SP's Naval Forces Dec 2010 - Jan 2011

December 2010-January 2011

SP’s

Volume 5 No 6

AN SP GUIDE

`100.00 (India-based Buyer only)

INDIAN NAVY SPECIAL

P U B L I C AT I O N

ROUNDUP

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“We can impart training to the Indian Navy on the Scorpene simulator” Interview with Jean-Louis Rotrubin, Chairman and CEO, Defense Conseil International MINISTRY OF DEFENCE INDIA

I

am pleased to learn that SP Guide Publications is bringing out separate special editions on the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Navy.

Our Armed Forces have rendered invaluable contributions to the nation-both in times of war and peace. We want our Armed Forces to retain the competitive edge and rank among the best in the world.

We remain committed to the modernisation of the Forces. However, modernisation must proceed hand-inhand with indigenisation. The all-around welfare of the

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Empowering Fleet Air Arm MiG-29K is equipped with extended range, beyond visual range (ER-BVR) missiles, smart bombs and mid-air buddy tanking facility from another MiG-29K for deep penetration role Rear Admiral (Retd) Sushil Ramsay

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A Journey through MDL An overview of the Mazagon Dock Ltd, its growth and development since its inception.

Jawans, ex-servicemen and their family members continues to be our primary concern.

I am confident that the special editions will be liked and read widely.

Please accept my best wishes for your future endeavours.

A.K. ANTONY

 M O D E R N I S AT I O N

Military Manoeuver from Sea

Vice Admiral (Retd) H.S. Malhi

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The GRSE Odyssey A profile of the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, Kolkata.

Rear Admiral (Retd) K.C. Sekhar

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Exponential Growth

PhotograPh: Indian Navy

The Goa Shipyard Ltd is the only shipyard in India today, which has the capability to design and build ships to customers’ requirements.

Rear Admiral (Retd) Vineet Bakhshi

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Countering Separatist Insurgency Interview with Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy Sergei Desilva-Ranasinghe

PLUS Public or Private: Government in Dilemma

INS Shivalik

Articulated as a primary role for the Indian Navy, this is sought to be achieved through a combination of land attack weapons, amphibious forces, special forces and integral aviation, coupled with the enhanced synergy between the three services

10 n REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) SUSHIL RAMSAY

WASS Opens First Subsidiary in India 11 Three-carrier Force

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TecKnow

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Rendezvous in Paris

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275 Glorious Years

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News in Brief

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HE CORNERSTONE OF INDIAN NAvY’S maritime strategy is generic capability building approach. This is justified by the well-known dictum that there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent maritime interests. Indian Navy’s Maritime Military Doctrine there-

fore propounds the basic philosophy to develop capabilities that would enable it to influence events ashore and to undertake ‘military manoeuvre from the sea’. Articulated as a primary role for the Indian Navy, this is sought to be achieved through a combination of land attack weapons, amphibious forces, special forces and integral aviation, coupled with the enhanced synergy between the three services.

Maritime Capability Perspective Plan The Indian Navy’s maritime capability perspective plan (MCPP) adopted a ‘de novo’ approach to force development with emphasis on capability build-up rather than numbers as also enunciated in the maritime strategy. The MCPP drawn out for force development and modernisation, spanning over next three plan periods, 2005-2022, is aimed to equip the Indian Navy with the

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E D I T O R I A L

 M O D E R N I S AT I O N

The last issue of SP’s Naval Forces for the year 2010 coincides with the Navy Day on December 4. The editorial team of SP’s Naval Forces wish the Indian Navy all success in guarding India’s maritime interest. Sri Lanka Navy played a major role in weakening the LTTE. In an exclusive interview with SP’s Naval Forces, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe explains their Navy’s role. Modernisation plans of the Navy are on track and with about 40 ships including submarines under construction, the Indian Navy is getting ready to ride the waves. Adding to this is the aircraft carrier projects both in India and Russia, construction of indigenous nuclear powered submarine, plans

for acquiring additional conventional submarines and many more such plans. Indian Navy’s progress in modernisation is far ahead of the other two services and speaks volumes of leadership and management provided by the Navy’s hierarchy. This is followed by the modernisation of the Fleet Air Arm which is progressing in tandem with the surface and the subsurface elements. The mantra of public-private participation is being repeated since 2001-02 but there is very little progress to show on the ground. The defence PSU’s have been supporting the Navy and the Coast Guard since independence, but they have their own limitations of output and bureaucratic controls. The article on the subject analy-

ses the government’s dilemma and suggests that it should take the plunge. The issue also includes brief profile of the PSU shipyards.

SP’s Naval Forces wishes the Indian Navy success in riding the waves in 2011 and its readers happy reading and a happier New Year.

PhotograPhs: Indian Navy

capability to meet contemporary and future challenges. The focus of the Indian Navy’s long-term modernisation plan is to build a capable three-dimensional force that is able to meet all future challenges and fulfill its larger responsibility commensurate with the country’s growing influence.

INS Talwar

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Force Accretion Plans Shipbuilding/Acquisition Aircraft carrier programme: Since the decommissioning of vikrant, Indian Navy has operated with a huge void in this sphere. Indian Navy’s sole carrier viraat had to be given her third extensive refit to provide life extension. viraat’s refit was planned to refurbish the carrier in its entirety which included strengthening the hull wherever necessary, a major overhaul of its propulsion system, comprising twin steam turbines, retubing of her boilers.

At long last, the acquisition of extensively refitted and modernised former Admiral Gorshkov, now rechristened as vikramaditya, has been finalised at an approved cost of $2.35 billion (`10,575 crore), settling all kinds of controversies which has delayed the programme by nearly five years. The vikramaditya is now likely to be inducted into the Indian Navy by 2012 post-trials.

Construction of the prestigeous 37,500 tonne indegenous aircraft carrier (IAC), formerly known as air defence ship, is reportedly on track with the likely commissioning of the ship by 2014. The IAC would embark an air wing with a mix of up to 30 aircraft consisting of MiG 29Ks and the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas, as also rotary wing assets to include KA 31 AEW helicopters. For aircraft operations the ship would be fitted out with short take-off but arrested recovery arrangement on an angled flight deck with a 12º to 14º ski-jump.

The carrier will be powered by four HALbuilt General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines driving two shafts that would give the ship a top speed of over 28 knots.

Reportedly, follow-on programme of two additional IAC of 45,000 tonnes has the approval of the government. Yard nomination for this project, however, seems to be in doldrum, as the Cochin Shipyard Ltd has limited space and infrastructure to undertake construction of ships of this size. Successful launch of IAC and its follow-on programme would provide the Indian Navy with an impressive power projection capability with two deployable carriers available at any given time by 2017.

Project 17: Shivalik, the first of the three Project 17 stealth frigates built by the Mazagon Dockyard Ltd (MDL) has been commisissioned with follow-on ships, Satpura and Sahyadri, scheduled to join the fleet by mid- and end 2011. The ship’s stealth capability is provided through the incorporation of systems to minimise her signatures.

These include an infra-red supression system (IRSS) provided by Canada’s Davis Engineering; acoustic and vibration signatures would be suppressed by use of noise and vibration-proof mounts and the design caters

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INS Delhi

for reduced radar cross section. These ships are capable of carrying two advanced multirole helicopters. These new stealthy powerful platforms will add significant punch to the Indian Navy’s sword arm with a total of seven being planned.

Projects 15A & 15B: Approved in 2000, the three follow-on Delhi Class destroyers form the Project 15A which have been named as the Kolkata Class. The second and third ships will be named as Kochi and Bengaluru. These ships are considerably different from their predecessors with the incorporation of stealth features and advanced technology. The major changes will include the fitment of up to 16 vertically launched BrahMos missiles and the new long-range Barak NG, LR-SAM being jointly developed by DRDO with Israel’s IAI, as also new sensors. These three ships are expected to join the Indian Navy between 2012 and 2014. The government has also approved an

additional four ships of the same class to be designated as Project 15B and the construction load to be shared between MDL and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE). Although the design is the same, these are likely to have enhanced weapons and systems such as BrahMos-II and the extended range barak (ER-SAM).

Talwar Class: The construction of three follow-on Talwar Class GM frigates from Russia is under way with delivery of first ship in 2012 and the other two within the next 12 months. These are to be named the Tej (sword), Tarkash (quiver) and Trikand (tri-pronged). Major changes being the replacement of Klub missiles with the BrahMos system.

Project 28 ASW corvettes: Four new ASW platforms based on the Kora Class corvette design are being built by GRSE and are now expected to join the fleet by mid-2012 onwards. At 2,500 tonnes and

Jayant BaranwaL Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

designed for a minimised signature profile to provide stealth capability, these ships would considerably augment the Indian Navy’s ASW capability.

Amphibious capability: With the induction of landing platform dock (LPD) Jalashwa, the Indian Navy has considerably augmented its amphibious capability. Together with the five landing ship tanks (large), a sealift capability for over 3,500 troops and a squadron of armour now exists. The Jalashwa also carries six SH53 troop carrying helicopters, which together with the existing fleet of the Seaking 42C provides an element for aerial envelopment.

To augment its amphibious lift capability, the Indian Navy is now looking to build larger amphibious ships of the LPD variety.

This project may be pursued through external design collaboration on the model for the IAC project. Discussions are said to be on with various prospective shipbuilders for selection of suitable design requirements.

Support ships: The 2008 order for a fleet tanker on Italian Shipbuilder Fincanterri had a follow-on option of up to three tankers. Indian Navy has now exercised this option for one follow-on ship. Together with the two ships in service, this induction would enable Indian Navy to ensure the availability of at least three such fleet support ships at any time.

Submarines Conventional: The underwater fleet of 16 Russian Kilo/Foxtrot and German Shishumar Class submarines is planned to be augmented to 30 platforms over the next few years. These are part of Indian Navy’s 30year submarine building plan which was approved almost a decade ago. Under this plan, the first submarine of the six new Scorpene Class, currently under construction at the MDL in collaboration with the French DCNS, is expected to join Indian Navy by 2012 and remaining five to follow at 18-month intervals. Recently, the government has approved Project 75I for construction of six submarines with air independent propulsion (AIP) in collaboration with a foreign shipyard with transfer of technology (ToT) provision. As per approved plans first two submarines would be imported along with ToT for indigenous construction of the balance submarines at a selected shipyard.

Nuclear: With the launch of Arihant on July 26, 2009, the indigenously designed and developed nuclear submarine, 2009 became a watershed year. India thus became the sixth country to acquire the capability to build nuclear submarine. The achievement is singularly unique as this bold venture was accomplished even without possessing indigenous design and development capability for a conventional variant.

Arihant, the first in the series of three SSBNs should be inducted into Indian Navy by 2012, if not bogged down by unforeseen delays. Arihant is said to be carrying 12 x K-15 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) with range of 700 km, with both conventional and nuclear warheads. Addition-

 M O D E R N I S AT I O N / I N T E R V I E w ally, she will be fitted for carrying conventional torpedoes and anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles. Reportedly, there are plans to develop a sea-based version of the Agni-III with enhanced range to provide credible deterrence second strike capability. To acquire much needed training and operating philosophy, the government approved lease of Russian Akula-II Class SSN, Nerpa is on track and the boat is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2011. Nerpa will be equipped with Klub missiles with range of 300 km and four standard-sized torpedo tubes.

Upgrades – Surface and Sub-surface Combatants Upgradation or modernisation of warships and submarines is carried out as part of mid-life upgrade (MLU) package which is generally confined to weapons and sensors.

Ships and submarines acquired from 1980 onwards from the former Soviet Union and those indigenously constructed was due for MLU. Hence from the beginning of 2000, a comprehensive modernisation package was launched for them.

Godavari Class: MLU package for these ships includes indigenously developed sonar, radars and communication systems, combat management system, etc to augment weapons and sensors capability, is being carried out at naval dockyard, Mumbai.

SNF Class destroyers: MLU of SNFs Rajput Class destroyers is being indigenously undertaken in phased manner. While surfaceto-surface supersonic missile BrahMos would boost the fire power considerably, long range surface-to-air missile capability with multi function radar being indigenously jointly developed with Israeli industry would considerably enhance the firepower of these ships. The new generation Sonar HUMSA and USHUS, along with indigenously developed communication and combat management system, are being integrated in phased manner as part of MLU package.

SSK submarines: MLU of German origin, Shishumar Class of submarines has been successfully carried out in India. The MLU package included indigenously developed surveillance devices like sonar, communication systems and electronic support meas-

A Message from Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, Former Chief of Naval Staff A large maritime nation like India has to have an adequate size Navy for safeguarding its maritime interest and spreading its legitimate message to win friends amongst littoral states. This was what was achieved by our country in the first century AD where our culture spread to the East, to countries like Indonesia. Even today Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are staged in those predominantly Muslim countries. This cultural renaissance in our neighbours is also a mission for the Indian Navy in the 21st century to win friends and spread peace. ures, besides replacement of periscope, fire control system and so on.

EKM submarines: Modernisation plan for Type 877EKM Sindhughosh Class submarines has been accomplished and six out of an inventory of 10 submarines now have torpedo-launched missile (TLM) capability.

The package included torpedo tubelaunched missiles, radars, fire control systems, electronic support measures, periscopes, and sonar and communication systems. Initial problems related to the performance of submarine-launched Klub missiles have been reportedly resolved.

Combat Management System The future combat management system, developed by the Indian Navy with assistance from the Centre for Development of Telematics, is being manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). This will form an important part of the C4I2SR setup onboard frontline combatants. The newly developed system will eventually be installed on all frontline ships to realise Indian Navy’s grand vision of a fully net-centric navy.

Electronic Warfare For the electronic warfare (EW), the Indian Navy has deliberately chosen indigenous route and all frontline air (homi/kite), surface (ellora) and sub-surface (porpoise) combatants are being equipped with EW suites developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Defence Electronics Research Laboratory.

This is the Sangraha family of five EW suites

for different naval platforms, capable of intercepting, detecting and classifying various types of radars.

Missile Systems Surface-to-surface missiles: The newly developed BrahMos supersonic missile system has equipped the Indian Navy with powerful anti-surface capability. BrahMos is vertically launched with a range of 300 km and has active radar guidance for the terminal stage with land attack capability. BrahMos has been approved to replace the Klub system for three follow-on Talwar Class stealth frigates under construction at Kaliningrad in Russia. Together with Klub missile fitted on the Talwar Class as also the modernised Kilo Class submarines with TLM capability including the land attack version BrahMos would provide formidable capability to the Indian Navy. In addition to Klub missiles, BrahMos system is likely to be a standard fit for the new Project 17, as also the Kolkata Class now being built.

Air-to-surface missiles: The main antisurface missile in the Indian Navy’s inventory has been the Sea Eagle for the past two decades. The replacements being considered include the air launched versions of the Russian Klub system, as also the Harpoon Block II that has been offered by the United States. This would modernise the anti-surface ship capability of the Indian Air Force which provides maritime strike support to the Indian Navy. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s notification also mentions that the sale would assist the Indian Navy to enhance interoperability with

the US Navy. An air launched version of the BrahMos is also under development for the Indian Air Force and could thus be inducted into the Indian Navy as well.

Surface-to-air missiles: Till the induction of Israeli short-range barak system, all of Indian Navy’s surface fleet was essentially equipped with Russian, the medium range surface-to-air missile systems. Barak shortrange SAM has been inducted as anti-missile defence (AMD) for all frontline warships. The government has approved joint development of Barak Next Generation, with a range of about 70 km, between the DRDO and Israel Aircraft Industries to bridge the gap in long range AMD capability for Indian Navy. The missile is expected to have a dual pulse motor which can be vertically launched, as also engage both aircraft and sea skimming missiles.

Anti-Submarine Warfare The new generation hull mounted panoramic sonar which is an advanced version of the indigenously developed advanced panoramic sonar hull and being produced by BEL is slated for installation progressively in all warships. Other underwater sensors in the NPOL’s stable are the Panchendriya submarine sonar suite, the MIHIR helicopter sonar and the underwater telephone. In partnership with BEL and NPOL, the Indian Navy has also installed the USHUS sonar on EKM submarines to replace the original fit MGK-4000. In addition, Indian Navy has also recently deployed the Nagan, a low frequency towed array sonar system developed by the NPOL, in conjunction with BEL, Larsen & Toubro, Uniflex Cables and Keltron.

Mine Warfare Modernisation of existing Natya Class minesweepers is being attempted by their conversion as mine hunters in stages. In the first phase, Thales has received contract for the conversion of six ships of this class for complete change of the sonar suites and combat systems. The Australian minesweeping system, developed by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation in collaboration with Thales in Australia, is being installed.

“We can impart training to the Indian Navy on the Scorpene simulator” Jean-Louis Rotrubin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Defense Conseil International in an exclusive interview with SP’s Naval Forces spoke about the role of DCI in transfer of know-how to countries purchasing French defence material PhotograPh: DCI

SP’s: Does the DCI have any presence in other parts of the world?

Rotrubin: About five years ago, we were mainly involved in very large-scale training programmes linked to foreign sales of French-built equipment. Now we are much more focused on smaller population of trainees but we are present in a far larger number of domains than before. Today we have more than 50 small or midsized programmes. Our main partners are the Middle-Eastern countries with which we have long-standing and lasting cooperation.

www.spsnavalforces.net

SP’s: Please quantify the range and scale of training services offered by NAVFCO to various foreign navies?

Rotrubin: Training ranges from academic training of naval officers and military engineers, through maritime training to engineering and logistics training at all stages tailored to the requirements of the customer navy, culminating in the operational qualification of the ships delivered by French shipyards and the crews manning them, but also the performance of the crew

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to execute multi-task tactical exercises.

SP’s: DCI is said to have specialisation in transfer of French Navy’s know-how to navies of foreign nations.

Can you please describe the process?

Rotrubin: For nearly three decades, NAvFCO has been specialising in instruction, training, consulting and technical assistance for friendly foreign navies and has trained more than 13,000 officers, naval engineers, petty officers and specialists. From theoretical instruction to operational training, in France or abroad, whether for European, MiddleEastern, South American or Asian customer countries, DCI-NAvFCO is the partner for naval and naval/air equipment sales.

SP’s: How are the mechanics of providing comprehensive product support, support services, equipment operating and maintenance philosophies, documentation, etc worked for naval systems?

Rotrubin: We have developed a catalogue of generic operational training courses. The courses provide a wide range of operational training necessary to correctly use the dif-

ferent action and information means on board a modern warship: anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, anti-amphibious warfare, mine warfare, electronic warfare (radar and communications), information warfare, aircraft control, operational information management.

SP’s: Are your playing any role in the Scorpene submarines being constructed at Mazagon Dock Ltd? Rotrubin: We can have cooperation between India and France for submarine training for the scorpene project. Indian training programme should begin by 2012. We can train the Indian Navy on the scorpene submarine in Malaysia. The Malaysian navy has also bought a DCNS scorpene simulator. So we can impart training to the Indian Navy on the Malaysian Scorpene simulator, which is operational in Malaysia.

To read the complete interview log on to: www.spsnavalforces.net/interviews

INDUSTRY

Empowering Fleet Air Arm MiG-29K is equipped with extended range, beyond visual range (ER-BvR) missiles, smart bombs and mid-air buddy tanking facility from another MIG 29K for deep penetration role PhotograPh: PIB

n REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) SUSHIL RAMSAY

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HE FIRST FOUR MiG-29K aircraft of the Indian Navy’s new Black Panther Squadron, the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 303, were inducted in February 2010.

The MiG-29Ks would provide considerable integral airpower capability to the fleet.

These multi-role carrier borne aircraft are said to be improved version of the ones in the inventory of Indian Air Force. MiG-29K is equipped with extended range, beyond visual range (ER-BvR) missiles, smart bombs and mid-air buddy tanking facility from another MiG-29K for deep penetration role.

Coupled with the limited upgrade for Sea Harriers, including new AI radar and armed with Derby ER-BvR air-to-air missile, they would form the core of the fleet’s integral airpower, providing it substantial maritime strike capability in addition to the primary air defence role. Although one squadron of MIG 29K comprising 16 aircraft (including 4 trainers) is on order to operate from vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), the total number to be acquired would be between 40 and 50, to equip the indigenous aircraft carrier’s air wing as well. Additional contract has been signed for 29 additional MiG-29K at a cost of $1.2 billion (`5,400 crore) to meet this target. In addition, the naval version of the Hawk advanced trainer is also being procured. Naval aviators of Black Panther Squadron have undergone carrier-borne training with the US Navy (USN) on the Goshawk. Naval variant of light combat aircraft (LCA) under development by Aeronautics Development Authority, Bangalore, has already completed few flight trials successfully and has the same configuration as the twin-seat LCA trainer.

Perhaps as a backup option, request for information (RFI) has been issued to all leading global manufacturers for multi-mission carrier borne fighter/strike aircraft.

2 MiG-29K and 1 Sea Harrier during induction ceremony, at Indian Naval base, Goa

Long-range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft Long-range airborne surveillance capability of fleet air arm has been augmented with refurbished IL 38 aircraft equipped with the state-of-the-art avionics and Sea Dragon suite. The refurbished aircraft would provide anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare (ASW/ASv) capability in addition to their basic maritime surveillance roles. Eight state-of-the-art P8I multi-mission maritime patrol and ASW aircraft based on the Boeing 737 platform have been contracted to replace eight ageing TU 142 Ms. The first P8I is expected to be delivered by 2012/13. This is a potent long-range platform which is ASW/ASv capable with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The P8I is to be fitted with AN/APY 10 synthetic aperture radar in addition to the combined APS 137D(v)5 maritime surveillance radar and SIGINT system. It is capable of carrying torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

P8 Posiaden is slated for simultaneous induction in USN and the Indian Navy. Exercisng the option for a repeat order, recently, a contract has been signed for eight additional P8I. For maritime surveillance role

there are medium-range Dornier aircraft also equipped for the information warfare role. To cover the capability gap between long-range and short-range maritime surveillance six medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft with a speed of 200 knots and endurance of up to five hours are planned for procurement. This project is conceived for replacement of ageing Islander 2T aircraft. New MRMR aircraft is expected to be equipped with state-of-theart weapons and sensors, such as air-tosurface missiles, surveillance radar, ESM and COMINT.

Rotary Wing The rotary wing inventory consists of a mix of Western and Russian helicopters. Modernisation plans envisage replacement of 16 older SeaKing 42s. Many globally renowned helicopter manufacturers are in the fray. Eurocopter’s EC 725, NH 90, Sikorsky’s S 70 B, Lockheed Martin MH 60R, etc are reported to be in contention for this multi-role helicopter. The requirement is for 10- to 12-tonne helicopters with dipping sonar, missile-firing capability, lightweight general purpose radar, a

forward-looking infrared sensor, data link, night vision and torpedo-carrying capability. The surveillance capability of Kamov 25 and 28 has been enhanced with installation of indigenous ESM. Kamov 31 AEW helicopter has established itself as a potent element for its designed capability and role.

Inventory of this rotary wing is being steadily augmented. Eight utility version of advance light helicopter (ALH), constructed at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, have been inducted into helicopter fleet of the Indian Navy. However, this aircraft appears to have run into some problems, namely inadequate endurance, payload and most seriously its blade folding mechanism, essential for shipboard operations. The ASW version of the ALH is also reported to have fallen short of naval staff qualitative requirements. The Defence Minister, while agreeing that the ASW version of the ALH was not suitable for the Indian Navy, has however refuted claims that the service has rejected the helicopter. Global tenders for light utility helicopters are expected to be issued shortly.

Network-centric Warfare Capability Former Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had said, “With India’s rapid growth, the Indian Navy has a much bigger role to play now, much more to contribute to the nation’s strength. The Indian Navy will focus on network-centric warfare (NCW) and its ability to operate offshore, especially in the Indian Ocean region, for longer periods.”

The challenge would be to enable all units, new as well as legacy systems to ‘talk to each other’ or in other words, interoperable so as to effectively fuse information from varied inputs and present a common operating picture. Achieving maritime domain awareness (MDA) across its area of interest is essential to achieve net-centricity.

Combat Management System A combat management system (CMS) is an integral part of the weapon suite of any modern platform. Using the latest technology, a typical CMS presents a real time comprehensive battle space picture to the commander by processing and analysing the vast amount of information provided by the ship’s onboard sensors and those of the units in company. The system also facilitates threat evaluation of targets, tactical navigation, control of aircraft and helicopters and command and control of warfare in all three dimensions—surface, sub-surface and air. The future CMS, developed by the Indian Navy with assistance from the Centre for Development of Telematics, is being manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited. This will form an important part of the C4I2SR setup onboard frontline combatants and air elements. The successful fielding of the indigenous command and control system has added an additional dimension to the indigenous capability in weapon and electronic systems design and development.

The systems will be installed on several of the major combatants of the Indian Navy that are at present under construction or due to be inducted in the future. As the key component of Indian Navy’s grand vision of a fully net-centric navy, the new CMS projects have also been envisaged to incorporate much improved data linking capabilities to facilitate full scope of NCW functionality.

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 D E F E N C E S H I P YA R D

A Journey through

MDL

Year 2009 and 2010 were significant in the annals of Mazagon Dock Limited. An overview of MDL’s growth and development since its inception PhotograPh: Indian Navy

A view of MDL

MDL has embarked on a modernisation project to upgrade and enhance its facilities in order to meet committed delivery schedule of various vessels. Under the project, an additional wet basin having one 100 MT crane, one 50 MT crane and a 15 MT crane, a cradle workshop, stores, a modular workshop and a 300 T Goliath crane are being constructed in South Yard and East Yard. The estimated cost of the modernisation project is `826 crore (about $184 million). It is scheduled to be completed by December 2011. On completion, the yard will be able to berth two more warships and two submarines for outfitting. This will facilitate introduction of modular construction technique, which will enhance productivity and reduce vessel build periods to a desirable extent. Addition of cradle assembly shop will assist construction of Scorpene submarines.

VICE ADMIRAL (RETD) H.S. MALHI

M

Chairman and Managing Director of Mazagon Dock Limited

AzAGON DOCK LIMITED (MDL), Mumbai is one of the leading warship-builders in South Asia. The yard was established in 1771 with a small dry dock to repair erstwhile East India’s trading crafts, which subsequently went through various ownership changes in 19th and 20th century in the hands of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O Lines), British India Steam Navigation Company till the Government of India took it over and incorporated it as a defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) in 1960. Since then it has remained under direct administrative control of the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence. Subsequently, the company took under its wing, two adjacent yards and a workshop, namely Alcock Yard and Scindia Workshop.

Over the years, the company has specialised in building frigates, missile destroyers, corvettes, conventional submarines, jack up rigs and process oil platforms, multipurpose support vessel, sophisticated dredgers, voith tugs and other marine platforms and has earned the reputation of being the leading defence shipyard catering to higher end warships and submarines for the Indian Navy.

The yard is spread over 28 hectares of prime land in South Mumbai and has infrastructure facility to build any vessel up to 27,000 discrete wavelet transform (DWT).

Its design office is one of the most modern and is equipped with latest hardware and software such as computer aided design/computer aided manufacture/computer integrated manufacture that makes drawings, which can be directly transferred to computer numerically controlled plate cutting machine in plater and assembly shop as well as in pipe shop without any human intervention.

In five decades of its existence as DPSU, it undertook various challenging naval projects of constructing Nilgiri Class frigates in 1970s, Godavari Class frigates in 1980s, Khukari Class corvettes, vibhuti Class missile boats and Delhi Class destroyers in 1990s and Shivalik Class stealth frigates in the first decade of 21st century. The yard also undertook building HDW Class submarines in the late 1980s while construction of Scorpene Class submarines are currently on hand.

www.spsnavalforces.net

Facilities The yard has most modern facilities to build sophisticated vessels and naval ships, which is as good as any other foreign shipyard. Major facilities in the yard include a production shop, four assembly shops, three slipways, four dry docks and a wet basin, all equipped with level luffing and electric overhead travelling cranes.

In addition to the major facilities, pipe shop, machine shop and sheet metal shop

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Modernisation/Augmentation of Infrastructure

Modular Construction A heavy-duty 300-tonne Goliath crane under construction will be able to lift and transport pre-fabricated modular units from modular workshop to slipway or dry dock where final assembly would take place. The modular shop (200 m x 30 m) is designed to fabricate eight pre-outfitting ship’s modules of 250 T each.

Cradle Assembly Shop It is said that the submarine’s effectiveness lies in its stealth characteristics. One of the criteria of stealth feature is less noise emanating from it. To attain this, machineries and equipment of submarines are installed on resilient mounts and this operation will be carried out on cradles in the cradle assembly shop.

Additional Wet Basin

having modern machineries support shipbuilding construction. MDL has also dedicated facilities for construction of submarines which houses special purpose machineries and equipment like submerged arc welding equipment with multiple heads, circular milling machine, shot blasting and priming facility, sophisticated quality control equipment, etc.

Shipbuilding Methodology In a nutshell, shipbuilding consists of two parts—steel work and outfitting. Steelwork consists of pre-fabrication, assembly and erection of steel structure while outfitting consists of installation of equipment, machinery, fittings and electrical, mechanical and weapon systems. Traditionally, the two parts of the process were undertaken sequentially, with outfitting starting after the steel structure had been finished. Of late, with technological advancement, both these stages are undertaken in parallel to speed up construction of vessels and also to improve it efficiently.

In steel work process, flat and curved steel panels formed from steel plates are

joined together to make outside hull. In the modular construction methodology, within the steel blocks assembly as much outfit equipment and fittings as possible are incorporated in the early state. These pre-outfitted blocks are then taken to building berth/slipway for final erection. Painting in controlled condition is also undertaken to minimise curing time.

After significant completion of steel and outfitting work, the vessel is floated out and taken to basin where its systems are tested before the ship is taken out for a series of sea trials. On successful completion of the sea trials, the vessel is delivered to its customer.

The Growth Story The yard’s value of production has gradually increased from `518.37 crore (about $115 million) in the financial year 2005-06 to `2,856.13 crore (about $634 million) in the financial year 2009-10. All other financial parameters like gross profit, net worth, capital employed and value added per employee also proportionately increased over the years. The annual output has increased substantially.

Second wet basin (27,000 sq m) is being constructed to accommodate two submarines and two surface ships (P17/P15A Class of vessels) for carrying out outfitting work. The new wet basin will have one 100 T and one 50 T level luffing cranes on its south wall and a 15 T crane on its north wall so that construction work on all vessels can progress simultaneously.

Augmentation of Facilities at Alcock Yard MDL is also planning to augment its facilities by making use of spare land available in its Alcock Yard. The facilities in this yard will be augmented at an approximate cost of `650 crore by building suitable infrastructure.

Year 2009 and 2010 were significant in the annals of MDL. During this period, two missile destroyers—INS Kochi and INS Chennai—were launched from its slipways while a stealth frigate INS Shivalik was commissioned. Apart from naval vessels, MDL also commissioned a most modern dredger for Dredging Corporation of India and launched two MSvs for a Singaporebased company. In the next decade, the yard hopes to get fresh orders from the Indian Navy to build four vessels each of P15B Class missile destroyers and P17A Class stealth frigates and three P75I Class submarines to become one of the heavily loaded yards in the world.

D E F E N C E S H I P YA R D 

The

GRSE Odyssey

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd has been a financially stable and dividend paying public sector undertaking for more than one and half decades now PhotograPh: grsE

and seven smaller ships.

In addition, GRSE acquired the Raja Bagan Dockyard (RBD) from the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation in September 2006. The infrastructure is being renovated and upgraded in phases. RBD in the long run is to become a self-contained unit for construction and repair of smaller ships. Since the start of warship production in RBD from August 2007, the unit has launched eight fast attack crafts till date.

Also ERP (SAP ECC 6) is under installation for efficient planning, monitoring and control among design, planning, material, production, finance and human resource departments. The ERP system is expected to go live in 2010.

A file photo of Rear Admiral K.C. Sekhar at the occasion of keel laying of the 3rd, 4th & 5th vessels of the Waterjet FACs series at Rajabagan Dockyard

REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) K.C. SEKHAR Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE

Early years The odyssey began in 1884 when the River Steam Workshop was set up to provide logistics and repairing facilities for the fleet owned by the River Steam Navigation Company. Later on, it was converted into a joint stock company on February 26, 1934 and started its new journey in the name of Garden Reach Workshops Ltd (GRW) managed by a managing agent Mcneill & Berry Ltd. With a vision to convert this small ship repair yard into a premier shipbuilding yard, the Government of India took over the company on April 19, 1960 and placed it under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. GRSE, then known as GRW, was the first shipyard in independent India to build a seaward defence boat and were delivered to the Indian Navy soon after the takeover. Since 1960, GRSE has built and delivered sizeable number of ships/crafts/ auxiliary vessels/boats for commercial use to the Indian Navy and Coast Guard totalling to over 650. Of the total number of vessels built, around 50 are warships.

Business Strategy GRSE’s business strategy over the years has been to concentrate on low volume and high value shipbuilding orders. This actually meant to focus on warship production for the Navy and the Coast Guard. The business strategy paid dividends and GRSE continued to grow and attained Category-I Mini Ratna status on September 6, 2006. True to the vision, GRSE has become one of the premier shipbuilding yards with seven units at Kolkata and the Diesel Engine Plant located at Ranchi (dedicated for assembly and manufacture of marine engines).

With opening up of the Indian economy and public-private partnership in defence sector, in order to remain self-sustaining in the future years, GRSE has to look beyond its present defence shipbuilding orders. Efforts are in progress towards entering into joint venture with foreign companies towards acquiring capability/capacity to fully design other naval vessels beyond GRSE’s present range of ships. Also a few memorandum of understandings (MoUs) have been signed with private shipyards for construction of auxiliary/offshore support vessels. All this would go a long way towards fully exploiting the shipyard’s facilities and also increase the volume of business and production range.

For cost reduction, efforts are being made to control the cost of production through automation (CNC plate cutting, pipe bending machines, automatic/semi-automatic welding machines) and technological advancement (installation of ERP SAP R/3), additional Tribon licences for ship design. Further, the modular concept of ship construction reduces the build period that has a direct bearing on cost of production in man-days. However, modular construction requires freezing of the build specifi-

Engineering Division

cation prior to award of a contract, a practice that would need to be pursued.

Export Potential GRSE has export potential for design and construction of frigate, corvette, landing ship tank (also known as logistic ship), patrol vessel using conventional and water jet propulsion, survey vessel and FRP interceptor boat. However, being a PSU, all exports are subject to clearance from the Ministry of Defence. At present, GRSE has an export order for an offshore patrol vessel of 75 metres length. Though a few more FRPs have been submitted but its outcome is premature to commit.

Among the engineering products, portable steel bridges (single and double lane) have export potential to countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Indonesia, vietnam and Africa.

Future Plans l

l

Mission: To be a leader in shipbuilding industry in South East region and contribute significantly to strengthen the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and maritime potential of the nation.

Vision: To provide state-of-the-art war vessels of world class standards for our national maritime requirement.

Functional Divisions l l l

Ship Engineering Engine

Ship Division GRSE undertakes construction and repair of ships primarily for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Over the years, GRSE has developed expertise in construction of frigate, corvette, landing ship tank, hydrographic survey vessel, patrol vessel (offshore and in-shore), hovercraft and FRP fast interceptor boat.

Ships delivered: Till date, GRSE has made significant contribution towards shipICGS Sankalp, the 5th Advanced building and ship repair for the Indian Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) of the and Coast Guard. During the last three Indian Coast Guard manufactured by GSL years, GRSE has delivered two landing ship

tank (INS Kesari and INS Airavat), seven fast attack crafts, 73 FRP fast interceptor boats and four RO-RO passenger ferry to Andaman & Nicobar Administration.

Shipbuilding orders: GRSE’s shipbuilding order in the financial year 2010-11 stands at `7,433.57 crore (about $1.65 billion) comprising anti-submarine warfare corvettes, fast attack crafts for Indian Navy, in-shore patrol vessel for Coast Guard and fast interceptor boats for the Ministry of Home Affairs and Andaman & Nicobar Administration. In addition, GRSE has obtained export order of one offshore patrol vessel. Among the future order to follow are additional eight in-shore patrol vessels from the Coast Guard. GRSE has been nominated to build the latest state-ofthe-art stealth frigates. Construction of seven ships under this project will be shared between MDL and GRSE. Modernisation: Considering the acquisition plan of the Indian Navy/Coast Guard, the defence shipyards in the country can be kept occupied for the next 20 to 25 years in meeting the country’s defence needs. However, to maintain the desired force level for the country’s defence, the shipyards need to deliver ships at a faster rate through reduced build period. Towards meeting this objective, GRSE has embarked on a modernisation plan (technology and infrastructure) for undertaking “integrated modular construction”. The modernisation outlay is to the tune of `600 crore approximately (about $13.3 million) and being funded partly from the naval budget. The modernisation involves creation of the following infrastructure facilities: l One inclined berth of 180 m x 23 m of 3,000 T vessel capacity l One dry dock of 180 m x 27 m of 10,000 T vessel capacity l A module hall (north-south) for consolidation of larger blocks l 250 T capacity Goliath crane covering the berths and module hall The modernisation is expected to be completed by 2011. Consequently, GRSE will have the capacity to undertake simultaneous construction of four large ships

The Engineering Division undertakes manufacture of: l Portable modular steel bridges extensively used by the Indian Army and border roads for establishing communication in hilly terrain, over rivers, canal and during natural calamities caused by floods/earthquake, etc. The bridges are built to IRC-6 classification ranging from 9R to 70R (the heaviest class on Indian roads). l Design and manufacture of deck machinery items for fitment onboard ships like capstan, anchor windlass, boat davits, helicopter traversing system (for handling helicopters onboard), winches and pumps.

Till date, the engineering division has export order for portable bridges worth `4.12 crore (about $9,15,000) from the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Engine Division The Engine Division is located at Ranchi, Jharkhand and undertakes: l Licence production/overhaul of MTU marine diesel engines (396, 538 and 4000 series) used onboard Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships for propulsion and power generation. l Sale of spare parts in India.

GRSE is the only shipyard in the country having its own engineering and engine division undertaking design and manufacture of a specific range of equipment being fitted onboard ships.

Financial Stability GRSE has continued to be financially stable and dividend paying public sector undertaking over the last 16 years. Its value of production (voP) during 2008-09 was `672.69 crore (about $161.5 million) with a profit of `88.98 crore (about $20 million) before taxes. These figures have grown in 2009-10 with voP being `870.74 crore (about $194 million) with a profit of `130.75 crore (about $ 29 million) before taxes.

The voP of `870.74 crore for the 200910 is the highest voP ever achieved by GRSE since inception and recording a quantum jump of over 29 per cent from its previous year. With the average growth in vOP over the last six years being 14 per cent, GRSE is confident in surpassing the set target of `972 crore (about $216 million) in 2010-11.

For the year 2009-10, GRSE paid a dividend of `24.77 crore (about $5.5 million).

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 D E F E N C E S H I P YA R D

Exponential

Growth

The Goa Shipyard Limited is the only shipyard in India today, which has the capability to design and build ships to the customers’ requirements. The growth has been a consequence of a long-term investment in upgrading technology and investing in people.

REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) VINEET BAKHSHI

O

Chairman and Managing Director of Goa Shipyard Ltd

tion of the ERP system. As a consequence, GSL has been able to re-engineer and improve its operational efficiencies. Further improvements have been made by concentrating on core competencies and outsourcing non-core areas like material handling, and low skilled fabrication processes.

Ship and Patrol Vessels

RIGINALLY ESTABLISHED BY THE Portuguese in 1957 and named Estalerios Navais De Goa, the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) was a small barge repair facility. Following the liberation of Goa in 1961, the yard was leased to the Mazagon Dock Ltd till 1967. Thereafter, it was incorporated as the Goa Shipyard Limited, with its own board of directors. The Government of India accorded status of schedule “B” to the company in January 1997 and it was conferred the status of Mini Ratna Category-I in March 2007.

To begin with, GSL undertook ship repairs, built small barges and fishing trawlers. Over the years, GSL upgraded in value chain and built a reputation as one of the most sophisticated shipbuilders in the country. The shipyard has progressed from a barge building unit to a yard capable of building complex warships. The growth has been a consequence of a longterm investment in upgrading technology and investing in people. The progress has been driven by the design department which has evolved and developed a range of vessels. Today, GSL is the only shipyard in India which has the capability to design and build ships to the customers’ requirements. The yard has acquired the reputation for delivering quality ships not only on time but also ahead of the schedule.

GSL has successfully improved its performance on all fronts. It has been an arduous but exciting journey brought about by the sustained efforts and toil of the GSL’s workforce and officers and the vision of past leadership. This has been possible because of the excellent support that GSL has received from the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and the state government. The principle customers are the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard who have consistently reposed their faith in the ability of GSL, which has given continuous impetus to constantly innovate and progress.

GSL has developed five variants of patrol vessels ranging from 50 m to 105 m with speed ranging from 25 knots to 35 knots.

GSL is also developing designs for the ships of 75 m and 115 m lengths for future requirements of customers as an ongoing effort at research and development to develop new products.

GSL has thus so far built 187 ships including offshore patrol vessels (OPv), missile craft, survey vessels, a sail training ship, fast patrol vessels, extra fast attack craft, offshore supply vessels and 100 glass reinforced plastic fast interceptor boasts and around 97 vessels have been repaired for the nation till date.

Recently, GSL has commissioned the 90 m OPv ‘ICGS vishwast’ which is the first of a new class of OPv, indigenously designed and built by the shipyard. The 105 m NOPvs for the Indian Navy, which are under construction in the yard, are based on GSL PhotograPhs: PIB, gsL

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www.spsnavalforces.net

Over the years, GSL upgraded in value chain and built a reputation as one of the most sophisticated shipbuilders in the country

based test facility for light combat aircraft (Navy) for Aeronautical Development Agency, Bangalore and recent venture into construction of glass reinforced plastic boats for the Ministry of Home Affairs. GSL is also into the business of supplying stern gear equipment and spares to the Indian Navy and other Indian shipyards in collaboration with an international firm of repute.

Recently, in the face of stiff competition, GSL has won a prestigious order for the supply of stern gear equipment for the first indigenous aircraft carrier, being built for the Indian Navy at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. Modernisation: GSL has also embarked upon a planned modernisation programme to augment and modernise its infrastructure facility. GSL’s modernisation plan includes creation of new land building berths with transfer bays, fully serviced jetties, state-of-the-art ship-lift and transfer system, installation of new cranes and material handling equipment and augmentation of various yard services. Apart from this, a dedicated GRP ship construction facility is also being set up. The modernisation plan, once fully implemented, will enhance the present capacity threefold and will also provide for building of high technology GRP vessels. The yard modernisation at a cost of approximately `800 crore (about $0.18 billion) is being undertaken in four phases. The modernisation plan aims to provide GSL with practically a new shipyard with state-of-the-art shipbuilding facilities.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Rear Admiral (Retd) Vineet Bakhshi presenting a dividend cheque of `13.38 crore to the Defence Minister

While all efforts were made to improve the overall performance of the company, GSL is also making efforts to fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR). The initiatives taken by the company in this regard have been aimed at contributing to the wellbeing of the people of Goa. Enhanced business activity of GSL will result in enhanced economic development of the state and will also create more employment avenues for the local population. The company has taken many steps as part of its CSR activity to improve the society including looking after community health and hygiene; educational aids and educational support infrastructures; needs of orphanage and old age home; provision of civic amenities; medical care, etc.

Financial Profile

Key Strengths Some of the key strengths of GSL are its inhouse design capability, skilled workforce and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-IT System. In fact, the in-house expertise in design not only gives GSL an edge in the domestic market but also makes it attractive to global customers. It has also inducted the latest technologies and productive tools to improve productivity.

GSL was the first shipbuilder in India to implement the latest design software such as Tribon and Primavera and incorporate it into an ERP system.

GSL today is fully computerised and its offices are virtually paperless. GSL’s integration of its design and project management capability has enabled a complete exploita-

in-house design realised after an intensive research and development activity. With GSL’s proven capabilities for design and construction of the range of patrol vessels, there is great scope for entering the global market. GSL is currently in negotiations with a country in the Middle East for the supply of four armed patrol vessels. In addition, markets in Africa and East Asia are also being explored.

Diversification: While making consistent progress in core competency in shipbuilding area, the yard has also utilised its technical and managerial capabilities to successfully diversify into new area of business, which include the design and construction of training simulators for the Indian Navy and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd, setting up of shore-

ICGS Sankalp, the 5th Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Indian Coast Guard manufactured by GSL

GSL is doing well financially. For the financial year 2009-10, a dividend cheque of `13.38 crore (about $2.9 million) was presented to the Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

GSL has declared a dividend of 90 per cent of the paid-up share capital for 2009-10 as compared to 57 per cent in the previous year. There has been a 70 per cent growth in production and a 59 per cent growth in net profit this year. The company has achieved a value of production (voP) of `866.48 crore (about $193 million) and made a net profit of `130.72 crore (about $29 million). It is against a voP of `508.01 crore ($113.4 million) with a net profit of `81.96 crore ($18.2 million) in the previous year. This is the highest voP and net profit achieved by the company since its inception in 1957.

INTERVIEw

Countering

PhotograPh: sri Lankan Navy Media

Separatist Insurgency

The success of Sri Lanka Navy’s maritime campaign to defeat the Sea Tigers, the maritime wing of the LTTE, and the deep sea fleet of LTTE warehouse ships (known as the Sea Pigeons), played a major role in weakening the LTTE and ultimately led to its military defeat. In an exclusive interview with SP’s Naval Forces, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe illustrates how the Navy contributed to Sri Lanka’s counterinsurgency victory. n SERGEI DESILVA-RANASINGHE, SRI LANKA

S

INCE SRI LANKA ATTAINED independence in 1948, the problem posed by illicit immigration and smuggling between northern Sri Lanka and southern India compounded as each decade passed. “Prior to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerging as a dominant Tamil militant group, the use of sea lanes to engage in subversive activities against the Sri Lankan state commenced as early as the 1970s,” said Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe. “Political reasons aside, we had a fishing community which was heavily involved in smuggling and illicit people transfer through cross-border movement between southern India and the northern coastline of Sri Lanka. What made matters worse was that insurgents started using small fast moving dinghies and started causing us problems,” he added.

The dawn of a full blown separatist insurgency in the aftermath of the 1983 riots compelled the Navy to expand and adopt new tactics and strategies at sea. “We developed our Navy to cater to the increasing threat, and later in the early 1980s, established a naval surveillance zone where fast gunboats were stationed. At least three fast gunboats were stationed in the north, supported by patrol boats. With the available resources we had, we stationed ourselves along the maritime boundary with India and tried to stop this, but the gaps were too large and the equipment was not very effective. Following that we introduced the mother ship-daughter craft concept and still we could not stop the flow,” said the vice Admiral.

Unable to prevent the movement of insurgent boats between Sri Lanka and India, the Navy was forced to modernise which saw the acquisition of new vessels, particularly Israeli built Dvora fast attack craft. vice Admiral Samarasinghe said, “In the mid-1980s, we went for faster platforms— Dvoras—which could travel at a speed of up to 30 knots. The militants realised that they were at a disadvantage as they couldn’t match our speed. Therefore in the 1990s, they shifted focus to infiltrating and attacking our harbours using frogmen and suicide boats.” He further pointed out, “This was a constantly evolving scenario. Our first underwater disasters were in 1995 inside Trincomalee harbour when the LTTE first started underwater attacks/warfare. Similarly, the LTTE started equipping dinghies

with .50 calibre machine guns and even used larger craft which had five 250 hp outboard motors and radar,” he said.

Throughout the 1990s, the massive growth of LTTE influence in the Tamil diaspora enabled it to derive considerable logistical and financial support to continue its war effort in Sri Lanka. “The international diaspora involvement provided the LTTE with supplies from abroad. The LTTE developed a shipping network which also incorporated smuggling and drug trafficking in their warehouse ship operations.” He further emphasised, “The LTTE had control of land and therefore had places to hide their boats.

Their requirement was to get their logistics in with their bigger ships that attempted to unload close to the shore. We confronted them, but sometimes they got through. The bigger ships kept moving further away and tried to unload their weapons shipments, so we acquired off-shore patrol vessels to pursue them outside our exclusive economic zone,” said vice Admiral Samarasinghe.

However, the end of the third phase of Sri Lanka’s conflict known as Eelam War 3 (1995-2002), was followed by negotiation proceedings that culminated into the Norwegian mediated ceasefire agreement which commenced in 2002 and ended abruptly with the resumption of full scale hostilities in 2006. Throughout the ceasefire, there were many confrontations between the LTTE and the Navy, especially due to the fact that the Navy continued to play a central role in supplying by sea the isolated and besieged garrison on the Jaffna Peninsula, in Sri Lanka’s north, which was subject to regular harassment by the Sea Tigers. “The Navy kept that sea route open at a heavy cost. We had the major task of transporting a large number of troops and civilians to the North, so the Navy acquired a larger and more mod-

Sri Lanka’s counterinsurgency strategy and success will continue to serve as an important case study to militaries worldwide which are seeking to absorb and learn transferable lessons

ern vessel which enabled us to move faster.

In addition, weekly and sometimes daily our spare parts had to go, including large quantities of the army’s artillery, weapons and ammunition,” he said.

The commencement of the final phase of Sri Lanka’s conflict (2006-09) saw the emergence of a radically revised naval doctrine to confront the Sea Tigers. The year 2006 saw robust political and strategic leadership which led to a major transformation in the military and its way of war. According to vice Admiral Samarasinghe, “We were all asked for ideas and strategies to defeat the LTTE and were invited to ask for whatever we needed. The three forces brainstormed strategies and put forward proposals which were discussed at a higher level by the National Security Council, and they decided the final strategy,” he affirmed. “The strategy adopted was to fight multi theatres, so that the LTTE could not concentrate its forces. By this time, we had several offshore patrol vessels and with the help of foreign countries we were able to increase our shore surveillance facilities. The use of maritime domain awareness was brought into the picture for surveillance and coordination of radars against the LTTE warehouse ships,” he added. Throughout the years 2006 and 2007, the culmination of the Navy’s effort to curb LTTE international shipping network since 1999 led to eight LTTE warehouse ships being sunk in the deep sea, which dealt a critical blow to its maritime supply lines.

Similarly, the Navy’s rapid transformation led to the development of new brown water capabilities that could effectively challenge the dominance of the Sea Tigers in the waters off Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern coastlines. “To overcome suicide boats, we improved our weapon systems, bought more fast attack crafts, increased our numerical strength and also tried to build our own boats (our own boat building facility started in 1997),” said vice Admiral Samarasinghe. “We introduced the ‘small boat concept’ as there was a large increase in the number of LTTE suicide boats and our bigger fast-attack vessels were somewhat vulnerable. This is why we decided to increase production of our small boats, increase their speed and fit a better weapons outfit than that of the LTTE. The small boat concept was effective because as the Sea Tigers increased in number, so did the Navy.” The strategy adopted by the Navy ensured that the Sea Tigers suffered regular and significant losses that were mostly ir-

replaceable, which therefore rapidly depleted its effectiveness and capabilities as an asymmetrical maritime force.

After almost three years of sustained fighting, the Sea Tigers were a shadow of their former capabilities, with the Navy successfully learning to protect its harbours and nullifying the threat posed by suicide boats. The Army’s hard fought land campaign successfully cornered the LTTE into a small area along Sri Lanka’s north-eastern coastline and compelled the Navy to maintain its largest ever naval blockade. “During the last stages, we had four rings of boats to prevent the escape of the LTTE leadership. We had our small boats very close to land, the inshore patrol crafts, fast-attack craft, gunboats and offshore patrol vessels further away to keep watch. This proved very effective and though there was speculation that the LTTE supreme leader left by sea, they were all proved wrong. In addition, we also saved thousands of civilians who were held as human shields by the LTTE when they escaped from LTTE controlled areas by boat. It was a long blockade and we coordinated with and had the support of the Army. The only reason the ships came into the harbour was for water. Crew fatigue was not considered; people were willing to stay. For 60 days, no one got off and we didn’t receive a single request from a commanding officer for leave,” he said.

The significance of the Sri Lanka Navy’s contribution to the defeat of the LTTE is an interesting example of successful combined operations between land, air and naval forces. “We are participating in many forums and many navies around the world have requested that we share our experience,” said vice Admiral Samarasinghe. “In a short period of time, I have been invited to three national symposiums and have been part of the final panel in all three symposiums. The Galle Dialogue Naval and Maritime Conference held at Galle in southern Sri Lanka in August 2010 attended by 11 countries was a tremendous success. Similarly, our officers at lower levels are also sent for various interactions offered by friendly countries,” he added. This is further evidence that the uniqueness of Sri Lanka’s counterinsurgency strategy and success will continue to serve as an important case study to militaries worldwide which are seeking to absorb and learn transferable lessons.

Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe is an analyst who specialises in South Asian and Indian Ocean Region politics and security.

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INDUSTRY

Public or Private

Government in Dilemma As there is more than enough maritime business for all, the government sector should loosen its stranglehold and encourage the private sector to develop. Private sector participation in defence production would be a long-term commitment and mutually beneficial. n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

A

T THE TIME OF independence, India had only governmentowned defence industries like the ordnance factories and shipyards. There was no clear-cut industrial policy until the Industrial Policy Resolution was undertaken in 1951, which talked about self-reliance in many areas including defence. After independence, only the defence public sector and other government factories were allowed to be a part of the defence industry. As the security environment demanded better weapons, India looked towards Russia and majority of the defence inventory tilted heavily in favour of Russia which is true even today.

www.spsnavalforces.net

Naval Perspective The Indian Navy is the only service in India which has its own design team under the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition. The design team has one group for surface ships and the other for submarines.

Construction of ships is done by the four defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs).

The fourth shipyard i.e. the Hindustan Shipyard has been recently acquired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The surface ship design group also monitors and controls the construction of ships in the shipyards.

The Indian Navy is a customer as well as a designer. Smaller ships, boats and less complex systems were framed out to the other shipyards. The Indian Navy started indigenous warship construction in the early 1960s. However, most of the weaponry, communications, sensors, marine equipment, machinery and steel for the hull were imported. Submarine construction suffered after Prime Minister v.P. Singh’s government stopped construction at Mazagon Docks due to charges of corruption and the know-how acquired was frittered away. This has come in the way of Scorpene construction, causing avoidable delays. Naval hardware is very expensive and as such its life is stretched as much as possible which entails mid-life upgrade. In spite of establishing licensed production for imported equipment, facilities have not been established for such upgradations.

At present the Indian Navy has about 40 warships under construction, apart from the Scorpene submarine project and the defence shipyards have much more than they can handle. If you add the aircraft carrier and the nuclear submarine project then the list becomes formidable. The defence shipyards are not known for their efficiency and cost control. In fact some of unions had opposed the Kelkar Committee’s recommendations regarding participation of private industry.

This has resulted in long delays and massive cost overruns in nearly all the projects. For example India’s first stealth ship which was to cost `2,250 crore (about $0.5 billion) escalated to `9,000 crore (about $2 billion) and was delivered after 10 years. Similarly, the cost of Destroyers escalated from `3,600 crore (about $0.8 billion) to `11,876 crore (about $2.64 billion). The Scorpene project has already been delayed by five years. The aim is not to denigrate the DPSUs as they

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have been the main suppliers to the Indian Navy after independence but with the growing requirement of the Indian Navy, time has come to develop shipbuilding expertise in the private sector.

Partnership with the Private Industry Indian Navy has made efforts in the past to involve the private sector including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and ancillary industries in supplying marine equipment like alternators, diesel engines and generators; minor equipment like motors, pumps and valves. It is also possible for private companies to have joint ventures with foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to produce major marine equipment and electronic systems which are also required by commercial ships. Some examples are electronic and telecommunication systems; diesel engines, turbines, propulsion systems like propellers; deck machinery and machinery control systems, etc. As the industry develops, many more complex systems can be produced and supplied. l Participation of private industry has been permitted since 2001-02. Twenty six per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) is permitted, but there is a case for increasing it to around 49 per cent.

To review the defence acquisition process, the Kelkar Committee was formed which submitted its report in April 2005. One of the important recommendations was to encourage the participation of India’s top private firms in defence production. It took into account the increased capabilities of Indian industry, growing globalisation of defence industry and suggested exploring synergies amongst private sector, DRDO, ordnance factories and public sector. To promote greater involvement of the private industry and to create a level-playing field for them when pitted against the DPSUs, some leading companies which met the criteria were to be granted the title of Raksha Utpadan Ratnas (RURs), literally meaning ‘gems of the defence industry’. These firms would be treated on a par with the DPSUs and ordnance factories for the purpose of defence production. RURs would have the following advantages: — Eligibility to design, develop and produce major weapons platforms and defence systems, manufacture weapons and equipment developed by the DRDO. — Receive technology from foreign defence corporations and undertake licensed production of foreign-origin systems.

— Undertake defence research and development, funded by the MoD up to 80 per cent.

— Duty-free import of equipment for defence R&D and making prototypes of weapons and equipment.

In addition, a portion of the offset measures are bound to flow into private industry, thereby assisting them in their growth.

Areas of interest and likely hurdles for

the private industry: l Trained manpower: Lack of trained manpower as the private sector was not involved in defence industry. However, this can be overcome by training and recruitment of retired personnel. l Infrastructure: Lack of infrastructure and lack of guidelines as to what will be the size and shape of future weapon acquisitions in a long-term perspective for the private companies plan for the future. l Sale: Not possible to guarantee the sale of a particular product. l Export: At times the numbers are too small to be cost effective. In any case exports are essential to generate profit but the gestation period is very long for this. Normally it takes about 20 years production cycle to mature. Thus there is no return on investment for the private industry in the initial years.

Majority of the governments, directly or indirectly fund the private defence industry to ensure its solvency in the interest of the nation. The Indian Government has to follow this model if it desires for the private industry to grow. But for this the private industry has to prove that it can perform better than the current system. l R&D: Research and development comes at a high cost as seen from the performance of the DRDO with its ever expanding budget and delayed deadlines. Thus the government has to pitch in for the private companies by declaring selected companies as RURs so that the government can partially fund research and development. The biggest exporters of arms are those countries which have a huge research and development budget and decades of experience. l High cost: The cost of military hardware is very high, more so for naval platforms. An aircraft carrier like Gorshkov costs $2.1 billion (`9,450 crore) just for the conversion and a new aircraft carrier cost as much as $3-4 billion (`13,500-18,000 crore). Fremm multipurpose frigate, which is a European project costs approximately $3.3 million (`14.8 crore). With such high costs, government support is essential for funding and assured orders. The model already exists in Europe and the US. l Long gestation period: The gestation period from research and development to the user is quite long which includes design and development, manufacture, trials, acceptance and warranty support.

Post-warranty support will include assured supply of spares during the life of the equipment and midlife upgrades.

Thus the industry should be prepared for a long-term commitment. l Technology: Private industries till now have not been involved in the defence industry except for some low level production. Thus they do not have a high technological base. To involve them in the process, they have to have access to technology in a phased manner so that they have ample time to absorb it. They should also be aware of the process in-

volved in the transfer of technology.

Military specifications: The private industry has to become aware of military specifications and standards including quality control. l Ship design: Ship design is knowledge intensive and thus requires investments in all aspects of design. Private companies have to have their own design teams if they want to get involved in warship construction. Also there is enough business opportunity to augment the design departments of the DPSUs. l Joint ventures and collaboration: There is enough maritime business for all to share and a joint venture/collaboration approach will be more successful especially considering the high-tech naval platforms involved and their high cost. It is not only companies in the US and Europe who take the consortium approach, but it spans across countries. l Upgrades: There is a great opportunity for carrying out midlife upgrades of existing platforms and as there is lack of space in the DPSUs, they are being sent abroad to the OEMs. l System integrator: This is another area which the private companies can take up and reduce the load on the DPSUs. l Maintenance: It is another area which generates opportunity is the maintenance of ships and submarines, but these require large capital investments in dry docks and berths. In fact, at present, the demand for ship repair and dry docks is very large. With the right incentives, India can develop as a nodal centre for ship repair.

SMEs have a great opportunity for supply of special and general equipment as thousands of sub assemblies and components go into the construction of naval hardware.

SMEs have the advantage of having a very short reaction time to carry out supplies at a low cost due to less overhead. In any case, many large companies generally do not respond to tenders of low value. Government procedures for acquisition have an inherent delay in the process of ‘orders’ to ‘payment’ which may be difficult for a SME to absorb.

Thus, it will be better for them to collaborate with larger companies and thereby avoid dealing with the government directly. l

Future Vision The government has many plans to enlarge the industrial base, but they have not been translated into action. As there is more than enough maritime business for all, the government sector should loosen their stranglehold and encourage the private sector to develop. Private shipyards like Larsen & Toubro, ABG Shipyard, SKIL Infrastructure Ltd, Adani and Bharathi are coming up and have global ambitions. At a recent function, the Defence Minister hinted at the change of defence production policy as he stated, “The first ever Defence Production Policy would be unveiled soon and major changes incorporated in the Defence Procurement Policy.”

It is hoped that the new production and procurement policy provides a level-playing to the private industry.

INDUSTRY/OEM For related video log on to www.spsnavalforces.net

WASS Opens First Subsidiary in India The Finmeccanica Company aims at expanding its footprint in India through its subsidiary Win Blue Water Services Private Ltd PhotograPh: abhishek / sP guide Pubns

n SUCHETA DAS MOHAPATRA

(Left-Right) Giuliano Enea, Director, Win Blue Water Services Pvt Ltd, Italian Ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte, Antonio Burdroni, Regional Delegate, WASS and Sunil Bhatia, Director, Win Blue Water Services Pvt Ltd

I

S THE INDIAN DEFENCE MARKET really growing? With n-number of international companies opening their offices in the country, it seems it actually is. Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS), a Finmeccanica company, has chosen India to open its first subsidiary in the world and has named it the Win Blue Water Services Private Ltd. With a focus on sale of naval equipment, Win will conduct market research and analysis, offset and supply chain management and thus help WASS expand its footprint in India. The Indian office will deal with the markets in Middle East and Far East as well.

Addressing a press conference to mark the inauguration of the new Indian office in New Delhi, Giuliano Enea, Director, Win Blue Water Services Private Ltd said, “The Indian defence market is increasing in size and this office will help us have a foothold in the country. WASS is in India since 1975. We at Win, with our expertise, would provide assistance and advice to parent and other companies on how to approach the Indian market.”

“We are looking ahead to industrial partnership with both public and private sector companies in India. Our aim is not only to sale, but also to improve the services, provide logistic support, provide expertise to any foreign company and also support the offset requirement,” said Sunil Bhatia, Director, Win Blue Water Services Private Ltd.

Known for its underwater advanced systems like lightweight and heavyweight torpedoes, torpedo countermeasures, WASS is offering its Black Shark torpedoes to the Indian Navy. A request for proposal (RFP) has also been issued by Bharat Dynamics Limited for torpedo countermeasures for the Indian Navy, informed the officials. “We have visited about a 100 Indian companies for possible joint ventures. We do not want to compromise on our standards and so are

looking for partners who would comply with our standards,” said Antonio Budroni, Regional Delegate, WASS. With regard to the sale of their surveillance equipment, the company has begun talks with private industries working on the shores, but did not seem to have much hope from the Indian Government. “We had demonstrated our surveillance equipment for harbour protection ahead of 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, but we are not sure how is the Indian

Government wanting to protect its shores,” said Budroni. “Underwater internet cable is a dangerous and sensitive area which needs to be protected,” he added.

“We have demonstrated our product before different agencies and hope that year 2011 will be a year of good knowledge and quality response.” said the officials’ optimistic about the Indian market. Ambassador of Italy to India Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte was also present at the inauguration.

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11

PROCUREMENT

Besides the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Viraat, which is already in service, the second one is under construction at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and the third one is being imported from Russia

PhotograPh: Indian Navy

Three-carrier Force

n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

I

www.spsnavalforces.net

A Sea Harrier tethered on INS Viraat deck

NDIAN NAvY HAS PLANNED a threecarrier force to cater to India’s security needs. At present the Indian Naval Ship (INS) viraat is already in service, the second one is under construction at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and the third one is being imported from Russia. The construction of indigenous aircraft carriers was planned way back in 1989, one to replace INS vikrant in 1997 and the other to augment the fleet. The design was planned with DCN which later on became DCNS and the construction was to be carried out at CSL. But due to cost constraints and other limitations, the project went through many changes including change of nomenclature from air defence ship to Indian Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Project 71. The situation became more critical with the decommissioning of INS vikrant in January 1997 and the Indian Navy was left with only INS viraat. An aircraft carrier, specially which is second-hand, needs frequent maintenance and thus does not guarantee its availability during crisis.

The Indian Navy became desperate to get another aircraft carrier and thus the plan to acquire Admiral Gorshkov was formulated.

Admiral Gorshkov was a modified Kiev Class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. Meanwhile, Project 71 was taking shape in CSL. There is a plan to build another aircraft carrier after the current Project 71, but it is too futuristic to comment at present. It was also decided to maintain INS viraat as long as possible. The progress on Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier acquisition programme is as follows:

INS Viraat INS viraat was commissioned in the Royal

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Navy as HMS Hermes in 1959. It served as the flagship of the Royal Navy’s task force during the Falkland Islands campaign in 1982 and was decommissioned in 1985. It was purchased by the Indian Navy during April 1986, where it was given an extensive refit at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth, England. It joined the Indian Navy during 1987 and since then has undergone many mid-service life refits. The ship has been more than 50 years in service, out of which it has been with the Indian Navy for more than 23 years. The recent mid-service life refit has been to refurbish it in its entirety.

It includes strengthening of the hull wherever required, major overhaul of the propulsion system including the boilers and the twin steam turbines and upgrade of electronic systems, sensors and communications. Apart from this, routine maintenance has been carried out. The aim is to increase the life span till Project 71 and Gorshkov materialises.

Admiral Gorshkov Admiral Gorshkov is a modified Kiev Class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku which was commissioned in January 1987 and decommissioned in1996. It was sold to India in 2004 for conversion into an aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. It was to be a short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) carrier and named INS vikramaditya. It has a displacement of 44,570-tonne, deck of 273 m Ski jump and aircraft complement of 20 MiG-29 fighters and up to eight Kamov Ka-28/Ka-31 antisubmarine helicopters. It would also be able to carry HAL Tejas and Dhruv light helicopters. The original contact for $1.5 billion (`6,750 crore) was signed in 2004 between India and Rosoboronexport with the delivery

to take place by 2008. The cost $750 million (`3,375 crore) was for the retrofit of the carrier and the balance weaponry, including MiG-29K fulcrum aircraft and Ka-27 Helix-A and Ka-31 Helix-B anti-submarine helicopters. After the upgradation and overhaul, it was to remain sea worthy for 30 years.

Renegotiation Controversy The contract soon ran into controversy with Russia demanding escalation in cost and delayed delivery schedule. Russia kept on asking for the increase in price which finally came to about $2.2 billion (`9,900 crore) with the rationale that a new aircraft carrier will cost about $3-4 billion (`13,50018,100 crore) and refurbished aircraft carrier will cost about 60-70 per cent of thus would be around $2 billion (`9,000 crore).

One view was that the price was being linked with the accident of Russian nuclear submarine Nerpa which was to be leased to the Indian Navy. However, it became a fait accompli for India as it had already invested a lot of money and time on the project. Moreover, delivery of the fighter aircraft MiG-29K had already started and Indian Navy pilots were being trained in it.

The Government of India has agreed to cough up the amount and it is to be delivered by 2012. It is hoped that Russia does not spring any more surprises.

There were indications earlier that the Indian Navy may opt for the latest electromagnetic aircraft launch system

IAC Project 71

The project has undergone many changes and the current configuration displaces 37,500 tonnes, measuring about 260 metres by 60 metres, with a top speed of 28 knots and endurance of 8,000 nautical miles. The construction commenced with the plate cutting on April 11, 2005 and the keel was laid down on February 28, 2009. The design appears to be influenced by Italian Navy’s Andrea Dorea Class now called Cavour Class aircraft carrier. It will be powered by four HAL-built General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines driving two shafts. The IAC will have a STOBAR arrangement on an angled flight.

The air component is likely to consist of about 12 combat aircraft such as the Naval LCA, the MiG-29K or the Sea Harrier Mk.51/Mk.60, along with 10 helicopters like HAL Dhruv and/or the Sea King Mk.42. Russian company NDB is likely to assist in the aviation technology related aspects. It is understood that Fincantieri’s Naval vessel Business Unit has been contacted for preparing the concept, design and implementation plans. The company is likely to continue till commissioning. The hull and landing deck are to be built by Larsen & Tubro Limited.

One reason for the delay was the availability of suitable steel. The ship was to be launched during end 2010 and delivered by the end of 2014.The carrier will be equipped with the latest weaponry, sensors, battle management systems, navigation systems and communications. On Navy Day last year, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal verma had indicated that the second IAC will be more capable than the current one under construction.

It may be closer to 50,000 tonnes with a steam catapult. There were indications earlier that the Navy may opt for the latest electromagnetic aircraft launch system.

TECKNOw / REPORT TECKNOW

On Combat & Intelligence Mission

For related video log on to www.spsnavalforces.net

The purpose of the SMX-25 project is to send a vessel having the advantages of both a submarine and a surface ship

PhotograPh: DCNs

D

CNS has unveiled its SMX concept ship. For the concept ship, DCNS has focused on how to get what is essentially a conventional submarine to a theatre of operations as quickly as possible. Powered by three gas turbines driving three water jets, the SMX-25 submersible is designed to achieve a sustained surface speed of 38 knots.

The SMX-25 is essentially a conventional submarine but can be deployed very quickly. On reaching its designated patrol area, the SMX-25 will operate like other submarines using the same types of sensors and resources.

In the innovative semi-surfaced configuration, with only the upper portion of the sail above water, the boat will be able to use the same kind of sensors (including aircraft surveillance radar) and weapons as a conventional surface combatant i.e. anti-ship, land-strike and anti-air missiles launched from vertical silos while maintaining an extremely discrete radar signature. The SMX-25 will be equipped to deploy combat swimmers and their delivery vehicles, commandos, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUvs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAvs).

The purpose of the SMX-25 project is to send a vessel, having the advantages of both a submarine and of a surface ship. Carrying 16 missiles, four heavy torpedoes

Specifications Length overall Max. speed, semi-surfaced Displacement, surface Displacement, submerged Speed, submerged Endurance, patrol

: 109 m : 38 knots : 2,850 tonnes : 4,850 tonnes : 10 knots : 30 days

and machine guns, it can engage in surface as well as underwater combat. A vessel able to take into account the constraints affecting land and littoral combat, it will carry, in addition to its 27 crew members, 10 Special Forces troops, with a displacement of 4,850 tonnes submerged and 2,850 tonnes surfaced. With a length of 109 m (354 ft), quiet and stealthy in design, this vessel is capable of reconnaissance as well as combat or intelligence missions.

Rendezvous in Paris Euronaval 2010 witnessed a congregation of technology, products, services, machinery and equipment PhotograPhs: Eurocopter, sagem, atlas

n SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

proach missions. It can also be used in other naval operations, such as SAR and in fighting against trafficking, piracy or illegal immigration. The Patroller UAv showcased was the homeland security ’S’ version (already available for sale).

F

ROM OCTOBER 25 TO 29, 2010, the Le Bourget exhibition centre at Paris witnessed a congregation of technology, products, services, machinery and equipment. Euronaval 2010, an international exhibition and conference of technologies, equipment and services for the naval defence industry focused on the global challenges facing the maritime world and the growing importance of sustainable development in maritime trade and shipping.

Eurocopter Eurocopter displayed the NH90 NFH helicopter, produced by the NH Industries, a joint venture of Eurocopter, AgustaWestland and Fokker. The NH90 NFH offers unrivalled flexibility to achieve the ‘one ship-one helicopter’ multi-role frigate concept. Eurocopter’s indoor exhibit at Euronaval were the AS565 MB Panther, AS365 N3 Dauphin and EC645.The Panther is the military version of Eurocopter’s twin-engine Dauphin rotarywing aircraft, providing a multi-purpose, medium-weight helicopter tailored for applications that include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, economic exclusive zone (EEz) surveillance and control patrols, maritime counter-terrorism, casualty and medical evacuation, as well as troop and cargo transport. The EC645 is an armed variant of the EC145 twin-engine helicopter, which can be used in the maritime environment for EEz surveillance, armed sea police missions, counter-terrorism, search and rescue, as well as personnel evacuation and cargo delivery.

Thales Thales displayed its unmanned underwater vehicles (UUv) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUv). The UUvs and AUvs are used in mine countermeasures (MCM) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW), as well as in the protection of harbours. Thales designs AUv internal navigation systems based on an inertial system associated to a Doppler log. This provides high performance localisation accuracy crucial for mine relocalisation during neutralisation or mine avoidance phases. The necessary sensor suites onboard UUvs and AUvs provide access to environmental parameters. These either confirm the pre-defined mission plan or allow the systems to build a new optimised plan taking into account real environmental parameters.

(Above left) Eurocopter AS565; (right) Sagem’s Patroller-M UAV and Atlas Elektronik’s SeaOtter MKII

Atlas Elektronik

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman showcased its LPD San Antonio-class amphibious warfare and transport ship and its international patrol frigate, a versatile and affordable warship based on the multi-mission National Security Cutter currently operated by the US Coast Guard. The company’s Sa’ar 5B littoral corvette, an enhanced version of the Northrop Grumman Sa’ar 5 corvette currently in service with the Israel Navy will also be on display as well as the advanced Enforcer-class fast patrol craft design.

Others on display were the company’s Sperry Marine’s latest generation of navigation and ship control technology vision-

Master FT and Sperry Marine’s MK39 ring laser gyro navigation system and the MK27 fibre-optic attitude and heading reference system for naval vessels.

Saab Saab introduced for the first time the new generation command and control system 9Lv Mk4, a modular and scalable system allowing unique software connectivity and interoperability. Saab’s remotely operated

underwater vehicles– the double eagle, vessel traffic management system, ship control system and missile systems as RBS15 among other products and systems for the naval domain.

Sagem Sagem exhibited its long-endurance Patroller UAv at the Euronaval 2010 exhibition. The Patroller-M (Maritime) is designed for coastal surveillance and maritime ap-

Atlas Elektronik, a joint subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp and EADS had on offer sonars and sensors, command and control systems for submarines and surface combatants, mine countermeasures systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, radio and communications equipment, naval weapons as well as coastal surveillance and traffic guidance system. The company’s 2,000th SeaFox is a powerful mine disposal vehicle and the new SeaFox MKIII is being fitted with a novel type of fuse that will allow safe on-board recovery of the SeaFox C if it is not used after deployment. The company also highlighted on SeaOtter MkII and vision600 synthetic aperture sonar.

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INDUSTRY PhotograPhs: Indian Navy

275 Glorious Years President Obama being received by Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin FoC-in- C Western Naval Command at INS Shikra in Mumbai

PhotograPh: Indian Navy

Established in 1735, the Naval Dockyard has steadily added infrastructure and facilities commensurate with growing demands of time by building dry-docks of multiple dimensions, all of which are in use even today

Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju with Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin and several senior officers at TechYard 2010

www.spsnavalforces.net

n REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) SUSHIL RAMSAY

F

ROM A vERY HUMBLE beginning as a marine repairs facility, the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, crossed a historic landmark when it celebrated the 275th anniversary of its existence on October 6, 2010. Established to build both “men-of-war” and merchant ships during the British era, over the years, this dockyard has grown to be recognised as one of the most reputed yards in the world. Since its inception, the ships built by this yard were found to be more durable and sea worthy than those built in Europe. Soon after gaining inde-

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pendence, it was decided by the government to create major repair and maintenance infrastructure to support warships solely for the Indian Navy.

Established in 1735, the yard has steadily added infrastructure and facilities commensurate with growing demands of time by building dry-docks of multiple dimensions, all of which are in use even today.

Illustrious Bombay Dock took 15 years to be built, adding multi-dimensional capacity in a phased manner, between 1750 and 1765.

Named after Sir Jonathan Duncan, the then Governor of Bombay, Duncan Dock was added in 1807 to build warships. The first ship to be built in Duncan Dock was Minden

which was the first major Royal Navy ship to be built outside British Isle. The facilities available with the marine yard at Bombay were unparalleled in the East and provided the British with a full-fledged base to fulfill their global dominance ambitions.

The Master Builders of the Dockyard belonged to the Wadia family from Surat. The first Master Builder, Lowjee Nusserwanjee Wadia, was brought over from Surat to start the shipbuilding activities in this yard. He was followed by eight other master builders, all from the same lineage, who kept the shipbuilding skills at the yard intact till 1884. The reputation of shipbuilding infrastructure which the Wadias had

established soon spread far and wide, resulting in a spate of orders for shipbuilding on the Bombay Docks.

During the British rule, 170 war vessels were built for the East India Company, 34 warships for the Royal Navy and 87 merchant vessels for private companies. These included ships for the East India Company, Bengal Pilot Service and a host of private merchants. The largest ship built was “Meanee” with a displacement of 2,591 tonnes.

Steam propulsion-based ships were built as early as 1829. Some of the famous warships built at the Bombay Docks include Ganges, Cornwallis, Minden and Asia. HMS Trincomalee, a frigate, built by the Bombay Dock in 1817, is the second oldest ship afloat in the world.

Spread over 55 hectares, now Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, has a vast range of engineering facilities to meet every maintenance need of ships and submarines of the Indian Navy and is manned by a highly skilled workforce of over 11,000 personnel.

Pioneering efforts of then Cdr N.E. Warner, Cdr A.K. Bhatia, Cdr Daya Shankar, Lt Cdr B.P. Sinha and S. Parmanandan have significantly contributed to the historic growth of the yard which were further augmented by successive generations of professionals towards transformation of this dockyard to the sophisticated levels of excellence.

To commemorate the 275th Anniversary on October, 6, 2010, a seminar on life cycle support for ships and submarines was organised by the Western Naval Command at Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai. Governor of Maharashtra K. Sankaranarayan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin and many senior officers of the Indian Navy were present on the occasion.

Alongside the seminar an exhibition TechYard 2010 was also organised by Western Naval Command at the Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai, which was inaugurated by Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal verma, vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin and several senior officers of Indian Navy were present on the occasion.



News in Brief COOPERATIVE APPROACH FOR SECURITY OF SEA LANES

is vital in today’s world. It is in the common interest of nations to keep sea lanes open, secure and free for navigation, trade and energy supplies.

NAVY TO INCREASE CONTACT IN IOR Addressing the Indian Navy’s Commanders’ Conference, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has called for increased Navy-to-Navy contact with the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) which would strengthen professional ties and mutual trust, and streamline interoperability issues.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony has called for adoption of cooperative approach for ensuring the security of sea lanes in the AsiaPacific Region. Addressing the first ever ASEAN Plus Eight Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Hanoi, Antony said India is participating in two projects together with the Malacca countries, within the framework of IMO, to improve the safety of navigation in this region. The Indian Navy is conducting anti-piracy patrolling and escort operations in the Gulf of Aden for over two years as piracy remains a serious challenge for the world community and expressed India’s commitment to work together with other countries to address piracy. He added that the security of sea lanes of communication

>> SHOW CALENDAR 1-2 December Anti-Submarine Warfare 2010 London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, London, UK www.anti-submarinewarfare.com 6-8 December 9th Future Naval Summit Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel, Waterfront Conference Center, vA, USA www.futurenavalplanssummit.com 9-10 December Naval Construction, Repair and Refit Le Méridien Piccadilly, London, UK www.navalrepairrefit.com 9-11 December INMARCO-INAvation 2010 National Centre Of Performing Arts (NCPA) Nariman Point, Mumbai www.inmarco-inavation.com 24-26 January 2011 9th Annual Underwater Battlespace Radisson Blues Hotel, Rome, Italy www.uwbevent.com 1-2 February 2011 2nd Maritime Piracy & Security Summit Dusit Thani Dubai, Dubai, UAE www.acius.net 20-24 February 2011 International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2011) Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE www.idexuae.ae 21-22 February 2011 Seaport Security India 2011, Le Royal Meridien Mumbai, Mumbai, India http://seaportsecurityindia.com 20-24 February 2011 NAVDEX 2011 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi , UAE www.navdex.ae

DEFENCE MINISTER AT COAST GUARD COMMANDERS’ CONFERENCE

Defence Minister A.K. Antony inaugurated the 29th Annual Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference at Delhi. The Minister declared that the Coastal Surveillance Network (CSN) station at Tarapore in Maharashtra will be commissioned very soon which will provide a big boost to our real time maritime domain awareness. He said that the ever increasing threat from the sea has necessitated the strengthening of the coastal security mechanism. It is also required to keep our vast maritime zones under effective round-theyear surveillance. Keeping India’s security concerns in view, he said that the establishment of 46 chain of static sensors atop the light houses along the coastline needs to be speeded up. He said the Government is committed to enhance the force levels in a phased manner in the near future; recent progress on increased presence of Coast Guard include commissioning of five stations at Karwar, Gandhinagar, veraval, Hutbay and MurudJanjira, District Headquarters No 12 at Kavaratti and Regional Headquarters of the North-East, along with a co-located station at Kolkata are likely to be established next year. In addition, five stations at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Minicoy in Lakshadweep & Minicoy Islands, Mundra in Gujarat, Kolkata in West Bengal and Dahanu in Maharashtra are also likely to come up next year. The remaining nine stations at Pipavav, Androth, Karaikkal, Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam, Gopalpur, Frazergunj, Kamorta and Mayabunder are slated for commissioning soon; as for future plans are concerned, as many as 42 Coast Guard stations will be functioning all along the coast by the end of the current Eleventh Plan.

PIRACY ATTEMPT THWARTED On November11, about 450 nautical miles West of Mumbai, a merchant ship Mv BBC Orinoco with a crew of 14 (5 Ukraine and 9 Philippino) reported being attacked by pirates. The crew had locked themselves in the ships engine room and the steering compartment and communicated with their agents, UK MTO Dubai, on e-mail. Dubai, in turn, intimated the Indian Navy for assistance. The Navy detached one of its missile corvettes, INS veer, to intercept the distressed vessel.

Soon thereafter missile destroyer, INS Delhi with a team of Marine Commandos (MARCOS) embarked was dispatched to the scene.

One of Navy’s long range maritime patrol aircraft was extensively deployed for aerial surveillance. The Indian Coast Guard too re-

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal Assistant group Editor r. Chandrakanth

sponded with alacrity to keep one or more Dornier aircraft on standby, besides asking their ships on assigned mission to be also on stand-by. At daybreak, the naval forces, which had arrived at the scene, commenced their actions. MARCOS slithered onto the merchant ship from a Sea King helicopter and took the crew to safety. Naval personnel searched the ship thoroughly and the merchantman set course for its destination once the boarding party reported all clear.

Senior Editorial Adviser r. adm (retd) s.K. ramsay Senior Technical Group Editor Lt general (retd) Naresh Chand Contributing Editors Lt general (retd) V.K. Kapoor air Marshal (retd) V.K. Bhatia Senior Copy Editor & Correspondent sucheta Das Mohapatra Assistant Correspondent abhay singh thapa Assistant Photo Editor abhishek singh Contributors India admiral (retd) arun Prakash r. adm (retd) raja Menon Cmde rajeev sawhney

JOINT JAPAN-US MISSILE DEFENSE FLIGHT TEST SUCCESSFUL The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have announced the successful completion of an Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) intercept flight test, in cooperation with the US Navy, off the coast of Kauai in Hawaii. The event marked the fourth time that a JMSDF ship has engaged a ballistic missile target, including three successful intercepts, with the sea-based midcourse engagement capability provided by Aegis BMD. JS Kirishima crew detected and tracked the target.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN $48 MILLION ADVANCE PROCUREMENT CONTRACT The US Navy has awarded a $48 million (`216 crore) cost-plus fixed-fee contract modification to Northrop Grumman Corporation for advance procurement of longlead materials and performance of engineering/planning efforts for LHA 7, the second in the Navy’s latest class of largedeck amphibious assault ships. The first ship, America (LHA 6) is being built in Pascagoula and is currently 33 per cent complete. With this award, Northrop Grumman will provide additional engineering, planning and technical support for the current contract. The Navy issued the initial contract in June for $175 million (`788 crore). LHA 7 will be 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and weigh 44,854 tonnes. Its hybrid propulsion system will drive it to speeds in excess of 22 knots on its gas turbines, but will also run cost-efficiently on its auxiliary electric propulsion motors. It will accommodate 1,204 crew and can surge to accommodate 1,871 troops. LHA 7 will have an extended hangar deck with two higher hangar bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance.

DCNS DELIVERS SECOND SKJOLD FAST PATROL BOAT Royal Norwegian Navy has taken delivery of the second Skjold fast patrol boat. The sixship programme is led by a consortium comprising DCNS and two Norwegian contractors with DCNS acting as combat system design authority and co-supplier. DCNS is working with Norway’s Umoe Mandal shipyard and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. Skjold FPBs are designed specifically to patrol Norway’s littoral waters. Skjold Class FPBs have a overall length of less than 50 metres and is equipped with eight antiship missiles and a 76-mm gun.

UPGRADE FOR ROYAL NAVY MINEHUNTERS BAE Systems has secured a £15 million (`109 crore) contract as part of a major overhaul project to replace the 30-year-old propulsion systems onboard the Royal Navy’s eight Hunt Class mine countermeasure vessels. The equipment procurement contract comes on the back of the company’s successful completion of the technical recommendation for a new propulsion and machinery control system to the Ministry of Defence.

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Design and production of electronic defence systems by ELETTRONICA S.p.A.