Neelam Mathews
Aug 11, 2012
I kept this as a weekend
read. The grand old man of the Navy will soon be retiring and will be
remembered for his candid, forthright, no-nonsense talk.
At his final press conference
on Aug 7, remarking on a publication that called him reticent, he said: “I ask
myself, ‘Is it too late for an old sea dog to learn new tricks?’. …. One
thing that I can assure you is that the Navy has not been short of significant
accomplishments over the past three years.”
Some excerpts:
I took over as the Chief of the Naval Staff, nearly
three years ago, on 31 Aug 09.Through a nautical perspective, I would say we
were then in the close wake of two defining events in the maritime domain; the
26/11 attacks on Mumbai and the sharp increase in Piracy off the Gulf of Aden
which was spreading dangerously close to our Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands.
In my first message to the Navy I had emphasized the need to focus on
both ‘consolidation’ and ‘sustained growth’ ....
Getting back to the challenges of the changing
operating environment; with respect to piracy, we have to a significant extent,
arrested this plague. We have had at least one ship continuously
deployed, off the Gulf of Aden, since October
2008. Over 2100 merchantmen have been escorted by IN ships and 40 piracy
attempts have been averted. Along with the sustained efforts of various navies
and the shipping community, the success rate of piracy has dropped from 38% in
2008 to approx 11% till 2011 and even further in 2012. It may surprise
some to know that our anti-piracy operations have thus far been coordinated
trilaterally with the Chinese and Japanese and in the near future this
initiative could include the South Korean navy. Such are the opportunities in
the maritime environment.
In 2009-10 the scourge of piracy had spread to the
East Arabian Sea at times beyond 1000 nm from the Horn of Africa
and closer to our waters. The Indian Navy has had a somewhat different and I
dare say rather proactive approach towards combating piracy. Proactive
and effective action by Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships and aircraft resulted
in the neutralization of all pirate ships operating in the region. I am happy
to state that over the past year, there has not been a single incident of
piracy within 300 nautical miles of our island territories on the West coast.
The maritime environment is complex and this proactive action has had
some unintended consequences. As a result of the relative safety of our waters
from piracy, there has consequently been a discernible shift in the
International Shipping Lines (ISLs). International shipping is now
passing closer to the Indian coast due to the protection provided by the Indian
Navy and Coast Guard. This has resulted in an unfortunate incident of mistaken
identity which resulted in the loss of innocent lives of our fishermen, such
are the dangers and challenges which require to be addressed.
I am often asked about the dichotomy of the fact that
the Indian Navy which professed Blue water aspirations is now engrossed in
Brown water operations. I see no such dichotomy in our maritime strategy
as we discharge our responsibilities as the lead agency for coastal security.
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.
A record number of 15 ships have been commissioned
into the Navy over the past three years, which include the three Shivalik class
stealth frigates – Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri – two fleet tankers, Deepak
and Shakti, one follow-on 1135.6 class stealth frigate, INS Teg, the sail
training ship, Sudarshini, and eight water-jet FACs. Commissioning of the
nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra on 23rd Jan this year was a momentous
occasion, as we are now part of a select group of six nations that operate
SSNs. Chakra has added considerable punch to our maritime power and will aid in
developing future concepts of naval operations in this very critical sphere.
You are aware that the Arihant is steadily progressing towards its
operationalisation, and we hope to commence sea trials in the coming months. Given
our unequivocal “no-first-use commitment” a retaliatory strike capability that
is credible and invulnerable is an imperative. The Indian Navy is poised
to complete the triad, and our maritime and nuclear doctrines will then be
aligned to ensure that our nuclear insurance comes from the sea.
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 P 15B 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.
The Indian Navy’s preferred choice of inducting ships
and submarines has always been through the indigenous route. Today, of the 46
ships and submarines presently on order, 43 are from Indian shipyards. The
intended induction programme is structured to continue at a pace such that over
the next five years we expect to induct ships and submarines at an average rate
of 5 platforms per year provided the yards deliver as per contracted timelines.
At the same time it would be amiss if I did not emphasize the need for
our public and private sector shipyards to scale up their capabilities to
deliver state-of-the-art warships that meet our future needs in time frames
that match global standards.To offer a perspective, the global average for
building a ship similar to a Delhi Class is about 36 months, that too with a
stringent cap on man days. These are the standards that our shipyards must
emulate so as to contain costs of ship building.
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.
On the aviation front too, eight of the world’s most
advanced, state-of-the-art P-8I Poseidon, long-range maritime patrol aircraft
are due to be inducted commencing early 2013. In addition, eight Medium Range
Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft are also planned for induction.
Procurement of additional Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is being progressed to
further augment our surveillance and reconnaissance capability at sea.
I have already mentioned about the most significant
aviation acquisition over the past three years - the carrier borne MiG-29K
fighters. These aircraft will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s strike
capability. The first batch has already been inducted and delivery of aircraft
from the follow-on contract will commence later this year.
The rotary wing assets of the Navy are also being
upgraded to induct state-of-the-art weapons, sensors and avionics. These
include upgradation of the Kamov 28 and Seaking 42B. The new inductions
amongst the helicopters include the Multi-role Helicopters (MRH) for fleet
ships. In addition, the Naval Utility Helicopter is also planned for induction
by 2016 and the Request for Proposal should get issued any time now.
The Indian Navy is also committed in numerous
bilateral initiatives to facilitate capability building and capacity
enhancement of our smaller neighbours, particularly island nations in the IOR.
Towards this end we have formulated our doctrine and our efforts have been in
cosonnance with the same. These include installation of radars and AIS
systems, providing assets for EEZ surveillance and hydrographic assistance.
These initiatives have enhanced the Navy’s reputation as a maritime leader in
the region and a professional and capable force.
Our foreign cooperation initiatives include engaging
with other extra-regional navies as well, to gain operational skills and
doctrinal expertise, exchange transformational experiences, generate
inter-operability and enhance our awareness in the maritime domain through a
variety of information-sharing mechanisms.The growing scope and complexity of
‘Combined Exercises’ with the United States Navy, the French, the Royal Navy,
the Russian Navy, the Singaporeans and South African and Brazilian Navies all
contribute towards our cooperative engagement initiatives.
To reflect upon my tenure as the Chairman, Chiefs of
Staff Committee I would reiterate that I am a firm supporter of jointness and I
am convinced that closer integration between the three Services is necessary
for greater efficiency and economy in the long term. We have been proceeding
steadily, albeit slowly on the path towards greater integration. I am of the
view that this needs to be hastened, especially to ensure more effective
control of our strategic forces and more efficient conduct of defence
procurement, training and logistics.
It is a matter of satisfaction, that for the first
time, the LTIPP 2012-27 and the XII Defence Plan have been approved by the
Defence Acquisition Council, in time. This will provide greater certainty and
direction to our long term modernization plans.
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