rescue operations as well as marine environment protection.

Tognum subsidiary MTU Asia has already sold more than 100 Type 16V 4000 M90 engines to the Indian Coast Guard and Navy in recent years. They are highly valued for their proven reliability, outstanding power-to-weight ratio and also the well-established MTU service network in India.

 

[EjazR]

India's naval buildup a tryst with destiny - upiasia.com

Kolkata, India — India has of late been significantly expanding its naval capabilities beyond the pale of maritime security. Its naval buildup is designed to give it significant leverage over its traditional foes and cement its position as an emergent player on the global stage.

History can mete out hard lessons, and India subjected itself to one of them in the last millennium. It fell victim to colonial enterprises that snuck into the subcontinent through its vast unguarded coastline. However, present-day India seems determined not to repeat the catastrophic errors of the past and is rapidly expanding its naval prowess.

More importantly, the present naval buildup is not driven by the mere desire to prevent a seaborne invasion. Its contours are far wider than mere coastal defense, and this is reflected in the nature of the naval buildup.

India is quietly raising a force with significant blue-water capability, including medium-sized aircraft carriers, multi-role destroyers and frigates, conventional and nuclear attack submarines and amphibious ships, which can facilitate over-the-horizon assaults. It even has a host of modern corvettes that could be classified as frigates in many modest-sized navies.

Like all ambitious navies, the Indian navy is also committed to having a powerful air force of its own, as well as space-based assets for surveillance and targeting, and has rolled out its first ballistic missile nuclear submarine for sea trials.

The buildup is driven by a variety of factors besides defending the shoreline. Over the years, India has become increasingly dependent on foreign oil to sustain its steadily growing economy. By any measure, India imports over 70 percent of its oil requirement. Most trade is seaborne as well, which means protecting sea-lanes assumes greater significance in the strategic planning context.

Then there is also the question of maintaining India’s suzerainty over an exclusive economic zone spanning some 2.02 million square kilometers, besides defending offshore assets such as Bombay High – an offshore oil field, 160 kilometers from the Mumbai coast. These are easily understood economic reasons for building up naval power and focusing on what goes on at sea with no apparent direct bearing on land conflict issues.

Strangely though, some of the most compelling reasons for India’s naval expansion may actually be land related. It is now widely known that India’s naval moves in the summer of 1999 helped end the Kargil conflict with Pakistan. When faced with the prospect of a long drawn-out naval blockade, Pakistan backed off and realized just how easily the Indian navy could gain sea control.

Policymakers in India sat up and took notice as well. They realized that the Indian Navy could prove a decisive factor in resolving a stalemate in the mountains. Defense Minister Jaswant Singh publicly stated in 2001 that the government had made the development of the navy a key priority. That support has continued even though the governing dispensation in New Delhi has changed.

India’s naval moves also play a central role in ongoing military tensions and long-term rivalry with China. India and its island territories sit astride some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, through which most of East Asia’s oil flows. The ability to interdict these supplies gives India a strategic bargaining tool that can be used vis-à-vis its northern neighbor in the event of a conflict over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayas.

It can be argued that this factor actually sets an upper limit to the number of days a China-initiated border conflict could last, given the size of China’s strategic oil reserves and attendant costs.

Beijing is trying to efface this handicap. It is making forays into the Indian Ocean and increasing it blue-water capability with the addition of large destroyers and nuclear attack boats, and embarking upon the construction of at least two – some reports actually say six – relatively large (60,000 ton) aircraft carriers.

As part of a so-called “string of pearls” strategy – many in India see it as a euphemism for strategic encirclement – China is involved in “port development projects” in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan.

Even as recent reports of Chinese incursions along the Line of Actual Control that separates the two Asian giants makes headlines, India seems to have set in motion a very serious upgradating of its military presence in the Andaman and Nicobar island chain, located very close to the Strait of Malacca, a key gateway to the South China Sea.

In a recent seminar held at Port Blair, former Indian president and missile scientist Abdul Kalam suggested permanently basing naval assets such as carriers and nuclear submarines in the island chain, upgrading air defenses, and setting up a 250-megawatt nuclear reactor. It looks like India is set to future-proof itself against Chinese moves in the Indian Ocean.

One of the key aims of the string of pearls strategy is to give China coveted access to the Persian Gulf. Anticipating this, India is accruing the capability to influence Middle East countries in a more substantive manner. India has signed a number of defense pacts with Gulf States, the most notable being with Qatar and Oman on defense and security issues. According to some analysts, India may have actually extended a nuclear umbrella to these states in return for naval basing rights and anti-terrorism cooperation.

Former U.S. Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan said more than a century ago that the Indian Ocean was an “ocean of destiny,” and whosoever controlled it would dominate Asia. While Mahan has followers in the United States – which is probably why the United States maintains a significant presence at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean 1600 kilometers south of the southern coast of India – he has found new ones in the Indian military.

Besides deterring India’s troublesome neighbors in the north through strategic persuasion, if not strategic coercion, the Indian Ocean remains the big pond where India is destined to play a major role in achieving regional supremacy

 

[Born In The USA]

Indian Navy talks to Northrop Grumman on Procurement of E-2D Hawkeye



13:39 GMT, September 11, 2009 According to India Defence Online, the U.S major Northrop Grumman has started talks with the Indian Navy for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a platform that provides a highly adaptive form of Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C). The issue of export authorization from the U.S government has been resolved and Northrop Grumman has initiated the preliminary briefings in India. Northrop Grumman has been asked to present a shore-based version of the AEW&C.

Following a request for information (RFI) last year and a recent demand to elucidate the technicalities of the E-2D Hawkeye, the U.S representatives have made a presentation to the Indian Navy. The U.S has also stressed on the “interoperability” aspect of the AEW&C. U.S representatives indicated that if India is looking to be interoperable with the U.S. Navy and NATO through data-link systems, the platform should be the E-2D Hawkeye. They added that if an airborne warning system which is unable to communicate with forces and allies around the world, the larger significance of the early warning system is lost.

India has demanded that Northrop Grumman provides a presentation of the shore-based version of the AEW&C since Indian naval aircraft would require ski-jump compatibility and not the conventional catapult-launched version. India is vouching for shore-based versions since its aircraft carrier INS Viraat will be phased out soon and the Admiral Gorshkov is plagued with constant delays.

The Indian Navy is also open to advanced designs which will be resourceful in the future. As for the carrier-based AEW&C of the US Navy, the E-2D Hawkeye has newly developed AN/APY-9 radar which can operate in accordance with surface combatants equipped with the Aegis combat system to detect, track and defeat cruise missile threats at extended range. The new radar represents a two-generational leap in radar technology since it can see smaller targets and more of them at a greater range than currently fielded radar systems.

India has been keen on augmenting its surveillance capabilities and has a requirement of six aircraft.

India has also ordered eight P8-I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft to replace its aging Tupolev Tu-142M maritime surveillance turboprops.


defence.professionals | defpro.com

 

[BSF]

Does not quite fit this discussion but some how I think this is suitable here.

EXCLUSIVE: A&N Command Recommends Sukhoi-30MKI Sqn At Car Nicobar

Sukhoi 30 MKI being deployed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

 

[Born In The USA]

US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India

The US government has cleared yet another high technology system for India, the "futuristic" shipboard Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and battle management.

The clearance has been described by diplomatic sources as a fallout of the "successful" visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the signing of the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) of military equipment being supplied or sold by the US to India.

Like the Boeing P 8I Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft (MMA), of which the Indian Navy has already ordered eight aircraft, the Hawkeye E-2D is the very latest and is yet to be delivered to the US Navy.

India is the second country after the UAE to be cleared by the US State and Defense Departments for sale of this sophisticated system. The US Navy has sanctioned $432 million for trials of the aircraft, currently underway at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The Naval Systems Command (NAVAIR) based there provides engineering and testing support for new naval systems and weapons.

The Hawkeye E-2D has been under the US government's consideration for India for some time. In fact, in 2007, Pentagon sources in Washington had told this writer that the aircraft was being cleared, but apparently the previous version, Hawkeve E-2C, was eventually offered to which the Indian Navy said "No" in informal discussions.

The aircraft is being manufactured by Northrop Grumman, a leading US player in Aerospace, Warships, Missiles, Combat Radars and Electronic Warfare systems.

Northrop Grumman's programme Manager for International Business Development Tom C. Trudell told India Strategic magazine that the aircraft has "just been cleared by the US government for India" and that a presentation was made to the Indian Navy in August in New Delhi.

Indian Navy officers had witnessed the capabilities of the Hawkeye E-2C but told the US officials that as the equipment it would buy would be used for years, it must be the best and the latest with future capability insertion potential.

India Strategic quotes unnamed Indian officials as saying that the technology onboard the Hawkeye E-2D is "very tempting" and that although neither the Gorshkov aircraft carrier which India is buying from Russia nor India's first aircraft carrier indigenously being built would be able to accommodate this aircraft, India's future aircraft carriers could be a little bigger.

"By the time this aircraft comes, and by the time the Indian Navy gets used to it from initial shore-based operations, plans for two more aircraft carriers could be amended to house this system."

There have been no tenders of RfPs yet for the Hawkeye E-2D, but then companies from worldwide present their wares to various countries either by themselves and at their own cost, or make offerings in response to Request for Information (RfI) which are floated in routine by all the armed forces to know what is available in terms of newer generation of systems.

Future aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy would also have to be equipped with catapult launching systems, for which it is already looking around. India's second and third aircraft carriers should have this facility along with lifts and adequate open area for what is called free deck takeoff.

The Mig 29Ks that the Indian Navy is buying for Gorshkov, will be launched by a ski ramp.

Tip to tip, the Hawkeye is a bigger aircraft than the Mig 29.

Trudell said that although Northrop Grumman had been allowed to make presentations to the Indian Navy, its sale would have to be direct between the Indian and US government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. There are many systems on board, developed for US Navy, which only the US government can clear for transfer to other countries.

The US Navy has initially ordered five Hawkeye E-2Ds under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) programme, and the first aircraft should be delivered to the US Navy in 2011.

India can get the aircraft within three years of a contract being signed, said Trudell.




US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India- Hindustan Times

 

[ISRO2]

US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India

The US government has cleared yet another high technology system for India, the "futuristic" shipboard Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and battle management.

The clearance has been described by diplomatic sources as a fallout of the "successful" visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the signing of the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) of military equipment being supplied or sold by the US to India.

Like the Boeing P 8I Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft (MMA), of which the Indian Navy has already ordered eight aircraft, the Hawkeye E-2D is the very latest and is yet to be delivered to the US Navy.

India is the second country after the UAE to be cleared by the US State and Defense Departments for sale of this sophisticated system. The US Navy has sanctioned $432 million for trials of the aircraft, currently underway at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The Naval Systems Command (NAVAIR) based there provides engineering and testing support for new naval systems and weapons.

The Hawkeye E-2D has been under the US government's consideration for India for some time. In fact, in 2007, Pentagon sources in Washington had told this writer that the aircraft was being cleared, but apparently the previous version, Hawkeve E-2C, was eventually offered to which the Indian Navy said "No" in informal discussions.

The aircraft is being manufactured by Northrop Grumman, a leading US player in Aerospace, Warships, Missiles, Combat Radars and Electronic Warfare systems.

Northrop Grumman's programme Manager for International Business Development Tom C. Trudell told India Strategic magazine that the aircraft has "just been cleared by the US government for India" and that a presentation was made to the Indian Navy in August in New Delhi.

Indian Navy officers had witnessed the capabilities of the Hawkeye E-2C but told the US officials that as the equipment it would buy would be used for years, it must be the best and the latest with future capability insertion potential.

India Strategic quotes unnamed Indian officials as saying that the technology onboard the Hawkeye E-2D is "very tempting" and that although neither the Gorshkov aircraft carrier which India is buying from Russia nor India's first aircraft carrier indigenously being built would be able to accommodate this aircraft, India's future aircraft carriers could be a little bigger.

"By the time this aircraft comes, and by the time the Indian Navy gets used to it from initial shore-based operations, plans for two more aircraft carriers could be amended to house this system."

There have been no tenders of RfPs yet for the Hawkeye E-2D, but then companies from worldwide present their wares to various countries either by themselves and at their own cost, or make offerings in response to Request for Information (RfI) which are floated in routine by all the armed forces to know what is available in terms of newer generation of systems.

Future aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy would also have to be equipped with catapult launching systems, for which it is already looking around. India's second and third aircraft carriers should have this facility along with lifts and adequate open area for what is called free deck takeoff.

The Mig 29Ks that the Indian Navy is buying for Gorshkov, will be launched by a ski ramp.

Tip to tip, the Hawkeye is a bigger aircraft than the Mig 29.

Trudell said that although Northrop Grumman had been allowed to make presentations to the Indian Navy, its sale would have to be direct between the Indian and US government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. There are many systems on board, developed for US Navy, which only the US government can clear for transfer to other countries.

The US Navy has initially ordered five Hawkeye E-2Ds under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) programme, and the first aircraft should be delivered to the US Navy in 2011.

India can get the aircraft within three years of a contract being signed, said Trudell.




US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India- Hindustan Times

Sir very good news for indian navy. It seems america not in mood to say No to india. thank u sir for the news.

 

[ISRO2]

US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India

The US government has cleared yet another high technology system for India, the "futuristic" shipboard Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and battle management.

The clearance has been described by diplomatic sources as a fallout of the "successful" visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the signing of the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) of military equipment being supplied or sold by the US to India.

Like the Boeing P 8I Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft (MMA), of which the Indian Navy has already ordered eight aircraft, the Hawkeye E-2D is the very latest and is yet to be delivered to the US Navy.

India is the second country after the UAE to be cleared by the US State and Defense Departments for sale of this sophisticated system. The US Navy has sanctioned $432 million for trials of the aircraft, currently underway at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The Naval Systems Command (NAVAIR) based there provides engineering and testing support for new naval systems and weapons.

The Hawkeye E-2D has been under the US government's consideration for India for some time. In fact, in 2007, Pentagon sources in Washington had told this writer that the aircraft was being cleared, but apparently the previous version, Hawkeve E-2C, was eventually offered to which the Indian Navy said "No" in informal discussions.

The aircraft is being manufactured by Northrop Grumman, a leading US player in Aerospace, Warships, Missiles, Combat Radars and Electronic Warfare systems.

Northrop Grumman's programme Manager for International Business Development Tom C. Trudell told India Strategic magazine that the aircraft has "just been cleared by the US government for India" and that a presentation was made to the Indian Navy in August in New Delhi.

Indian Navy officers had witnessed the capabilities of the Hawkeye E-2C but told the US officials that as the equipment it would buy would be used for years, it must be the best and the latest with future capability insertion potential.

India Strategic quotes unnamed Indian officials as saying that the technology onboard the Hawkeye E-2D is "very tempting" and that although neither the Gorshkov aircraft carrier which India is buying from Russia nor India's first aircraft carrier indigenously being built would be able to accommodate this aircraft, India's future aircraft carriers could be a little bigger.

"By the time this aircraft comes, and by the time the Indian Navy gets used to it from initial shore-based operations, plans for two more aircraft carriers could be amended to house this system."

There have been no tenders of RfPs yet for the Hawkeye E-2D, but then companies from worldwide present their wares to various countries either by themselves and at their own cost, or make offerings in response to Request for Information (RfI) which are floated in routine by all the armed forces to know what is available in terms of newer generation of systems.

Future aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy would also have to be equipped with catapult launching systems, for which it is already looking around. India's second and third aircraft carriers should have this facility along with lifts and adequate open area for what is called free deck takeoff.

The Mig 29Ks that the Indian Navy is buying for Gorshkov, will be launched by a ski ramp.

Tip to tip, the Hawkeye is a bigger aircraft than the Mig 29.

Trudell said that although Northrop Grumman had been allowed to make presentations to the Indian Navy, its sale would have to be direct between the Indian and US government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. There are many systems on board, developed for US Navy, which only the US government can clear for transfer to other countries.

The US Navy has initially ordered five Hawkeye E-2Ds under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) programme, and the first aircraft should be delivered to the US Navy in 2011.

India can get the aircraft within three years of a contract being signed, said Trudell.




US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India- Hindustan Times

Sir above article says our aircraft carriers wont be compitable with hawkeye E-2D. Sir dont u think next is america aircraft carrier in line? Am sure it is because indian ocean india's heart. It doesn't matter india will have 3 new aircraft carriers. Having 4th one ain't bad sir.

 

[sancho]

Sir above article says our aircraft carriers wont be compitable with hawkeye E-2D. Sir dont u think next is america aircraft carrier in line? Am sure it is because indian ocean india's heart. It doesn't matter india will have 3 new aircraft carriers. Having 4th one ain't bad sir.

IN will not buy an american aircraft carrier, but is interested in catapults possibly for the next carrier after Vikrant class. But that carrier comes only around 2020, so these E-2 Hawkeye are meant for land based maritime patrole. Imo these are totally unnecessary, because as MPAs they should be capable of attacking ships, or subs which the E-2 can't. Also as an land based AEW aircraft it would be silly, because we already develop the DRDO AWACS, which will be enough for this role.
US companies just offering anything to make some money at the moment, even if it's totally useless!

 

[Born In The USA]

Sir above article says our aircraft carriers wont be compitable with hawkeye E-2D. Sir dont u think next is america aircraft carrier in line? Am sure it is because indian ocean india's heart. It doesn't matter india will have 3 new aircraft carriers. Having 4th one ain't bad sir.

It is always in my view that IN needs a nuclear super carrier , though i don't think it would be going for an American carrier any time soon . IN has a very very important role to play in the vast Indian Ocean. Naval chief Mehta said that in any given point of time India would need 3 aircraft carriers, i think in a decade or so IN would like to operate a minimum of 3 ACs.

 

[ebungo]

It is always in my view that IN needs a nuclear super carrier , though i don't think it would be going for an American carrier any time soon . IN has a very very important role to play in the vast Indian Ocean. Naval chief Mehta said that in any given point of time India would need 3 aircraft carriers, i think in a decade or so IN would like to operate a minimum of 3 ACs.

yes indeed India need more than three ac to have upper hand in strategic important in the region .

 

[ejaz007]

Four MiG-29 fighter jets to join Indian navy in October - source
17:0609/09/2009


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

 

[ejaz007]

Russia, India to sign new deal on Admiral Gorshkov overhaul
15:1103/09/2009


MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - A new deal on the funds Russia needs to finish a refit of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier for India will be signed in mid-October, the head of the state technology corporation said on Thursday.

"An additional agreement will be signed," Sergei Chemezov, head of Rostekhnologii, told a news conference in Moscow.

Under the original $1.5 billion 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, which includes delivery of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters, the 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.

Admiral Gorshkov is a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier, originally named Baku.

The ship was laid down in 1978 at the Nikolayev South shipyard in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned with the Soviet Navy in 1987.

It was renamed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 1994, following a boiler room explosion, the Admiral Gorshkov sat in dock for a year for repairs. After a brief return to service in 1995, it was finally withdrawn from service in 1996 and put up for sale.

The ship's displacement is 45,000 tons. It has maximum speed of 32 knots and an endurance of 13,500 nautical miles (25,000 km) at a cruising speed of 18 knots.

Russia, India to sign new deal on Admiral Gorshkov overhaul | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

 

[Born In The USA]

IN will not buy an american aircraft carrier, but is interested in catapults possibly for the next carrier after Vikrant class. But that carrier comes only around 2020, so these E-2 Hawkeye are meant for land based maritime patrole. Imo these are totally unnecessary, because as MPAs they should be capable of attacking ships, or subs which the E-2 can't. Also as an land based AEW aircraft it would be silly, because we already develop the DRDO AWACS, which will be enough for this role.
US companies just offering anything to make some money at the moment, even if it's totally useless!

Sancho

In United States service, the Hawkeye provides all-weather airborne early warning and command and control functions for the carrier battle group.Additional missions include surface surveillance coordination, strike and interceptor control, search and rescue guidance and communications relay.

In my opinion it plays a pivotal role for a carrier battle group. Indian Navy uses the The Kamov Ka-31 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') for the same purpose.

I know IN carriers cant have the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye on-board that is why IN is asking for a shore based version.