Posted on 12/07/2006 4:13:58 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Indian navy on shopping spree
Josy Joseph Tuesday, December 05, 2006 23:59 IST
The proposed acquisition would be worth more than Rs 30,000 crore.
NEW DELHI: In a bid to shore up the country’s naval strength, the Indian Navy is exploring possible avenues of acquiring several stealth warships from European shipyards. And if everything goes well, it would be one of the biggest military contracts in recent times.
The Request for Information (RFI), the first formal step in the process of military acquisition, has been issued to about a dozen European and Russian shipyards. The proposed acquisition would be worth more than Rs 30,000 crore.
Confirming the issue, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, said it was prompted by the delay in acquisition of modern equipment that set in during the past two decades due to constraints on defence budgets and other factors, and the inability of Indian shipyards to deliver quickly.
However, “It is not necessary that we will take this route,” Mehta said. The other available option is for Indian shipyards to step up warship production to meet the projected force levels.
The RFI is for a set of seven stealth frigates, each costing about Rs 4,000 crores. According to a proposal, the first ship would be built in the foreign shipyard, while the rest six would be built at Mazagon Docks Limited in Mumbai or at Garden Reach Shipyard in Kolkata.
The project, called P-17A, is envisaged as the next generation ships of the ongoing Project 17 Shivalik class multi-role stealth frigates.
The first Shivalik class ship is expected in early 2007. Though the cabinet approved it in 1997, the Shivalik class construction was delayed by a few years owing to various factors. Project 17 envisages a total of 12 ships, and the seven ships for which the RFI has now been issued would form a part of the project.
The Indian Navy recently has been looking at both domestic construction and foreign acquisition of warships to make up for the shortcomings. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier is under construction in the Kochi Shipyard, while another carrier is being readied in Russia.
After acquiring three Talwar class guided missile frigates from Russia, the Navy is awaiting three more ships of the same class, but with an advanced technology from Russia. These three ships are expected to join the Navy sometime in 2011. By middle of next year, the massive US landing platform dock Trenton would also join the naval services. A total of 30 warships in slated to join the Navy in a decade.
2006-12-04
It's Navy Day today and India's Navy Chief has warned that Sino-Indian rivalry is spilling over to the seas. He says India must take steps to counter the Chinese threat from the sea, reports CNBC-TV18.
On December 4, 1971, the Indian Navy earned its spurs as a war fighting force by launching a blistering attack on Karachi. The day has since been observed as Navy Day. Ahead of Navy Day, India's Naval leadership has outlined the new threats from the sea to India's security.
"China is, therefore, we believe, developing a certain amount of, in our terms, we call it shaping the maritime battlefield," says Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
The Asian rivalry to dominate the Indian Ocean Region is now out into the open. And India has made its unease over increasing Chinese presence clear.
"Policies are always made 20 years ahead. So they're looking far ahead. We also need to look far ahead and make sure we have the capability," he adds.
The Navy also insists that Chinese companies be kept out of port modernization projects. According to Admiral Sureesh Mehta, "The date, which is of a sensitive nature like hydrology, if that gets known to a nation, which may be inimical to you in the years ahead, then it's a cause for concern."
The Admiral's concern is that most Indian warships can operate only in shallow waters whereas naval superiority will be determined on the high seas. So, plug the gaps now or face the prospect of hostile forces, determinging the agenda in the waters around India - that is the Indian Navy's warning.
Let's see. India wants state of the art military hardware. They are a NON-MUSLIM state. They are threatened by China and they are a peaceful nation. Geez, I can't think of a better ally for the USA than India. They are slated to overtake China in population in a few years, and half the country already speaks English. Give'um everything they need. We need to cozy up our US-India relations. They could wind up being one of the best allies the USA has ever had.
That's probably more than will join the U.S. navy during the same period.
Actually I believe that they have the second or third largest Muslim population in the world.
& probably a 3rd the number of vessels joining the PLA-Navy in the same period!!
RS. 30,000 Crore is 300 Billion Rupees or about $6.7 Billion at today's exchange rate.
I agree with you. Our interests coincide, and will continue to do so for some time.
India is a ally we can work with, but it must be on a basis of equal respect. India will act in India's best interests always, and will not be cowed by US threats. It just so happens that their interests are our interests.
Seems a reasonable price,though it is bound to fluctuate(to the higher end) by the time it is 2010+.Really depends on what the IN wants.Is it just going to standard 4,000 tonne frigates or the European concept of 'Frigates' which are really destroyers in all things.It will most probably feature the new Israeli Indian Barak-2 medium/long-range SAM & MF-STAR radar system & the European anti-sub equipment.
Hi Sukhoi,
I see a lot of rejoicing on Indian jingo fora about the recent ABM tests carried out. The celebrations are well deserved, IMO. The AMB test is an amazing feat and easily a strategic imbalancer. Pak and China smell their asses burning now that they no longer can brazenly threaten India's cities.
Good show!
Well deserved,but I don't want to go over board.The system still needs to be validated with more tests,new sensors & tracking solutions developed.Then there will be the question of how it is to be deployed.Then if everything to goes plan,we need to look at how we can alter the doctrine of 'limited war' with the Pakis esp with this system in place.So,A long way to go,but certainly a good start & the (hidden) politico-bureaucratic consensus is good.
That wouldn't help our relations much with Pakistan...
Hmm another newbie joining to just post 1 comment!!!India has developed it's nukes just because of China.Enuff said.
About Indo-US relations,they were pretty tight after India's independence with the US backing Delhi in the war with China in 1962(while Moscow stayed neutral).Things began to fall apart with the deaths of Kennedy & Nehru.
"Hmm another newbie joining to just post 1 comment!!!"
Or maybe someone who got banned before and who has assumed a new identity?
We have plenty of mothballed ships that we could refurbish and sell India in the interium. Meanwhile, we can work closely between India and Britain to modernize India's armed forces and get them up to NATO standards.
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