Navy in News

‘Keel Laying’ ceremony of first of the five Fleet Support Ships (FSS) was held at Hindustan Shipyard, Limited, Visakhapatnam on November 14. The ceremony was presided by Controller Warship Production & Acquisition Vice Admiral B Siva Kumar in presence of chairman & managing director, HSL and other senior officials from Indian Navy and HSL. Indian Navy had signed a contract with HSL for acquisition of five Fleet Support Ships in August 2023. The ships are scheduled to be delivered, commencing mid-2027.

On induction, the Fleet Support Ships will bolster the ‘Blue Water’ capabilities of the Indian Navy through replenishment of fleet ships at sea. The ships, with more than 40,000 tons displacement will carry and deliver fuel, water, ammunition and stores enabling prolonged operations without returning to harbour, thus enhancing the fleet’s strategic reach and mobility. In secondary role, these ships would be equipped for Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief operations for evacuation of personnel in emergency situations and quick delivery of relief material at site during natural calamities.

With indigenous design and sourcing of majority of the equipment from indigenous manufacturers, this shipbuilding project will boost the Indian shipbuilding industry.

India Signs MOI With Japan For Co-Development of UNICORN Masts

A Memorandum of Implementation was signed at the Embassy of India, Tokyo on November 15 between the government of India and government of Japan for co-development of UNICORN mast for fitment onboard ships of Indian Navy.

The MOI was signed and exchanged between the Ambassador of India to Japan, Sibi George and Commissioner of Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) under Japan MoD Ishikawa Takeshi in a ceremony at Tokyo.

The Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) is a mast with Integrated Communication systems which will help improve the stealth characteristics of naval platforms. The Indian Navy is pursuing the induction of these advanced systems which will be co-developed by Bharat Electronics Limited in India with Japanese collaboration. When implemented, this would be the first case of co-development/ co-production of defence equipment between India and Japan.

West Bengal Governor Lays Keel for 1^st & 2^ndNextGen OPV at GRSE

Governor West Bengal C.V. Ananda Bose laid the keel for first and second Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPV) at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd in Kolkata on November 5. The contracts for indigenous design and construction of 11 NGOPVs were concluded in March 2023 between the ministry of defence, Goa Shipyard Ltd (seven ships) and GRSE, Kolkata (four ships). The NGOPVs with an approximate tonnage of 3000T are envisaged for coastal defence & surveillance, search & rescue operations, protection of offshore assets and anti-piracy missions.

Indian Navy Conducts Third Edition of ‘Mahasagar’ Interaction

The third edition of the high-level virtual interaction MAHASAGAR was conducted by the Navy on November 5, during which chief of the naval staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi interacted with heads of navies/ maritime agencies and senior leadership from Indian Ocean Region littorals. These included Bangladesh, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The interaction’s theme was ‘Training Cooperation to Mitigate Common Maritime Security Challenges in IOR’, which highlights the present and necessary imperatives for Training Corporation towards mitigation of common maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.

MAHASAGAR which stands for vast ocean in Hindi, is the Indian Navy’s flagship outreach for high-level virtual interaction between Maritime Heads for Active Security And Growth for All in the Region. The initiative, started by the Indian Navy, is conducted bi-annually and has garnered wide acceptance among the participating nations ever since its inception in 2023.

During the current edition, the principals candidly dwelled on the imperatives of quality training and opportunities for training collaboration between IOR littorals towards developing requisite capacities and skilled manpower to tackle common maritime security challenges in the IOR.

Government Hands Over Two Interceptors To Mozambique At Nacala

As part of its capacity-building engagements with friendly foreign nations of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the government of India gifted two water-jet propelled Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC) to the government of Mozambique on November 8. The FICs were transshipped from India by INS Gharial.

The handing over ceremony was attended by the High Commissioner of India in Mozambique, Robert Shetkintong, India’s newly appointed defence adviser at Maputo, Colonel Puneet Attri, and the commanding officer of INS Gharial, Commander Rajan Chib. The permanent secretary of the ministry of national defence, Augusto Casimiro Mueio, formally accepted the vessels on behalf of the government of Mozambique.

These water-jet-propelled boats have a top speed of 45 knots and a range of 200 nautical miles at 12 knots. They can carry a crew of five personnel and are equipped with machine guns and bullet-resistant cabins. The two FICs will significantly aid the government of Mozambique in its effort to combat maritime terrorism and ongoing insurgency in the Cabo Delgado province. Earlier, to bolster the efforts of the government of Mozambique for maritime security, the government of India had gifted two large interceptor vessels in 2019, followed by two FICs of the same class in January 2022.

The Indian Navy has been seen by several nations in the IOR as the preferred partner for maritime security. The Indian Navy has been collaborating with several friendly littorals of the IOR to equip and train their maritime security forces to counter maritime security challenges like piracy, drug and human trafficking, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, maritime te