With India seeking to increase its fleet of ships for maritime security, French naval defence major DCNS made moves to expand its presence in the country to take the relationship beyond building the Scorpene submarines for the Navy.
The DCNS, which christened its self-funded Gowind Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘L'Adroit' at a ceremony in this Western French town shipyard on Friday, hoped the vessel would get a look-in by the Indian Coast Guard as would its Mistral class Landing Helicopter Dock by the Navy.
The French Navy will induct the Gowind OPV towards the end of the year, initially for surveillance mission closer to its coast before enlarging its role, its Navy Chief Admiral Pierre-Francois Forissier told a group of visiting international correspondents.
DCNS vice-president and deputy managing director Bernard Huet said the OPV would be on a three-year lease and sea-proven by the French Navy. While L'Adroit is the entry-level model of the Gowind class, other OPV/Corvettes can be equipped with a range of weapon systems for use against both land and sea targets.
The company said the Gowind programme spearheads its ambitious effort to win a larger share of the growing markets for small and medium-displacement surface ships. DCNS and its partners spent around €30 billion to design and manufacture an 87-metre-long vessel that offers three weeks blue water endurance with a range of 8,000 nautical miles at a top speed of 21 knots. It has a helicopter/unmanned aerial vehicle deck and boasts combining advanced technologies including unmanned surface vehicles, commando boat launch ramps and a single enclosed mast and a bridge that offers 360 degree visibility to the crew and sensors.
Officials said it began building the OPV in May last year and offered it to the Indian Coast Guard, which in the post-2008 Mumbai terror attack is expanding its fleet on a fast track basis.
Acquisitions cleared
The government has cleared acquisitions of various platforms including 13 OPVs for the Coast Guard. However, these would have to be built by an Indian shipyard with design collaboration from a foreign company. DCNS is already in talks with shipyards in India but its officials refused to share details citing commercial confidentiality.
The company plans to pitch its Mistral class – two of which it sold to Russia on Friday – when Indian Navy floats the tender even as it hopes to make headway in securing contract for the second line of six Scorpene submarines and 6 ships under project 17A.
