SOURCE:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/india/2015/india-150716-sputnik01.htm?_m=3n%2e002a%2e1471%2eka0ao00b2h%2e1cni
Sputnik News
15:15 16.07.2015
The Indian Navy aims to have 200 warships in the next 10 years, with three aircraft carriers in each of the three naval commands.
According to India's Economic Times, Admiral P. Murugesan, the vice chief of India's naval staff, said that the navy aims to have 200 warships operational by 2027, up from just 137 at present.
Currently, the Indian Navy has 48 ships under construction on several shipyards across the nation. At present, the Navy operates 137 combatants with new ships being added at a rate of 4-5 a year.
As India plans to have a total of 200 warships by 2017, it means that India's shipyards will have to upgrade production in the coming years, considering that some of India's current warships will have to be retired by 2027.
It is likely that India will purchase more foreign ships in the years ahead in order to reach its target of 200 ships, the Economic Times report suggested.
According to Swedish think tank the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was the largest arms importer for the years 2010-2014. During that period, India was the recipient of 15 percent of all international arms transfers, up from just 9 percent in the five years prior.
India's arms purchases increased 140 percent during this period.
By comparison, India's domestic arms industry continues to suffer from severe delays in producing new systems, partly due to the excessive bureaucracy in India. Thus, it is safe to assume that if India's Navy boasts 200 warships by 2027, a large part of its fleet will have been purchased from abroad.
Russia and the United States are India's top arms suppliers.
© Sputnik
India entered the 21st Century with a small but formidable regional naval posture. Long considered a "blue water" navy, the Indian Navy faces major challenges as many of its major vessels near the end of their service lives. Indigenous shipbuilding efforts are struggling to achieve acceptable levels of productivity and efficiency. By the end of the 20th Century the Indian Navy had emerged as the fifth largest in the world. It appeared that the Indian Navy (IN) continues to have procurement problems with delays in both domestically produced weapons systems and foreign purchases; potentially impacting its self envisaged roles of sea control and sea denial. In the mid-1990s the Indian fleet numbered over 100 combat naval vessels, of which 15 were submarines, 2 were aircraft carriers, and another 23 were destroyers and fast frigates. Problems with funding and the lack of spare parts meant that only about one-half of India's warships were operable at any one time, while the other half were merely sea-worthy. This situation had persisted since the early 1980s, due to under-funding. By the mid-1990s, India was preparing for a long-overdue major modernization program that was to include completion of three 5,000-ton Delhi-class destroyers, the building of three 3,700-ton frigates based on Italian Indian Naval Ship (INS)-10 design, and the acquisition of four hydrographic survey ships. Also to be built were an Indian-designed warship called Frigate 2001; six British Upholder-class submarines; an Indian-designed and Indian-built missile-firing nuclear submarine -- the Advanced Technology Vessel -- based on the Soviet Charlie II class; and an Indian-designed and Indian-built 17,000-ton air defense ship capable of carrying between twelve and fifteen aircraft. The air-defense ship was to be, in effect, a replacement for India's two aging British aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant, the keel of which was laid in 1943 but construction of which was not completed until 1961 and which was slated for decommissioning by 2000, and the INS Viraat, which entered service in 1987 and is likely to be decommissioned by 2005. The problems encountered with modernizing these and other foreign-source ships led India to decide against acquiring an ex-Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier in 1994. In the spirit of international military cooperation, India made moves in the early and mid-1990s to enhance joint-nation interoperability. Indian naval exercises have taken place with ships from the Russian navy and those of Indian Ocean littoral states and other nations, including the United States. The Navy was allocated approximately 18% (US$3.57 billion) of the total defense budget in FY2003-2004. It was struggling to find replacements for a fleet that was having vessels decommissioned due to old age faster than they can be replaced. Senior IN officers envisage that by 2010 the service will be a strategic force, centered on two aircraft carrier battle groups, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) and strategic bomber/maritime strike aircraft, playing a dominant role in the Indian Ocean Region. "The IN will principally be an ocean-going navy by the end of the decade, with few ships less than 1,200 tons," outlined a senior officer in mid-2003. However, its strategic assets will determine its future role and power projection capability, particularly with regard to China, which the navy considers its principal adversary. India has a 5:1 advantage over the Pakistan Navy in terms of combat vessels, air assets and manpower and does not consider it a maritime threat; merely an "irritant" with limited sea denial capability. The IN is more concerned about having a strong presence in the eastern South China Sea to counter Beijing's growing influence in the Indian Ocean, Myanmar and on Pakistan's western seaboard, where China is helping to develop Gwadar port that will provide it access to the Persian Gulf. Focused on developing a blue water capability, the IN took several strides forward in 2003 in weapon systems procurement and in exercise participation. Of key importance is the procurement of new aircraft carriers. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Madhavendra Singh said earlier in 2003 that India needs three more carriers in addition to the one it currently has. In 2003 the Defence Acquisition Council approved the 10-year Plan for Navy to acquire 23 more warships including an indigenous air defence warship. At that time the Navy had 140 warships and submarines but it required at least 198 warships, because about 80 ships were on the verge of replacement. Critical to New Delhi's push for blue water navy was the purchase of Russia's Admiral Gorshkov as a replacement for its aging INS Vikrant and possible further acquisition of additional carriers. With continuing slow procurement problems and the likely retirement of Viraat in 2010, further delays could meant gaps in operational coverage during a potential time of increased Chinese naval activity both in the South China Sea and in the Indian Ocean. The navy agreed to buy the Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov, for a nominal fee. But it required a $670m refit and will eventually have between 18 to 20 Mig 29 fighters which will cost in excess of $1bn. Gorshkov, which is slated to join the Indian navy in May 2008 after a refit. The indigenous version - the 'Air Defense Ship' would take at least a decade to complete. India needed to replace a former Royal Navy carrier, HMS Hermes, which it bought from Britain in 1986. Replacing the INS Viraat was a priority to maintain a three-carrier fleet. Increasing the stealth frigate fleet, IN received its first indigenously produced ship, INS Shivalik (two more were expected to be commissioned in Dec 2006 and Dec 2007) and two Russian-produced frigates, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, based on the Krivak III; with a third to be delivered later. IN also agreed to purchase six French Scorpene subs while ongoing efforts to upgrade its Kilo-class submarines into 'missile-capable' vessels continue. The six submarines from France will cost of $700m. The Indian Navy will acquire technology to build the advanced Scorpene submarines in state-run shipbuilding yards.
Under the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2022's indigenous construction component, the Navy will acquire two Cadet Training Ships, five more offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to add to the four already ordered from Goa Shipyard Ltd, three LPDs, seven Project 17A FFGs, six SSKs under Project 75(I), eight guided-missile corvettes under Project 28A (to add to the four Project 28 ASW vessels now being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineering), eight GRP-hulled MCMVs, and another integrated aircraft carrier.
In an unprecedented naval construction program, by 2008 the Indian Navy had an indigenous order to construct 38 vessels, which included an aircraft carrier, three destroyers and three frigates, four anti-submarine corvettes, six submarines, 10 waterjet-propelled fast attack craft, a landing ship, six survey vessels, and four offshore patrol vessels, with many more orders anticipated. "By 2022, we plan to have 160-plus ship navy, including three aircraft carriers, 60 major combatants, including submarines and close to 400 aircraft of different types. This will be a formidable three dimensional force with satellite surveillance and networking to provide force multiplication," Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said in October 2008.
By 2020 the Indian Navy surface combatant fleet will be
Arihant, which is the first submarine under the Advanced Technology Vessel Programme (ATVP), was launched on 26 July 2009 at Visakhapatnam. It demonstrates a quantum leap in the shipbuilding capabilities of the country. The submarine is now undergoing wide ranging trials to prove the various systems fitted onboard. This would be followed by extensive sea trials, before it was commissioned into the Indian Navy.
By 2011 the Indian Navy’s perspective-planning of ‘force-levels’ concentrated upon ‘capabilities’ instead of numbers alone. In terms of force accretions in the immediate future, the Navy was acquiring ships in accordance with the Navy’s Maritime Capability Perspective Plan. There were 49 ships and submarines on order. The preferred choice of inducting ships has been through the indigenous route. For instance, the GRSE had already delivered all three of the large amphibious ships and ten water-jet Fast Attack Craft. The yard was constructing four advanced Anti-submarine Corvettes (P28) and was recently awarded a contract to build eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU’s).
In the South, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) was progressing the construction of India's most ambitious ship yet – the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). As of 2011 the ship was scheduled for launch in early 2012 [later slipped to August 2013]. At Mumbai, the premier warship-building yard Mazagon Docks Limited, was engaged in the construction of three Kolkata Class destroyers and four Project 15 B destroyers besides one stealth frigate of the Shivalik Class,(two had already been delivered on 29 April 2010 and 20 August 2011). Six submarines of the Scorpene Class were also under construction at MDL. Goa Shipyard Limited, which had built a number of Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Navy and the Coast Guard, had four advanced versions of this type under construction. Alcock-Ashdown Gujarat Limited was entrusted with the construction of six catamaran-hulled survey ships for hydrographic duties, Pipavav Shipyard at Gujarat was making five NOPV’s, and ABG Shipyard, Gujarat was constructing two Cadet Training ships for the Indian Navy.
The indigenous warships construction had come a long way since the commissioning of INS Nilgiri on 03 Jun 72. There are not many countries in the world having capability to produce such a wide variety of warships ranging from Fast Attack Craft to Aircraft Carrier. However, a few ships are being inducted from abroad also to bridge the gaps in the capabilities that have been envisaged in the Master Plan of Navy. These included the carrier Vikramaditya and three follow-on ships of the Talwar Class from Russia.
The induction programd continued apace and over the five years 2012-2017 the Navy expected to induct ships/submarines at an average rate of 5 ships per year provided the yards deliver as per contracted timelines. In 2011 the Navy concluded eight important contracts which include contracts for four destroyers, five Offshore Patrol Vessels, two Cadet Training Ships, eight Landing Craft Utility and Fast Interceptor Craft for coastal security duties. It was also looking forward to soon concluding contracts for Mine Counter Measure vessels and P 17A frigates.
Under the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2022's indigenous construction component, the Navy will acquire two Cadet Training Ships, five more offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to add to the four already ordered from Goa Shipyard Ltd, three LPDs, seven Project 17A FFGs, six SSKs under Project 75(I), eight guided-missile corvettes under Project 28A (to add to the four Project 28 ASW vessels being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineering), eight GRP-hulled MCMVs, and another integrated aircraft carrier.
July 16, 10:04 UTC+3
The naval frigate order is likely to exceed $3 billion
NEW DELHI, July 16. /TASS/. Russia has chosen the private shipyard Pipavav in India for the joint construction of the Talwar class frigates (patrol ships of Project 11356, India's Economic Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
A government source told the publication that the 'naval frigate order is likely to exceed $3 billion, making it the private sector's biggest-ever warship-building project.' 'After an evaluation of several Indian shipyards, including that of Larsen & Toubro, Russia has formally informed the Defense Ministry that Pipavav has been chosen as its Indian partner for the project. Officials said a formal letter was sent by Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) director Alexander Fomin last week confirming the partnership,' the newspaper reported.
'The contract for the new frigates is likely to be in the form of a government-to-government order with Russia and could be signed this financial year with delivery expected over the next six to eight years,' according to the publication. Indian Vice-chief of naval staff, Vice-Admiral P. Murugesan, has confirmed that the sides have been in negotiations on the frigate building technology transfer.
In the period from 2003 to 2013, India has bought from Russia six Talwar class frigates, which were built at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad-based Yantar Shipyard. It was announced after that that India was no longer going to buy finished ships and requested Russia to transfer the technology.
A TASS source close to the Indian Defense Ministry has also confirmed that the Russian side 'has visited several shipyards looking for potential shipbuilding partners, however, said that there was no official information year about the conclusion of a deal with Pipavav.'
© TASS
Krivak IV Project 1135.6
Patrol Project 11356 was designed for warfare in the ocean and the sea on their own and as part of the naval forces. They are capable of destroying enemy submarines, to carry out anti, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense warships and vessels to support ground combat, provide amphibious landing.
The main objectives of the Russian Shipbuilding Agency for 2004 in the military sector included the Sankt Petersburg class diesel sub for the Russian and foreign customers; project 11356 frigate; mine sweeper; combat and patrol cutters, specialized and auxiliary ships (fire control, divers', hydrographic, demagnetizing, floating berths).
The Project 1135.6 Dozorny Frigate [and a number of other vessels] were to be built will replace Project 956 destroyers used by the Navy. The new frigates will be capable of acting both as anti-submarine vessels and combat ships. They were to have a displacement of about 4,000 tons, as compared with the Navy destroyers' 9,500 tons.
The Russian Navy issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in early 2002 for the construction of 10-20 frigates in the 4,000-ton range. Budgetary restrictions and a general halt on new projects, delayed the decision. The RFP was re-issued on 28 February 2005. Bidding was supposed to conclude by 01 April 2005, with a decision anticipated by the end of 2005. Two shipyards were considered frontrunners for the program:
Baltic Zavod - which at the time had no major construction projects; and Severnaya Verf, which was building the Steregushchy-class frigate. Plans call for building at least 10 units of the class, at a unit cost of about $200 million, and possibly as many as 20 total. If the project moves ahead as planned, the first unit would launch by the end of 2006 and commission in mid-2007. This competition was reportedly won by Severnaya Verf, and nothing more was heard of Baltic Zavod's Project 1135.6 Dozorny.
The Project 11356 frigates, displacing 3,850 tons are designed for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare on the high seas, and for anti-aircraft operations, both independently and as an escort ship. The ships are armed with an eight-cell launcher for Kalibr and Klub (3M54E) anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles, a 100-mm main gun, Kashtan gun/missile close-in air defense systems, Shtil vertical-launch air defense missile systems, two torpedo tubes, an anti-submarine rocket system and a Ka-28 or Ka-31 helicopter.
The lead warship in the series, the Admiral Grigorovich, was laid down in December 2010, the second, the Admiral Essen, in July 2011 and the third, the Admiral Makarov, in February 2012. Russia's first Project 11356 frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, was to join the Black Sea Fleet in 2014, Vice-Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov said on 29 April 2013. “The newest Project 11356 escort ship, the Admiral Grigorovich, should be launched in 2013 and join the Black Sea Fleet in 2014,” Fedotenkov said.
The Yantar shipyard in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad launched construction of a new Project 11356 frigate for the Russian navy on 13 July 2013. The official ceremony, attended by Deputy Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Rear Admiral Sergei Popov, was held Friday, according to Baltic Reporter online news portal. The Admiral Butakov is the fourth in a series of six Project 11356, or Admiral Grigorovich-class, frigates for delivery to the Black Sea Fleet between 2014 and 2016 under a contract with the Defense Ministry.
The Yantar shipyard in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad on Friday floated out the first in a series of six Project 11356 frigates being built for the Black Sea Fleet, the company said 14 March 2014. Four more ships of the same class were in various stages of construction at the shipyard. All six frigates will be delivered to the Black Sea Fleet between 2014 and 2017 under two contracts with the Defense Ministry.
Patrol ship "Admiral Grigorovich" - Project 11356 frigate head being built for the Russian Navy at the shipyard "Yantar", in late March 2015 began sea trials in the Baltic. Spokesman for the company Sergei Mikhailov said, "It is planned that the sea trials" Admiral Grigorovich "will begin on March 26-27. At present, the factory ship dock completes work on the demagnetization, and then move to the acceptance base in the ports of the Baltic". Sea trials patrol boat, which goes to the Black Sea Fleet, will last presumably before the end of May, after which it would be transferred to the customer.
The first in a series of six Admiral Grigorovich class (Project 11356) frigates, being built for the Black Sea Fleet, will be delivered to the Russian Navy in August, the United Shipbuilding Corporation said 08 April 2015. "The delivery of the Admiral Grigorovich frigate is planned for August 2015," the company said in a statement. "Admiral Grigorovich" was laid down in December 2010, was launched in March 2014.
Under two contracts signed with the Ministry of Defense, "Yantar" is building a series of patrol ships of project 11356 development of the Northern Design Bureau. In addition to the "Grigorovich" in this series of modern frigates for the Black Sea Fleet includes "Admiral Essen," "Admiral Makarov", "Admiral Butakov" and "Admiral Istomin." Complete the construction of a series of Kaliningrad shipbuilders have in 2017.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/india/2015/india-150716-sputnik01.htm?_m=3n%2e002a%2e1471%2eka0ao00b2h%2e1cni
Indian Navy's Quest:
200 Warships in Next 10 Years
Sputnik News
The Indian Navy aims to have 200 warships in the next 10 years, with three aircraft carriers in each of the three naval commands.
According to India's Economic Times, Admiral P. Murugesan, the vice chief of India's naval staff, said that the navy aims to have 200 warships operational by 2027, up from just 137 at present.
Currently, the Indian Navy has 48 ships under construction on several shipyards across the nation. At present, the Navy operates 137 combatants with new ships being added at a rate of 4-5 a year.
As India plans to have a total of 200 warships by 2017, it means that India's shipyards will have to upgrade production in the coming years, considering that some of India's current warships will have to be retired by 2027.
It is likely that India will purchase more foreign ships in the years ahead in order to reach its target of 200 ships, the Economic Times report suggested.
According to Swedish think tank the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was the largest arms importer for the years 2010-2014. During that period, India was the recipient of 15 percent of all international arms transfers, up from just 9 percent in the five years prior.
India's arms purchases increased 140 percent during this period.
By comparison, India's domestic arms industry continues to suffer from severe delays in producing new systems, partly due to the excessive bureaucracy in India. Thus, it is safe to assume that if India's Navy boasts 200 warships by 2027, a large part of its fleet will have been purchased from abroad.
Russia and the United States are India's top arms suppliers.
© Sputnik
Further Reading
India - Navy Modernization
The Indian Navy (IN) has been in forefront in indigenisation of its platforms, systems, sensors and weapons. As a fall out of the capabilities, ouryards are now being recognised world over. In the field of indigenous development of naval armament, IN had adopted a two pronged approach. Firstly, it is self-reliance which has helped in harnessing potential of DRDO establishment and industries. Secondly, wherever technology was readily available and collaboration was possible, IN has considered the option of partnership in the form of either Transfer of Technology (TOT) or Joint Venture (JV) between the appropriate players and the national industry. This has resulted in bridging the time gap between developmentand exploitation of a weapon system.India entered the 21st Century with a small but formidable regional naval posture. Long considered a "blue water" navy, the Indian Navy faces major challenges as many of its major vessels near the end of their service lives. Indigenous shipbuilding efforts are struggling to achieve acceptable levels of productivity and efficiency. By the end of the 20th Century the Indian Navy had emerged as the fifth largest in the world. It appeared that the Indian Navy (IN) continues to have procurement problems with delays in both domestically produced weapons systems and foreign purchases; potentially impacting its self envisaged roles of sea control and sea denial. In the mid-1990s the Indian fleet numbered over 100 combat naval vessels, of which 15 were submarines, 2 were aircraft carriers, and another 23 were destroyers and fast frigates. Problems with funding and the lack of spare parts meant that only about one-half of India's warships were operable at any one time, while the other half were merely sea-worthy. This situation had persisted since the early 1980s, due to under-funding. By the mid-1990s, India was preparing for a long-overdue major modernization program that was to include completion of three 5,000-ton Delhi-class destroyers, the building of three 3,700-ton frigates based on Italian Indian Naval Ship (INS)-10 design, and the acquisition of four hydrographic survey ships. Also to be built were an Indian-designed warship called Frigate 2001; six British Upholder-class submarines; an Indian-designed and Indian-built missile-firing nuclear submarine -- the Advanced Technology Vessel -- based on the Soviet Charlie II class; and an Indian-designed and Indian-built 17,000-ton air defense ship capable of carrying between twelve and fifteen aircraft. The air-defense ship was to be, in effect, a replacement for India's two aging British aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant, the keel of which was laid in 1943 but construction of which was not completed until 1961 and which was slated for decommissioning by 2000, and the INS Viraat, which entered service in 1987 and is likely to be decommissioned by 2005. The problems encountered with modernizing these and other foreign-source ships led India to decide against acquiring an ex-Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier in 1994. In the spirit of international military cooperation, India made moves in the early and mid-1990s to enhance joint-nation interoperability. Indian naval exercises have taken place with ships from the Russian navy and those of Indian Ocean littoral states and other nations, including the United States. The Navy was allocated approximately 18% (US$3.57 billion) of the total defense budget in FY2003-2004. It was struggling to find replacements for a fleet that was having vessels decommissioned due to old age faster than they can be replaced. Senior IN officers envisage that by 2010 the service will be a strategic force, centered on two aircraft carrier battle groups, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) and strategic bomber/maritime strike aircraft, playing a dominant role in the Indian Ocean Region. "The IN will principally be an ocean-going navy by the end of the decade, with few ships less than 1,200 tons," outlined a senior officer in mid-2003. However, its strategic assets will determine its future role and power projection capability, particularly with regard to China, which the navy considers its principal adversary. India has a 5:1 advantage over the Pakistan Navy in terms of combat vessels, air assets and manpower and does not consider it a maritime threat; merely an "irritant" with limited sea denial capability. The IN is more concerned about having a strong presence in the eastern South China Sea to counter Beijing's growing influence in the Indian Ocean, Myanmar and on Pakistan's western seaboard, where China is helping to develop Gwadar port that will provide it access to the Persian Gulf. Focused on developing a blue water capability, the IN took several strides forward in 2003 in weapon systems procurement and in exercise participation. Of key importance is the procurement of new aircraft carriers. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Madhavendra Singh said earlier in 2003 that India needs three more carriers in addition to the one it currently has. In 2003 the Defence Acquisition Council approved the 10-year Plan for Navy to acquire 23 more warships including an indigenous air defence warship. At that time the Navy had 140 warships and submarines but it required at least 198 warships, because about 80 ships were on the verge of replacement. Critical to New Delhi's push for blue water navy was the purchase of Russia's Admiral Gorshkov as a replacement for its aging INS Vikrant and possible further acquisition of additional carriers. With continuing slow procurement problems and the likely retirement of Viraat in 2010, further delays could meant gaps in operational coverage during a potential time of increased Chinese naval activity both in the South China Sea and in the Indian Ocean. The navy agreed to buy the Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov, for a nominal fee. But it required a $670m refit and will eventually have between 18 to 20 Mig 29 fighters which will cost in excess of $1bn. Gorshkov, which is slated to join the Indian navy in May 2008 after a refit. The indigenous version - the 'Air Defense Ship' would take at least a decade to complete. India needed to replace a former Royal Navy carrier, HMS Hermes, which it bought from Britain in 1986. Replacing the INS Viraat was a priority to maintain a three-carrier fleet. Increasing the stealth frigate fleet, IN received its first indigenously produced ship, INS Shivalik (two more were expected to be commissioned in Dec 2006 and Dec 2007) and two Russian-produced frigates, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, based on the Krivak III; with a third to be delivered later. IN also agreed to purchase six French Scorpene subs while ongoing efforts to upgrade its Kilo-class submarines into 'missile-capable' vessels continue. The six submarines from France will cost of $700m. The Indian Navy will acquire technology to build the advanced Scorpene submarines in state-run shipbuilding yards.
Under the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2022's indigenous construction component, the Navy will acquire two Cadet Training Ships, five more offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to add to the four already ordered from Goa Shipyard Ltd, three LPDs, seven Project 17A FFGs, six SSKs under Project 75(I), eight guided-missile corvettes under Project 28A (to add to the four Project 28 ASW vessels now being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineering), eight GRP-hulled MCMVs, and another integrated aircraft carrier.
In an unprecedented naval construction program, by 2008 the Indian Navy had an indigenous order to construct 38 vessels, which included an aircraft carrier, three destroyers and three frigates, four anti-submarine corvettes, six submarines, 10 waterjet-propelled fast attack craft, a landing ship, six survey vessels, and four offshore patrol vessels, with many more orders anticipated. "By 2022, we plan to have 160-plus ship navy, including three aircraft carriers, 60 major combatants, including submarines and close to 400 aircraft of different types. This will be a formidable three dimensional force with satellite surveillance and networking to provide force multiplication," Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said in October 2008.
By 2020 the Indian Navy surface combatant fleet will be
- 3 carriers
- 10 destroyers [ 3 Delhi + 3 Kolkata 15A + 4 Project 15B]
- 24 frigates [9 Krivak + 3 Brahmaputra + 3 Shivalik + 7 Project 17A + 2 Project 17B]
- 20 Corvettes [ includes 12 Project 28 and 28A ]
- 3 ATV SSBN
- 3 ATV SSGN/SSN
- 2 Akula II improved
- 6 U214 / S-80 / Marlin / Amur 1850 (Procurement under discussion)
- 6 Scorpene
- 10 Kilo Improved
- 4 U-209
Arihant, which is the first submarine under the Advanced Technology Vessel Programme (ATVP), was launched on 26 July 2009 at Visakhapatnam. It demonstrates a quantum leap in the shipbuilding capabilities of the country. The submarine is now undergoing wide ranging trials to prove the various systems fitted onboard. This would be followed by extensive sea trials, before it was commissioned into the Indian Navy.
By 2011 the Indian Navy’s perspective-planning of ‘force-levels’ concentrated upon ‘capabilities’ instead of numbers alone. In terms of force accretions in the immediate future, the Navy was acquiring ships in accordance with the Navy’s Maritime Capability Perspective Plan. There were 49 ships and submarines on order. The preferred choice of inducting ships has been through the indigenous route. For instance, the GRSE had already delivered all three of the large amphibious ships and ten water-jet Fast Attack Craft. The yard was constructing four advanced Anti-submarine Corvettes (P28) and was recently awarded a contract to build eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU’s).
In the South, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) was progressing the construction of India's most ambitious ship yet – the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). As of 2011 the ship was scheduled for launch in early 2012 [later slipped to August 2013]. At Mumbai, the premier warship-building yard Mazagon Docks Limited, was engaged in the construction of three Kolkata Class destroyers and four Project 15 B destroyers besides one stealth frigate of the Shivalik Class,(two had already been delivered on 29 April 2010 and 20 August 2011). Six submarines of the Scorpene Class were also under construction at MDL. Goa Shipyard Limited, which had built a number of Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Navy and the Coast Guard, had four advanced versions of this type under construction. Alcock-Ashdown Gujarat Limited was entrusted with the construction of six catamaran-hulled survey ships for hydrographic duties, Pipavav Shipyard at Gujarat was making five NOPV’s, and ABG Shipyard, Gujarat was constructing two Cadet Training ships for the Indian Navy.
The indigenous warships construction had come a long way since the commissioning of INS Nilgiri on 03 Jun 72. There are not many countries in the world having capability to produce such a wide variety of warships ranging from Fast Attack Craft to Aircraft Carrier. However, a few ships are being inducted from abroad also to bridge the gaps in the capabilities that have been envisaged in the Master Plan of Navy. These included the carrier Vikramaditya and three follow-on ships of the Talwar Class from Russia.
The induction programd continued apace and over the five years 2012-2017 the Navy expected to induct ships/submarines at an average rate of 5 ships per year provided the yards deliver as per contracted timelines. In 2011 the Navy concluded eight important contracts which include contracts for four destroyers, five Offshore Patrol Vessels, two Cadet Training Ships, eight Landing Craft Utility and Fast Interceptor Craft for coastal security duties. It was also looking forward to soon concluding contracts for Mine Counter Measure vessels and P 17A frigates.
Under the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2022's indigenous construction component, the Navy will acquire two Cadet Training Ships, five more offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to add to the four already ordered from Goa Shipyard Ltd, three LPDs, seven Project 17A FFGs, six SSKs under Project 75(I), eight guided-missile corvettes under Project 28A (to add to the four Project 28 ASW vessels being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilding & Engineering), eight GRP-hulled MCMVs, and another integrated aircraft carrier.
Russia Chooses Indian Private Shipyard For Building Frigates - Media
TASSThe naval frigate order is likely to exceed $3 billion
NEW DELHI, July 16. /TASS/. Russia has chosen the private shipyard Pipavav in India for the joint construction of the Talwar class frigates (patrol ships of Project 11356, India's Economic Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
A government source told the publication that the 'naval frigate order is likely to exceed $3 billion, making it the private sector's biggest-ever warship-building project.' 'After an evaluation of several Indian shipyards, including that of Larsen & Toubro, Russia has formally informed the Defense Ministry that Pipavav has been chosen as its Indian partner for the project. Officials said a formal letter was sent by Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) director Alexander Fomin last week confirming the partnership,' the newspaper reported.
'The contract for the new frigates is likely to be in the form of a government-to-government order with Russia and could be signed this financial year with delivery expected over the next six to eight years,' according to the publication. Indian Vice-chief of naval staff, Vice-Admiral P. Murugesan, has confirmed that the sides have been in negotiations on the frigate building technology transfer.
In the period from 2003 to 2013, India has bought from Russia six Talwar class frigates, which were built at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad-based Yantar Shipyard. It was announced after that that India was no longer going to buy finished ships and requested Russia to transfer the technology.
A TASS source close to the Indian Defense Ministry has also confirmed that the Russian side 'has visited several shipyards looking for potential shipbuilding partners, however, said that there was no official information year about the conclusion of a deal with Pipavav.'
© TASS
Further Reading
Krivak IV Project 1135.6 Dozorny / Admiral Grigorovich
Patrol Project 11356 was designed for warfare in the ocean and the sea on their own and as part of the naval forces. They are capable of destroying enemy submarines, to carry out anti, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense warships and vessels to support ground combat, provide amphibious landing. The main objectives of the Russian Shipbuilding Agency for 2004 in the military sector included the Sankt Petersburg class diesel sub for the Russian and foreign customers; project 11356 frigate; mine sweeper; combat and patrol cutters, specialized and auxiliary ships (fire control, divers', hydrographic, demagnetizing, floating berths).
The Project 1135.6 Dozorny Frigate [and a number of other vessels] were to be built will replace Project 956 destroyers used by the Navy. The new frigates will be capable of acting both as anti-submarine vessels and combat ships. They were to have a displacement of about 4,000 tons, as compared with the Navy destroyers' 9,500 tons.
The Russian Navy issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in early 2002 for the construction of 10-20 frigates in the 4,000-ton range. Budgetary restrictions and a general halt on new projects, delayed the decision. The RFP was re-issued on 28 February 2005. Bidding was supposed to conclude by 01 April 2005, with a decision anticipated by the end of 2005. Two shipyards were considered frontrunners for the program:
Baltic Zavod - which at the time had no major construction projects; and Severnaya Verf, which was building the Steregushchy-class frigate. Plans call for building at least 10 units of the class, at a unit cost of about $200 million, and possibly as many as 20 total. If the project moves ahead as planned, the first unit would launch by the end of 2006 and commission in mid-2007. This competition was reportedly won by Severnaya Verf, and nothing more was heard of Baltic Zavod's Project 1135.6 Dozorny.
The Project 11356 frigates, displacing 3,850 tons are designed for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare on the high seas, and for anti-aircraft operations, both independently and as an escort ship. The ships are armed with an eight-cell launcher for Kalibr and Klub (3M54E) anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles, a 100-mm main gun, Kashtan gun/missile close-in air defense systems, Shtil vertical-launch air defense missile systems, two torpedo tubes, an anti-submarine rocket system and a Ka-28 or Ka-31 helicopter.
The lead warship in the series, the Admiral Grigorovich, was laid down in December 2010, the second, the Admiral Essen, in July 2011 and the third, the Admiral Makarov, in February 2012. Russia's first Project 11356 frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, was to join the Black Sea Fleet in 2014, Vice-Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov said on 29 April 2013. “The newest Project 11356 escort ship, the Admiral Grigorovich, should be launched in 2013 and join the Black Sea Fleet in 2014,” Fedotenkov said.
The Yantar shipyard in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad launched construction of a new Project 11356 frigate for the Russian navy on 13 July 2013. The official ceremony, attended by Deputy Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Rear Admiral Sergei Popov, was held Friday, according to Baltic Reporter online news portal. The Admiral Butakov is the fourth in a series of six Project 11356, or Admiral Grigorovich-class, frigates for delivery to the Black Sea Fleet between 2014 and 2016 under a contract with the Defense Ministry.
The Yantar shipyard in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad on Friday floated out the first in a series of six Project 11356 frigates being built for the Black Sea Fleet, the company said 14 March 2014. Four more ships of the same class were in various stages of construction at the shipyard. All six frigates will be delivered to the Black Sea Fleet between 2014 and 2017 under two contracts with the Defense Ministry.
Patrol ship "Admiral Grigorovich" - Project 11356 frigate head being built for the Russian Navy at the shipyard "Yantar", in late March 2015 began sea trials in the Baltic. Spokesman for the company Sergei Mikhailov said, "It is planned that the sea trials" Admiral Grigorovich "will begin on March 26-27. At present, the factory ship dock completes work on the demagnetization, and then move to the acceptance base in the ports of the Baltic". Sea trials patrol boat, which goes to the Black Sea Fleet, will last presumably before the end of May, after which it would be transferred to the customer.
The first in a series of six Admiral Grigorovich class (Project 11356) frigates, being built for the Black Sea Fleet, will be delivered to the Russian Navy in August, the United Shipbuilding Corporation said 08 April 2015. "The delivery of the Admiral Grigorovich frigate is planned for August 2015," the company said in a statement. "Admiral Grigorovich" was laid down in December 2010, was launched in March 2014.
Under two contracts signed with the Ministry of Defense, "Yantar" is building a series of patrol ships of project 11356 development of the Northern Design Bureau. In addition to the "Grigorovich" in this series of modern frigates for the Black Sea Fleet includes "Admiral Essen," "Admiral Makarov", "Admiral Butakov" and "Admiral Istomin." Complete the construction of a series of Kaliningrad shipbuilders have in 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment