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NEW DELHI: The Navy has further stepped on the gas for indigenization in tune with the Modi government's "Make in India" policy, identifying around 100 advanced technologies for DRDO to develop over the next 10-15 years.
India already has 42 warships and six submarines on order for construction in domestic shipyards for around Rs 3 lakh crore, with the aim to build a powerful three-dimensional Navy to protect its huge maritime interests spanning from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait as well as counter the expanding Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Admiral Robin Dhowan on Tuesday said "a long-term naval technology roadmap" is now in place after extensive consultations with the Defence Research and Development Organization and other stakeholders.
"We have put the 'Make in India' thrust on an overdrive. The focus in the roadmap is on weapons, sensors and cutting-edge technologies, with certain milestones and required timelines," said the Navy chief, talking exclusively to TOI.
As of now, India has achieved 90% indigenisation in the "float" (hull, superstructure) component of a warship through the development of high-grade steel by DRDO and SAIL, among other things. But the "move" (propulsion) and "fight" (weapons and sensors) components lag behind at 50-60% and 30%, respectively.
"The 'fight' component has been made a thrust area, with talks even being held with production agencies like defence PSUs as well as the private sector. Close to a hundred technologies have been identified, which range from guns and missiles to different kinds of radars and sonars," said the Navy chief.
DRDO will certainly have to deliver in the timeframes required to avoid situations like last year's commissioning of 6,800-tonne destroyer INS Kolkata, the largest-ever warship to be built in India, without the critical long-range surface-to-air missile system.
Apart from the warships already on order, the Navy is also gearing up to kick-off two major projects. The first one is the over Rs 50,000 crore Project-75-India to build six new-generation stealth submarines, with both land-attack missile capabilities and air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, to be built in an Indian shipyard with foreign collaboration.
The second is the one to fast-track finalization of the long-pending ambitious plan to indigenously construct the country's largest-ever aircraft carrier, the 65,000-tonne INS Vishal. "The project report (being prepared by the Navy) has to be very thorough ... it cannot be a hasty job. We are also looking at nuclear propulsion but nothing has been frozen yet," said Admiral Dhowan.
"The report will be submitted to the government soon. We would like to leverage the country's shipbuilding capability, both in the private and public sector, for this very important project," he added.
The urgency is essential since the Navy plans to retire one of its two existing aircraft carriers, the ageing 56-year-old INS Viraat, by early-next year. This will leave the force with just the 44,400-tonne INS Vikramaditya, the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov inducted from Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion in November 2013. The 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier or INS Vikrant being built at Cochin Shipyard, in turn, will be ready for induction only by 2018-2019 after a long delay, as reported by TOI earlier.
Navy for ‘made in India’ tech, gives DRDO list of 100 wishes - The Times of India
India already has 42 warships and six submarines on order for construction in domestic shipyards for around Rs 3 lakh crore, with the aim to build a powerful three-dimensional Navy to protect its huge maritime interests spanning from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait as well as counter the expanding Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Admiral Robin Dhowan on Tuesday said "a long-term naval technology roadmap" is now in place after extensive consultations with the Defence Research and Development Organization and other stakeholders.
"We have put the 'Make in India' thrust on an overdrive. The focus in the roadmap is on weapons, sensors and cutting-edge technologies, with certain milestones and required timelines," said the Navy chief, talking exclusively to TOI.
As of now, India has achieved 90% indigenisation in the "float" (hull, superstructure) component of a warship through the development of high-grade steel by DRDO and SAIL, among other things. But the "move" (propulsion) and "fight" (weapons and sensors) components lag behind at 50-60% and 30%, respectively.
"The 'fight' component has been made a thrust area, with talks even being held with production agencies like defence PSUs as well as the private sector. Close to a hundred technologies have been identified, which range from guns and missiles to different kinds of radars and sonars," said the Navy chief.
DRDO will certainly have to deliver in the timeframes required to avoid situations like last year's commissioning of 6,800-tonne destroyer INS Kolkata, the largest-ever warship to be built in India, without the critical long-range surface-to-air missile system.
Apart from the warships already on order, the Navy is also gearing up to kick-off two major projects. The first one is the over Rs 50,000 crore Project-75-India to build six new-generation stealth submarines, with both land-attack missile capabilities and air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, to be built in an Indian shipyard with foreign collaboration.
The second is the one to fast-track finalization of the long-pending ambitious plan to indigenously construct the country's largest-ever aircraft carrier, the 65,000-tonne INS Vishal. "The project report (being prepared by the Navy) has to be very thorough ... it cannot be a hasty job. We are also looking at nuclear propulsion but nothing has been frozen yet," said Admiral Dhowan.
"The report will be submitted to the government soon. We would like to leverage the country's shipbuilding capability, both in the private and public sector, for this very important project," he added.
The urgency is essential since the Navy plans to retire one of its two existing aircraft carriers, the ageing 56-year-old INS Viraat, by early-next year. This will leave the force with just the 44,400-tonne INS Vikramaditya, the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov inducted from Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion in November 2013. The 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier or INS Vikrant being built at Cochin Shipyard, in turn, will be ready for induction only by 2018-2019 after a long delay, as reported by TOI earlier.
Navy for ‘made in India’ tech, gives DRDO list of 100 wishes - The Times of India
