Indian Navy vessel(INS Sukanya) foils pirate attacks in Gulf of Aden

In this attack navy officials seized three rifles, eight magazines and about 320 rounds of ammunition from the pirate boat which was carrying 14 pirates. Ladders and grapnels used by pirates to board merchant vessels were recovered.

An offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, INS Sukanya, thwarted another piracy attempt in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week. This makes it the third such successful operation for the ship in about a month. It had warded off attacks on 20 and 24 September.
The pirate boat was also carrying a large quantity of fuel and LPG cylinders, in addition to communication and navigation equipment.
The operation began after an Indian merchant vessel MV Desh Rakshak spotted a boat with a skiff in tow approaching it from about 5 to 6 nautical miles. The merchant vessel sent out a distress signal following which INS Sukanya, deployed in the region to carry out anti-piracy escort operations, altered its course.
The patrol vessel of the navy launched the Chetak helicopter, which warned the boat to stop, and asked all the crew members to muster on the upper deck of the boat. A team of marine commandos then boarded the ship and conducted a search. The arms and ammunition were seized and other equipment thrown overboard, and the boat was released, said a Navy release.
This is the fourth time INS Sukanya has thwarted a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.
Indian naval ships have prevented 40 piracy attempts in the Gulf of Aden and over 1,700 ships of different flags have been safely escorted.

US Naval ship USS Ford arrives at Kochi

The visit of US warship USS Ford (FFG54) will provide the US an important opportunity to promote peace and stability, demonstrate commitment and foster growing relationships with the Indian Navy, Commanding Officer Commander Donald M Foss Jr. said here on Saturday. Interacting with the media on board USS Ford, the Commander said the US shares many common interests with India, including mutual security, prosperity of our people and promotion of freedom.

“These sort of visits will help our sailors interact with Indian Navy men and create a better understanding between both the forces,’’ he said. Asked about the purpose of the visit, Commander Foss said though India was an active participant in a number of collaborative efforts which include exercises, no such initiatives will be included in this visit.

Consul General Jennifer McIntyre was also present on the occasion. The ship will be berthed at Kochi till October 5. During the five days in Kochi the crew will spend time ashore learning about the people and culture of Kochi and Kerala.

As part of its community service, the crew members will also take a community service activity on Sunday at Nature Club of Sacred Heart College. The USS Ford , an Oliver Hazard Perry-type warship, is named after Gunner’s Mate Patrick O Ford who was killed during the Vietnam War.

The ship was designed to provide self-defence and protection of shipping in conjunction with other sea forces and is capable of withstanding considerable damage.

Fleet tanker INS Shakti inducted into Indian Navy today.

Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, said in Visakhapatnam on Saturday that induction of Fleet Tanker INS Shakti would mark beginning of a new era of state-of-the-art technologies for the Indian Navy.
INS Shakti(Deepak class fleet tanker) was commissioned at Naval Dockyard in Viskhapatnam on Saturday.
"The ship enhances the reach of the Navy well beyond the limits of the Indian Ocean," Verma said.
He congratulated the Fincantieri Shipyard of Italy, which constructed the tanker, for delivering it in time.Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Anup Singh said that INS Shakti would double the strength of the fleet at the Eastern Naval Command.
175 metres long and 32 metres wide, Shakti would be one of the largest ships of the Navy. It is capable of carrying over 15,000 tonnes of liquid cargo including fuels for ships and aircraft, as well as fresh water. It can also carry upto 500 tonnes of solid cargo like provisions and ammunition.
It is fitted with indigenous Anti-Missile Defence Chaff system.
Post Master General, Visakhapatnam, Chandra Prakash released a special cover commemorating the commissioning.
Italian Ambassador to India Giacomo Sanfelice D'Monteforte and Chief of Naval Staff, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba too were present.

Indian Navy P-8I first flight(Video)

Boeing P-8I aircraft for Indian Navy completes first flight.

Boeing's first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight on Thursday at the Boeing Field in Seattle.

During the flight lasting two hours and 31 minutes, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing, Boeing said in a statement here.

In the coming weeks, Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a company facility near Boeing Field.

"The P-8I programme is progressing well and we are looking forward to this potent platform joining the Indian Navy as part of its fleet," Rear Admiral D M Sudan, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air), Indian Navy, was quoted as saying.

"The P-8I will provide India with the necessary speed and reliability to satisfy the Indian Navy's maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements," Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said.

Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, the P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the US Navy, he added.

Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I programme manager, said, "We have transitioned to P-8I production, and remain on track to deliver the first aircraft to the Indian Navy in 2013."

The P-8I is the first of eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in January 2009.

An option for four additional P-8I aircraft was included in the original contract, Boeing said. 

Source:ET.

DRDO conducts first engine ground run of naval LCA prototype.

   The country's first indigenous effort to build a carrier borne naval fighter aircraft got a fillip with the crossing of another significant milestone of the first Engine Ground Run of the first LCA (Navy) prototype NP1, DRDO said today.

The team steering LCA (Navy) project comprises members of Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, HAL, DRDO, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA), CSIR Labs, educational institutions, and other public and private sector partners, a Defence Research and Development Organisation statement said.

The first Engine Ground Run of NP1 aircraft, conducted at about 1830 hrs yesterday for its scheduled time, had the primary objective of checking aircraft to engine integration and activation of the various systems like flight control, hydraulics, fuel, electrical and avionics, which was successfully achieved, it said.

"The aircraft will now go through a phase of refinements based on feedback identified during the course of the build up and also observed during the EGR, followed by a series of final integration checks and taxi trials before its maiden flight shortly", DRDO said.

Plan of Rs 3L crores to boost India's naval might

Jostling for the same strategic space with China in the Indian Ocean and beyond, with the oil exploration stand-off in South China Sea being just the latest indicator, India is slowly but surely building a Navy for the future.

A powerful three-dimensional Navy, which can protect India's geo-strategic interests stretching from Hormuz Strait to Malacca Strait, will not come cheap. Neither will it be built overnight.

Calculations show ongoing warship, submarine and maritime aircraft acquisition programmes as well as some concrete projects in the pipeline will together cost well upwards of Rs 300,000 crore.

When Admiral Nirmal Verma on Saturday commissions the second fleet tanker from Italy, the 27,500-tonne INS Shakti, Navy's force-levels will stand at 132 ships, with just over 50 "major combatants" and 14 ageing submarines.

But the numbers will dip in the coming months, with older ships slated for retirement. China, in contrast, has close to 100 major warships and over 60 submarines, and is now increasingly flexing its muscles in international waters.

India cannot hope to match it. The good news, however, is there are 46 ships "on order" for Navy at different domestic shipyards, along with aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (refitted Admiral Gorshkov) and three Talwar-class stealth frigates being built in Russia, say defence ministry sources.

Ranging from two aircraft carriers, six submarines and seven guided-missile destroyers to four anti-submarine warfare corvettes, nine naval off-shore patrol vessels and eight amphibious craft, the combined price tag for these 50 ships comes to over Rs 100,000 crore.

There are also two other major projects taking concrete shape now. One, the Rs 52,000 crore `Project-75India' to acquire six new-generation stealth submarines, equipped with land-attack missiles and air-independent propulsion, for which the global tender is now in the final stages. Six Scorpene submarines are already being constructed at Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks (MDL) for Rs 23,562 crore.

Then, seven more stealth frigates are to be built at MDL and GRSE (Kolkata) under Project-17A for around Rs 45,000 crore. This will follow the three 6,200-tonne stealth frigates built at MDL for Rs 8,101 crore, INS Shivalik, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, with only the last now left to be delivered.

Navy is also going in for new carrier-borne fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft as well as multi-role helicopters and spy drones, which together will cost around Rs 85,000 crore. These include 45 Russian MiG-29Ks for $2 billion and 12 American P-8I long-range reconnaissance aircraft for over $3 billion.

The biggest warships currently under construction are the 44,570-tonne Vikramaditya and the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being built at Cochin Shipyard.

With Vikramaditya to be inducted by early-2013 and IAC by 2015, India hopes to deploy two potent carrier battle-groups by the middle of this decade. Another lethal punch will come when India's own nuclear submarine, the over 6,000-tonne INS Arihant being built at Vizag, becomes operational next year. 

(Source:TOI)