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Navy gearing up to meet coastal security challenges

Staff Reporter

160 warships to be inducted in 10-15 years

— Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

A child watches as his father receives a gallantry award from the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, aboard INS Circars in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: As many as 160 warships and 300 aircraft will be inducted into the Navy during the next 10-15 years, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta said on Saturday.

The Navy was gearing up to meet the emerging challenges in coastal security and to protect the country’s growing maritime interests, he told a media conference after presenting gallantry and non-gallantry awards to 39 naval personnel at an investiture ceremony at the naval base here

An aircraft carrier, now under construction at the Cochin Shipyard, would be deployed in Visakhapatnam by 2016. Three ships of the Shivalik-class would join the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) in the near future, followed by the induction of more advanced ships.

Admiral Mehta foresaw a huge potential for manpower in view of these developments.

A new Naval Academy, being set up in Kerala, would start functioning in June. Offering four-year, special hi-tech courses, it would turn out engineering graduates suitable for the Navy. Admissions to the course would be made through the Combined Defence Services Examination.

Anti-piracy mission

Admiral Mehta said the Indian Navy was far ahead of other navies in undertaking anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. At present, ENC ships were engaged in joint exercises with the Singapore Navy and they would visit China next.

Replying to a query, he disagreed that the Navy was averse to 24-hour operations at the Visakhapatnam airport. He said it was ready to provide logistics support for the operation of flights round-the-clock.

He, however, said there should be sufficient demand for night flights.

Order books full

Asked about bringing Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) under the defence sector, Admiral Mehta said it was only a matter of time before the proposal fell through. “The Navy has always been a strong advocate of indigenisation. The three government shipyards at Kolkata, Goa and Cochin have their order books full with 38 ships under various stages of construction. Merchant shipping is in a slump and the HSL would cater for the growing shipbuilding needs of the Navy.”

He said land acquisition for the Alternate Operating Base was on and construction would begin soon. Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the ENC Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma was present.

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