December 2012-January 2013 Volume 7 No. 6 `100.00 (India-Based Buyer Only) www.spsnavalforces.net ROUNDUP PAGE 4 Navy and the Nation With its predominant position in the Indian Ocean, India faces imponderables and added responsibilities with such regularity that its Navy appears fully occupied with unforeseen contingencies in peacetime. Vice Admiral (Retd) Anup Singh PAGE 6 Minister of Defence India Precision Approach Radars The Indian Navy has floated a request for It is a pleasure to learn that SP Guide Publications is bringing out a special issue of SP’s Naval Forces, coinciding information for PAR. With additional aircraft with the commemoration of the Indian Navy Day. carriers and air stations in the future, there will Our Navy has been entrusted with the task of securing our national maritime borders. India’s “Blue Water” be a requirement for many PARs. Navy plays an important role in furthering international relations and promoting peace and harmony through joint exercises and swift response to demands for humanitarian missions and in disaster relief operations. Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand I am sure that SP’s Naval Forces will continue to come out with material that will motivate our Navy personnel. I wish the SP Guide Publications the very best for the publication. PAGE 8 Surface Weapons for the Littorals A.K. Antony NAVY DAY / INTERACTION The Indian Navy is set to acquire over 80 new warships, including two aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines each, scheduled to join its fleet in the coming decade. Rear Admiral (Retd) Dr S. Kulshrestha PAGE 10 Critical in Mitigating Maritime Security Risks OPVs are highly flexible and inexpensive platforms, capable of a broad range of constabulary and low-intensity operations. Commander (Retd) Neil Gadihoke PAGE 11 New Technology for Maritime Missions Modern amphibian aircraft make possible a range of options not achievable by any one platform. Its unique multi-modal design permits airborne, seaborne and land operations in a single platform. uide Pubns G P Commodore (Retd) Sujeet Samaddar S HS: P PLUS GRA O T 40 Years Since Operation Trident 12 O PH Commander (Retd) Neil Gadihoke Interview: Bernard Buisson, Managing Director of DCNS India Pvt Ltd 14 Show Report: Euronaval 2012 15 R. Chandrakanth ‘Offset is a fairly Interview: Khalil Rahman, Country Head, India, Atlas Elektronik 16 UAVs: For Maritime Surveillance 17 complex process’ News in Brief 18 6/2012 1 Unique. Ahead of the Art. Unique. Ahead of the Art. Unique. Ahead of the Art. ShinMaywa Advert_for MYB & MAI.indd 1 20/11/12 2:18 PM ShinMaywaShinMaywa Advert_for Advert_for MYB MYB & MAI.indd & MAI.indd 1 1 20/11/1220/11/12 2:18 2:18PM PM ShinMaywa Advert for NF.indd 3 01/12/12 12:39 PM NAVY DAY / INTERACTION The Indian Navy marked Navy Day on Decem- sidered most appropriate to include an article insight on OPVs and India’s plans about them. ber 4, 2012, with a curtain-raiser press confer- on the Navy’s role in nation-building which cov- Then there is an article on amphibious aircraft, ence by the Navy Chief Admiral D.K. Joshi in ers the whole gambit including guarding India’s show report on the Euronaval held earlier this which he gave an overview of the Navy’s cur- economic interest, policing and diplomacy. year at Paris and the usual News Digest. We rent role and its modernisation plans. He also The write-up on Operation Trident retraces at SP Guide Publications greet the Indian Navy touched upon the regional environment where the Navy’s finest hour during 1971 War with Paki- on the Navy Day and salute their valour! Happy he emphasised that the Navy is fully prepared stan in which their entire Navy was almost deci- Reading and a Happy New Year. to protect oil and gas exploration efforts by the mated. The article on “Precision Approach Radar” ONGC-Videsh, in Vietnam’s maritime zone in which tries to make the flying operations from an the South China Sea. aircraft carrier safer for the pilots. In the article To my question on coastal security, the on surface weapons for the littorals, the author Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) stated that the quotes Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov who said that Navy has been given the overall responsibility “A good gun causes victory, armour only post- EDITORIAL of maritime security including coastal security. pones defeat.” This statement says it all in sup- Challenges are in two paradigms – inter-gov- port of firepower and the author gives an insight ernmental coordination and hardware. Progress into the naval guns with focus on the Indian Navy. is being made on these aspects and the situ- An offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is a relatively ation is much better compared to what it was light and agile naval platform generally designed three-four years back, and it will continue to for coastal defence duties which are in service improve. Excerpts of the interaction with the all over the world, in most navies, coast guards JAYANT BARANWAL CNS are included as the lead article. It was con- and marine police forces. The author gives an Publisher & Editor-in-Chief “The Navy stands committed to providing stability, not just to the IOR, but also for safeguarding our interests across the oceans,” said Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral D.K. Joshi while addressing the media on the eve of Navy Day. The Navy Chief said that coastal security continues to remain an important aspect of the Navy’s comprehensive approach towards maritime security. Excerpts of the communication with SP’s Naval Forces Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal: Jayant Baranwal (JB): Coastal security con- We are preparing to face all tinues to be a weak link in India’s mari- Excerpts from CNS’ Navy Day Address time domain. What steps have been taken challenges and there is also or need to be taken to strengthen this part zz Modernisation and enhancement of the Navy’s capabilities is an ongoing process to of the national security apparatus? meet emerging maritime challenges/threats. These include aircraft carriers, stealth a thought to create a Joint- Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): The Navy frigates, destroyers, corvettes, amphibious ships and submarines. Indian Navy would has been given the overall responsibility of also be inducting state-of-the-art aircraft and helicopters to augment our surveillance Services Command to exploit maritime security including coastal secu- and integral aviation capabilities. Our preferred choice of inducting ships and sub- rity. It is in the public domain. However, space-based capabilities. marines has been through the indigenous route and of the 44 ships and submarines different sections of the media project it presently on order, 42 are from the Indian shipyards, including private shipyards. differently. There are two paradigms to it—inter-governmental coordination and zz Over the next five years, we expect to induct ships/submarines at an average rate of hardware. Inter-governmental coordination five-six ships per year. Amongst the major projects, under construction in Indian ship- is a very complex issue and we faced many yards, are ships of Kolkata class (P-15A), P-15B ships which are an advanced version of JB: What step is the Indian Navy taking Unique. Ahead of the Art. complex challenges coordinating as there the Kolkata class and the P-75 submarines, all at the Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai. to exploit space-based capabilities for the are too many departments involved includ- Anti-surface warfare corvettes are being series built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders conduct of operations in the future? ing fisheries, customs, immigration, agri- and Engineers Ltd. Kolkata. In addition, naval offshore patrol vessels are under con- CNS: There are thoughts of having a Joint- culture, etc. The Fisheries Department in struction both at public and private sector shipyards. The construction of the indig- Services Command for the purpose. Unique. Ahead of the Art. many states are under the state Agriculture enous aircraft carrier though delayed is now picking up pace at the Cochin Shipyard. In Unique. Ahead of the Art. Department. It took a great amount of time 2013, we expect to induct one Kolkata class destroyer, one P-28 ASW corvette, one cata- JB: As CNS, what are your views on the to overcome the challenges in inter-govern- maran hull survey vessel, one offshore patrol vessel (OPV) and 16 fast interceptor craft. offset policy and implementation of the mental coordination, but now it has been zz Amongst the overseas projects, there has been a delay in the delivery of Vikrama- modernisation programmes? How satis- resolved and is at an outstanding level. The ditya, which has sailed for more than 100 days in the recent past and completed factory is it? involvement of the Cabinet Secretariat has a majority of its equipment and aviation trials. The revised schedule envisages the CNS: Offset is a fairly complex process. If helped resolve many inter-departmental delivery of the ship in the last quarter of 2013. we look at the countries where it has been issues. The second paradigm, hardware, implemented, it has been quite challenging. zz The scheduled induction of P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft com- impacts not only the Indian Navy and the It is an evolving process. It was not pos- mencing 2013 would augment the aerial surveillance capability, thereby enhancing the Coast Guard but also the coastal states sible to absorb the amount of offset which maritime domain awareness in Indian Ocean region and Indian Navy’s area of interest. having the task of enhancing coastal secu- was being offered.