Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Verma has said on Wednesday that the Navy will be acquiring 40 warships and new fighter jets from abroad. Asserting that the navy's primary role remains the country's maritime interests, he said the focus had not shifted even after being appointed the nodal agency for coastal security following the Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people in November last year.
Addressing the annual Navy Day news conference on Dec 2, Adm. Nirmal Verma said, "We need to revisit the building strategies of the [defence] shipyards. There is a need to do much more. Construction schedule is where our shipyards lag. The reason for delays is the basic method of construction."
Just because of (the revamped) coastal security, we have not steered away from our role. The task is going on as before and another task (of coordinating coastal security) has been added,' Verma told reporters here. 'It has not distracted us from our main task.' The Navy plans to order weaponry and equipment worth more than $15 billion in the next 10 to 12 years. Under a long-term plan approved last year, the Navy will procure 60 new warships, submarines, one additional aircraft carrier, maritime surveillance aircraft, C4ISR equipment, a dedicated satellite, and other sea-based assets.
India's first indigenous aircraft carrier will be launched next year and commissioned in 2014, if all goes per plan. Under the modernization plan, the Indian nay is also planning to establish a forward post in Orissa (here) and is also rumoured to be considering buying a U.K. carrier, being manufactured by BAE systems (here). The Indian navy has also entered a deal the Barack-8 missile system from Israel in a US$1.1 billion deal.
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