|
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Verma told
India Strategic
that air power is an integral component of the
Indian Navy’s modernization programme with
at least three aircraft carriers in the future.
The Naval Chief declined to mention the exact
timelines but observed that each platform of the
Navy would be equipped with progressively better
technologies and newer generation systems as they
evolve. The effort is on acquiring capabilities,
and eventually indigenizing them with special
emphasis on operational capabilities in the Electronic
Warfare (EW) environment.
The Indian Navy has already ordered 45 Mig 29K
combat jets from Russia, 16 of them in the first
lot in 2004, and the remaining now. Incidentally,
this is the first time that the Russians are supplying
training simulators with their aircraft; the Indian
Air Force never got any in the good old days from
the Soviet Union or Russia.
These Mig 29K aircraft are specifically meant
for INS Vikramaditya aka Admiral Gorshkov being
acquired from Russia end-2012 before the Navy
Day on Dec 4.
The 60 other combat jets being planned for acquisition
may be different. Adm Verma did not elaborate.
All he said was that the Navy has planned for
about 500 aircraft, helicopters, LRMR and MRMR
included.
It may be noted however that various aircraft
manufacturers, US Boeing (F/A 18 Super Hornet)
and Lockheed Martin (F 35 JSF), French Dassault
(Rafale) and Swedish Saab (Sea Gripen) have made
presentations to the Navy.
At present, only the Boeing F/A 18 and Rafale
operate from aircraft carriers while the JSF,
the futuristic 5th Generation aircraft under development
has demonstrated the capability to land and take
off from ships in flight trials. There is also
the naval version of the India’s Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) being developed by HAL.
The choice should be known after a few years.
The Navy has already ordered 12 Boeing P8-I
long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft (LRMR)
and another 12 LRMR and half a dozen Medium Range
Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft are under
consideration.
Besides these, the Navy is looking for an assortment
of aircraft to operate in the contemporary and
futuristic Electronic Warfare (EW) environment
with cutting edge technologies.
The US has offered Northrop Grumman's advance
E-2D Hawkey shipboard aircraft for battle management
but that is where it stands. There is no "Yes"
or "No" from the Indian Navy.
Adm Verma said that what the Navy was looking
at were just not numbers of aircraft, ships, submarines
and other assets but their capabilities. Any equipment
and system has to operate and last for years.
New and newer technologies are emerging rapidly
and whatever the Navy buys, has to be value for
money and security for years to come.
As for ships and submarines, he said that by
2027, the Navy should have mostly new 150 ships
and submarines to enable operations in both the
western and eastern seaboards of India to protect
the country’s maritime interests.
The Navy has also acquired two refueling vessels
to enable its ships to stay far from the shores
and for longer durations.
|
