Over the past three years the Indian Navy has made very significant progress towards capability accretion and this, is as intended to be, in consonance with a conceived vision and plan. The past three years have seen the publication of three major documents – the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2012-27, the XII Plan document and the XII Infrastructure Plan document. During XI Plan period, which concluded on 31 Mar this year close to 200 Acceptances of Necessity (AoNs) with a total value of Rs 2,73,070 Crs were obtained. Of these, 161 contracts with a total value of Rs 92,069 Crs have been concluded.
Our indigenous warship building program is poised to touch new heights with 43 warships currently under construction in our shipyards. These include the indigenous aircraft carrier, destroyers, corvettes and submarines. Three ships of Project 15A, which are follow-ons of the existing Delhi Class destroyers, with improved stealth features and weapon and sensor fit are scheduled for induction commencing early next year. A contract has also been signed with M/s MDL for four more P15B destroyers, which will follow the P15A ships. Four Anti Submarine Warfare Corvettes, being built at GRSE, Kolkata, are the first stealth corvettes designed and built indigenously as specialised anti-submarine warfare (ASW) surface combatants. The first ship is scheduled to be inducted early next year and the others will follow at a yearly interval.
In order to augment our offshore patrolling capability, four offshore patrol vessels are under construction at Goa Shipyard Limited. The ships are scheduled for induction from the end of this year onwards. Five other offshore patrol vessels will be built at a private Shipyard. These ships, along with two cadet training ships under construction at another private Shipyard, are the first warship orders ever given to private shipyards since our independence. Eight new, upgraded landing craft are also under construction at GRSE, Kolkata and will augment the force levels in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These ships will replace the old Landing Craft Utility or LCUs, which are in the process of being phased out.
Our survey ships and hydrographers are a valuable part of the Navy and are much in demand amongst a variety of littoral states in the Indian Ocean Region. To augment their force levels, six new catamaran hull Survey vessels are being built by M/s Alcock Ashdown Gujarat Ltd, at Bhavnagar. The first ship is undergoing sea trials and is scheduled to be commissioned later this year. The construction of Scorpene submarines under Project 75 is underway and MDL and the Department of Defence Production maintain that the first submarine is likely to be commissioned in 2015 and the sixth submarine by 2018.
In addition to the 46 ships under construction, Acceptance of Necessity for 49 more ships and submarines has been obtained. These include seven more follow-on ships of the Shivalik Class, under Project 17-A, which are to be built at both MDL, Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata and we are working towards contract conclusion in the current financial year. Contracts for four water-jet FACs, to be built at GRSE, Kolkata, one more training ship, to be built at a private shipyard and two mine hunters to be built in South Korea are likely to be concluded during the current financial year. Six more mine hunters will be subsequently built at Goa Shipyard under ToT. Options for the Deep Submergence and Rescue vessel (DSRV) are presently undergoing technical evaluation. In addition, approval for construction of six submarines under Project -75(I) is at the final stages of approval. Requests for Proposals in respect of four LPDs, 16 shallow water ASW ships – the order being split between two shipyards, one survey training vessel and two diving support vessels will also be issued in the coming months.
There are three ships are under construction in Russia. These include two more ships of the follow-on Talwar class, being built at Yantar Shipyard in Kalingrad, with one scheduled for induction later this year and the other next year. The third ship, of course, is the Vikramaditya, which is currently undergoing sea trials. On the 28th of last month the aviation trials involving the operations of the Mig 29 K from the deck of that ship commenced. Machinery trials are also well underway. As you may appreciate, there is hectic work underway here in India, to receive the ship with all the infrastructure support that would be required to be provided to the aircraft carrier.
Hi Shiv,
A small confirmation.
1) There was an RFI from the nvy asking for carrier based fighters where companies fielded sea gripen, F18, F35, Daasault Rafale-M (might have missed). Has this been dissolved or the existing order of ~45 MiG 29K/KuB is the further evolution of this RFP.
2) Is Navy still interested in E-2D?