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It is immensely important that at the outset,
I record the fact that what has been accomplished
‘on my watch’ was possible because of the ‘course
that had been steered’ by my predecessors before
me, as also the enormous efforts of our Veteran
community. Needless to say, none of it would have
been possible without the efforts, dedication
and commitment of the men and women of the Indian
Navy – who are the finest in the world. Commanding
them will remain my fondest, proudest and most
humbling experience. Most importantly, I must
also pay homage to our martyrs – for their sacrifice,
we owe them an eternal debt of gratitude.
India working with China
and Japan against Piracy
Getting back to the challenges of the changing
operating environment; with respect to piracy,
we have to a significant extent, arrested this
plague. We have had at least one ship continuously
deployed, off the Gulf of Aden, since October
2008. Over 2100 merchantmen have been escorted
by IN ships and 40 piracy attempts have been averted.
Along with the sustained efforts of various navies
and the shipping community, the success rate of
piracy has dropped from 38% in 2008 to approx
11% till 2011 and even further in 2012. It may
surprise some to know that our anti-piracy operations
have thus far been coordinated trilaterally with
the Chinese and Japanese and in the near future
this initiative could include the South Korean
navy. Such are the opportunities in the maritime
environment.
In 2009-10, the scourge of piracy had spread
to the East Arabian Sea at times beyond 1000 nm
from the Horn of Africa and closer to our waters.
The Indian Navy has had a somewhat different and
I dare say rather proactive approach towards combating
piracy. Proactive and effective action by Indian
Navy and Coast Guard ships and aircraft resulted
in the neutralization of all pirate ships operating
in the region. I am happy to state that over the
past year, there has not been a single incident
of piracy within 300 nautical miles of our island
territories on the West coast. The maritime environment
is complex and this proactive action has had some
unintended consequences. As a result of the relative
safety of our waters from piracy, there has consequently
been a discernible shift in the International
Shipping Lines (ISLs). International shipping
is now passing closer to the Indian coast due
to the protection provided by the Indian Navy
and Coast Guard.
The Indian Navy is completely cognizant of its
responsibilities as the nation’s primary guarantor
of security and safety not only at sea but also
as the lead agency in facilitating coastal security.
Towards this end, our coastal security efforts
have stretched from grass root initiatives that
have incorporated local fishing communities as
the ‘Eyes and Ears’ of our coastal security matrix,
to operation level exercises and infrastructure
development and further on into the realm of policy
making through our participation at the Apex level
national committee for strengthening maritime
and coastal security.
I am often asked about the dichotomy of the
fact that the Indian Navy which professed Blue
water aspirations is now engrossed in Brown water
operations. I see no such dichotomy in our maritime
strategy as we discharge our responsibilities
as the lead agency for coastal security. A multipronged
approach that focuses on institutionalizing and
enhancing the efficacy of multi-agency coordination,
capability augmentation of various stake holders
as well as setting up of adequate surveillance
infrastructure has been adopted and I am optimistic
that the momentum that has been built will sustain
to ensure fructification of the projects and initiatives
envisaged.
It is imperative that we recognize the new challenges
emerging out of the prevalent uncertain environment
and adopt a strategy to address changing nature
of conflict. Besides conventional challenges and
geopolitical forces, terrorism from the sea and
terrorism at sea are now realities of our times.
In our external environment one of our core concerns
is the coalescing of the ‘State’ with ‘non-State’
entities; both of which, individually, in collaboration
or as hybrid create a high degree of uncertainty.
Our maritime strategy intends to ensure that there
is no schism between the challenges that we face
and our capabilities to respond to them. There
will always remain uncertainties and adversaries
but on our part it is intended to ensure that
the levels of asymmetry are never such that they
encourage adventurism.
Capability Accretion
Over the past three years the Indian Navy has
made very significant progress towards capability
accretion and this, is as intended to be, in consonance
with a conceived vision and plan. The past three
years have seen the publication of three major
documents – the Maritime Capabilities Perspective
Plan 2012-27, the XII Plan document and the XII
Infrastructure Plan document. During XI Plan period,
which concluded on 31 Mar this year close to 200
Acceptances of Necessity (AoNs) with a total value
of 49.64 billion USD were obtained. Of these,
161 contracts with a total value of 16.7 billion
USD have been concluded.
A record number of 15 ships have been commissioned
into the Navy over the past three years, which
include the three Shivalik class stealth frigates
– Shivalik, Satpura and Sahyadri – two fleet tankers,
Deepak and Shakti, one follow-on 1135.6 class
stealth frigate, INS Teg, the sail training ship,
Sudarshini, and eight water-jet FACs. Commissioning
of the nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra on
23rd Jan this year was a momentous occasion, as
we are now part of a select group of six nations
that operate SSNs. Chakra has added considerable
punch to our maritime power and will aid in developing
future concepts of naval operations in this very
critical sphere. Arihant is steadily progressing
towards its operationalisation, and we hope to
commence sea trials in the coming months. Given
our unequivocal “no-first-use commitment” a retaliatory
strike capability that is credible and invulnerable
is an imperative. The Indian Navy is poised to
complete the triad, and our maritime and nuclear
doctrines will then be aligned to ensure that
our nuclear insurance comes from the sea.
Our indigenous warship building program is poised
to touch new heights with 43 warships currently
under construction in our shipyards. These include
the indigenous aircraft carrier, destroyers, corvettes
and submarines. Three ships of Project 15A, which
are follow-ons of the existing Delhi Class destroyers,
with improved stealth features and weapon and
sensor fit are scheduled for induction commencing
early next year. A contract has also been signed
with M/s MDL for four more P 15B destroyers, which
will follow the P15A ships. Four Anti Submarine
Warfare Corvettes, being built at GRSE, Kolkata,
are the first stealth corvettes designed and built
indigenously as specialised anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) surface combatants. The first ship is scheduled
to be inducted early next year and the others
will follow at a yearly interval.
In order to augment our offshore patrolling
capability, four offshore patrol vessels are under
construction at Goa Shipyard Limited. The ships
are scheduled for induction from the end of this
year onwards. Five other offshore patrol vessels
will be built at a private Shipyard. These ships,
along with two cadet training ships under construction
at another private Shipyard, are the first warship
orders ever given to private shipyards since our
independence. Eight new, upgraded landing craft
are also under construction at GRSE, Kolkata and
will augment the force levels in the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. These ships will replace the
old Landing Craft Utility or LCUs, which are in
the process of being phased out.
Our survey ships and hydrographers are a valuable
part of the Navy and are much in demand amongst
a variety of littoral states in the Indian Ocean
Region. To augment their force levels, six new
catamaran hull Survey vessels are being built
by M/s Alcock Ashdown Gujarat Ltd, at Bhavnagar.
The first ship is undergoing sea trials and is
scheduled to be commissioned later this year.
The construction of Scorpene submarines under
Project 75 is underway and MDL and the Department
of Defence Production maintain that the first
submarine is likely to be commissioned in 2015
and the sixth submarine by 2018.
In addition to the 46 ships under construction,
Acceptance of Necessity for 49 more ships and
submarines has been obtained. These include seven
more follow-on ships of the Shivalik Class, under
Project 17-A, which are to be built at both MDL,
Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata and we are working towards
contract conclusion in the current financial year.
Contracts for four water-jet FACs, to be built
at GRSE, Kolkata, one more training ship, to be
built at a private shipyard and two mine hunters
to be built in South Korea are likely to be concluded
during the current financial year. Six more mine
hunters will be subsequently built at Goa Shipyard
under ToT. Options for the Deep Submergence and
Rescue vessel (DSRV) are presently undergoing
technical evaluation. In addition, approval for
construction of six submarines under Project -75(I)
is at the final stages of approval. Requests for
Proposals in respect of four LPDs, 16 shallow
water ASW ships – the order being split between
two shipyards, one survey training vessel and
two diving support vessels will also be issued
in the coming months.
The Indian Navy’s preferred choice of inducting
ships and submarines has always been through the
indigenous route. Today, of the 46 ships and submarines
presently on order, 43 are from Indian shipyards.
The intended induction programme is structured
to continue at a pace such that over the next
five years we expect to induct ships and submarines
at an average rate of 5 platforms per year provided
the yards deliver as per contracted timelines.
At the same time it would be amiss if I did not
emphasize the need for our public and private
sector shipyards to scale up their capabilities
to deliver state-of-the-art warships that meet
our future needs in time frames that match global
standards. To offer a perspective, the global
average for building a ship similar to a Delhi
Class is about 36 months, that too with a stringent
cap on man days. These are the standards that
our shipyards must emulate so as to contain costs
of ship building. This would result in higher
productivity and capacity utilisation. The provisions
of the Defence Procurement Procedures to ‘Buy
and Make Indian’ must be adopted to synergize
capabilities and implement leapfrogging technologies.
The Navy’s forthcoming LPD programme is a unique
opportunity in this context.
There are three ships are under construction
in Russia. These include two more ships of the
follow-on Talwar class, being built at Yantar
Shipyard in Kalingrad, with one scheduled for
induction later this year and the other next year.
The third ship, of course, is the Vikramaditya,
which is currently undergoing sea trials. On the
28th of last month the aviation trials involving
the operations of the Mig 29 K from the deck of
that ship commenced. Machinery trials are also
well underway. As you may appreciate, there is
hectic work underway here in India, to receive
the ship with all the infrastructure support that
would be required to be provided to the aircraft
carrier.
Naval Aviation
On the aviation front too, progress has been
a source of satisfaction. The Navy’s aviation
assets are being modernised and augmented in consonance
with the long term vision of the Navy. In order
to maintain effective vigil and surveillance in
our area of interest, eight of the world’s most
advanced, state-of-the-art P-8I Poseidon, long-range
maritime patrol aircraft are due to be inducted
commencing early 2013. In addition, eight Medium
Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft
are also planned for induction. Procurement of
additional Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is being progressed
to further augment our surveillance and reconnaissance
capability at sea.
I have already mentioned about the most significant
aviation acquisition over the past three years
- the carrier borne MiG-29K fighters. These aircraft
will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s strike
capability. The first batch has already been inducted
and delivery of aircraft from the follow-on contract
will commence later this year.
The rotary wing assets of the Navy are also being
upgraded to induct state-of-the-art weapons, sensors
and avionics. These include upgradation of the
Kamov 28 and Seaking 42B. The new inductions amongst
the helicopters include the Multi-role Helicopters
(MRH) for fleet ships. In addition, the Naval
Utility Helicopter is also planned for induction
by 2016.
In sum, the modernization of the Indian Navy
is firmly on track. This has been possible as
the Navy has ensured 100% outgo of its capital
budget over the past three years, and today our
Capital to Revenue ratio stands at a very healthy
ratio of 68:32.
Development of infrastructure to support our
ships, aircraft and submarines has also been a
priority area and we have outlined several measures
for enhancing our capacity in this area. Work
on Phase I of Project Seabird at Karwar was completed
last year and we are in the final stages of getting
CCS approval for Phase IIA, at Karwar. Meanwhile,
our dockyards and Naval Aircraft Yards are also
constantly being upgraded to keep pace with new
inductions and infusion of newer technologies.
Security of our island territories has been bolstered
by the commissioning of the naval establishment
INS Dweeprakshak at Kavaratti, in the Lakshwadeep
and Minicoy islands. Last week I commissioned
our latest Naval Air Station, INS Baaz at Campbell
Bay on Great Nicobar Island. On that occasion
I had mentioned, and I would like to once again
highlight, the signifiance of the strategic geography
of INS Baaz which is situated on this southernmost
island of the Nicobar group, overlooking the Strait
of Malacca and dominating the 6 degree channel.
These crucial waterways continue to engage the
interest of most global and regional powers.
Diplomacy and Maritime
Strength
Given our geographical position, our natural
paradigm is to architect the stability of our
region via our maritime routes. This is reflected
in the fact that diplomacy is a critical component
of our maritime strategy. You are aware that the
Indian Navy had taken the lead in organizing and
conducting the inaugural Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
in 2008. The 35-member IONS initiative is steadily
gaining strength and we remain committed towards
this endeavour. This year the Indian Navy has
set up the permanent website of IONS, which will
function as a virtual secretariat and allow a
variety of other functions to be discharged in
a cost-effective manner. IONS has been a very
progressive step in increasing maritime cooperation
amongst navies of the littoral states of the Indian
Ocean region, thereby crystallizing the rhetoric
of ‘helping the IOR help itself’.
Foreign Collaborations
The Indian Navy is also committed in numerous
bilateral initiatives to facilitate capability
building and capacity enhancement of our smaller
neighbours, particularly island nations in the
IOR. Towards this end we have formulated our doctrine
and our efforts have been in cosonnance with the
same. These include installation of radars and
AIS systems, providing assets for EEZ surveillance
and hydrographic assistance. These initiatives
have enhanced the Navy’s reputation as a maritime
leader in the region and a professional and capable
force. In addition, we also contribute towards
generating regional maritime capability through
training exchanges to the regional navies when
requested. In 2011, 853 personnel from navies
of friendly nations trained in India. This year
the numbers are intended to be increased. Capability
building towards Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief (HADR) operations has also received our
focused attention. You would recall the Navy’s
deployment for the evacuation of civilians from
Libya last year. This year, the biennial MILAN
gathering of regional navies was conducted at
Port Blair and a record number of 15 countries
attended the MILAN making it grand success.
Our foreign cooperation initiatives include engaging
with other extra-regional navies as well, to gain
operational skills and doctrinal expertise, exchange
transformational experiences, generate inter-operability
and enhance our awareness in the maritime domain
through a variety of information-sharing mechanisms.
The growing scope and complexity of ‘Combined
Exercises’ with the United States Navy, the French,
the Royal Navy, the Russian Navy, the Singaporeans
and South African and Brazilian Navies all contribute
towards our cooperative engagement initiatives.
As I speak to you, some of our ships are on their
way back from a deployment to the Mediterranean.
Earlier this year units of the Eastern Fleet had
similarly deployed to the South and East China
Seas.
All of these efforts have created a significant
operational stretch and accomplishment of these
tasks would not have been possible without the
tremendous dedication of our men and women in
uniform. Naturally, they remain our primary priority.
Tech Skills
The platforms in our Navy today require high
end technological skills and human capital of
the requisite quality and motivation to maintain
and operate. The first batch of B Tech qualified
officers from the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala
will graduate in mid next year. I am happy to
state that the Government has approved the enhancement
of the capacity of the Naval Academy, from 750
to 1200 trainees work on which will soon begin.
To address the career progression aspirations
of our sailors, a cadre restructuring proposal
termed ‘Review of Career Progression of Sailors’
or RECAPS was approved by the government in Oct
2010 and this initiative has reduced the time
for promotion of all sailors to the rank of Petty
Officer to less than 15 years in all branches.
In addition, I am pleased to mention that government
has also approved the Navy’s proposal for grant
of Honorary Rank of Chief Petty Officer to Petty
Officers. All these measures would go a long way
in meeting the career aspirations of our sailors.
The government’s initiative of providing housing
to greater number of service personnel through
the Married Accommodation Project is also resulting
in better quality of life, and higher satisfaction
levels.
Welfare, Veterans and
Naval Families
To my mind one of the most important welfare
initiatives instituted in my tenure as the Chief
of the Naval Staff is the Naval Regimental System
or NRS. The NRS aims to reach out to Naval Veterans
and their family members, particularly widows,
across the country. It is a reflection of our
lasting sense of responsibility to our own. Specifically,
2012 is the ‘Year of the Ex-Servicemen’. Ex-Servicemen
Melas and Pension Adalats have been conducted
at various locations across the nation. Widow
rehabilitation has been one of my Key Result Areas.
In this connection I want to place on record my
gratitude to the Delhi Government for allotting
some land in Vasant Kunj for building a Widows’
Hostel. The Naval Wives Welfare Association has
in tandem instituted several measures for the
rehabilitation of naval widows who often face
an uncertain and economically fraught future after
the demise of their sole breadwinner. In this
regard, I would like to highlight the role played
by the Naval Wives Welfare Association in empowering
naval wives and providing succor to those naval
families who need assistance. In addition, our
ladies play a vital but unsung role in holding
up the family front when the men are away, often
on long deployments. They are an important part
of our organizational strength.
Jointness between the
three Services
To reflect upon my tenure as the Chairman, Chiefs
of Staff Committee I would reiterate that I am
a firm supporter of jointness and I am convinced
that closer integration between the three Services
is necessary for greater efficiency and economy
in the long term. We have been proceeding steadily,
albeit slowly on the path towards greater integration.
I am of the view that this needs to be hastened,
especially to ensure more effective control of
our strategic forces and more efficient conduct
of defence procurement, training and logistics.
Defence Plans
It is a matter of satisfaction, that for the
first time, the LTIPP 2012-27 and the XII Defence
Plan have been approved by the Defence Acquisition
Council, in time. This will provide greater certainty
and direction to our long term modernization plans.
As regard the National War Memorial, I am confident
an appropriate Way Ahead is being chalked out.
I am also hopeful that the Government will resolve
the pending aspects related to the anomalies of
the 6th Central Pay Commission and the issue of
‘one rank one pension’, which are of immense concern
for both serving and veteran Armed Forces personnel.
The setting up of the Indian National Defence
University or INDU at Gurgaon has progressed considerably
with the allotment of land for the purpose by
the Government of Haryana; when commissioned as
envisioned it will certainly facilitate flourishing
of strategic thought in our country.
Excerpted from Admiral
Verma's statement at his farewell press conference
August 7.
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