NEW DELHI: The Navy is planning a significant expansion in its manpower and shore-based operational and technical infrastructure in the coming years, in keeping with its warship, submarine and aircraft induction projects over the next 15 years. During the naval commanders' conference which concluded on Friday, Admiral Nirmal Verma said the "primary challenge'' confronting the force was to balance its building of resources and "human capital'' with "requisite strategy'' to ensure rapid responses to the full spectrum of operations. Navy's ongoing warship, submarine and maritime aircraft acquisition programmes as well as other projects in the pipeline will together cost upwards of Rs 3,00,000 crore, as was reported by TOI last month.
The force, for instance, already has 50 ships "on order'', which includes aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (refitted Admiral Gorshkov) and three Talwar-class stealth frigates being built inRussia. The rest, being built or planned in domestic shipyards, include the indigenous aircraft carrier, six submarines, seven guided-missile destroyers and four anti-submarine warfare corvettes, among others.
The plans become crucial since India is competing with China for the same strategic space in the Indian Ocean Region, even as its primary area of geopolitical interest expands beyond the Persian Gulf-Malacca Strait construct. Navy will, of course, need much larger manpower than the existing 60,000 uniformed personnel, including around 8,000 officers, an expanded Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka as well as new forward operating bases, operational turnaround bases and naval air enclaves on both the mainland as well as island territories. Towards this end, the Phase-II expansion of the strategically-located Karwar base at a cost of around Rs 13,000 crore is all set to get the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security. After its completion, Navy will be able to base 27 major warships there against 11 at present.
Incidentally, from 2013 onwards, all new naval officers will be armed with B.Tech degrees since the force holds that an unprecedented advancement in warship technology and their state-of-art weapons and systems has taken place over the last decade.
The force, for instance, already has 50 ships "on order'', which includes aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (refitted Admiral Gorshkov) and three Talwar-class stealth frigates being built inRussia. The rest, being built or planned in domestic shipyards, include the indigenous aircraft carrier, six submarines, seven guided-missile destroyers and four anti-submarine warfare corvettes, among others.
The plans become crucial since India is competing with China for the same strategic space in the Indian Ocean Region, even as its primary area of geopolitical interest expands beyond the Persian Gulf-Malacca Strait construct. Navy will, of course, need much larger manpower than the existing 60,000 uniformed personnel, including around 8,000 officers, an expanded Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka as well as new forward operating bases, operational turnaround bases and naval air enclaves on both the mainland as well as island territories. Towards this end, the Phase-II expansion of the strategically-located Karwar base at a cost of around Rs 13,000 crore is all set to get the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security. After its completion, Navy will be able to base 27 major warships there against 11 at present.
Incidentally, from 2013 onwards, all new naval officers will be armed with B.Tech degrees since the force holds that an unprecedented advancement in warship technology and their state-of-art weapons and systems has taken place over the last decade.
No comments:
Post a Comment