Article Posted on : - Dec 04, 2011

Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. Photo: Indian Navy.

VISAKHAPATNAM (PTI): The Indian Navy plans to induct 49 ships and submarines in the next five years to strengthen its naval fleet, a top Navy official said Saturday.

Addressing a press conference on board INS Shakti, a fleet tanker of the Indian Navy, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Anil Chopra said the Navy presently has 132 ships, including 14 submarines.

"49 ships and submarines, which are under construction, would be inducted in the next five years. Out of these, 45 are being built indigenously at the Indian shipyards, while four are being built outside India," Chopra said.

Some of the ships that are to be inducted include aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, which is being built in Russia that would be stationed at the West Coast in Mumbai. Another aircraft carrier, being built at the Cochin shipyard, is likely to be stationed at Easter Naval Command here, he said.

"Other ships to be inducted include, three Shivalik class stealth frigates, four Kamorta class ASW corvettes, three Kolkata class project 15A, four project 15B ships, seven project 17A ships, three follow on Project 1135.6 ships, nine offshore patrol vessels, two cadet training ships," he said.

Apart from these, six catamaran survey ships and 95 fast interceptor crafts would also be inducted, Chopra added.

On the aviation side, the Navy plans to induct multi-role helicopter, naval utility helicopter, MiG 29K fighter aircraft, P81 long-range maritime patrol ASW aircraft, medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, in addition to mid-life upgrade plans for SeaKings and KV28 helicopters, he said.

The Vice-Admiral said that apart from its primary role as a defence force, the navy is also playing diplomatic, constabulary and humanitarian roles.

"As part of diplomatic role, the Indian Navy has been conducting joint naval exercises regularly with countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, the UK and the USA, among others. The Indo-US Malabar exercise will be held in the Bay of Bengal next year," Chopra said.

"Our nation sits astride a very large number of busy international shipping lanes that criss-cross the Indian Ocean. India is also beset with a number of security-related challenges, including natural and man-made disasters, sea-borne trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings, piracy and terrorism," the top Navy official said.

Vice-Admiral Chopra said the Indian Navy's primary area of maritime interests was the Indian Ocean, which amounts to an area of roughly 74 million sq km.

"A lot of initiatives are being considered in the area of coastal security, which includes enhanced inter-agency co-operation, setting up and functioning of joint operations centre, awareness campaigns in all coastal regions and conducting of regular coastal security exercises in association with 16 security agencies, including Coast Guard and state police for coastal security," he said.

On the issue of anti-piracy, Vice-Admiral Chopra said 26 naval ships had been deployed in the Gulf of Aden over the last few years and has escorted 1,779 ships including 1,556 foreign-flagged ships and successfully prevented 39 piracy attempts.

"The Indian Navy has been playing a major role in rescue and relief operations during the natural calamities like floods, cyclones, tsunami and earthquakes," he said.

The Navy is also planning to set up a Warfare Training Centre for navy and army personnel at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, he said.