Indian Navy essential instrument of national power projection: Vice Admiral Deshmukh

Kolkata: The Indian Navy has become an essential instrument of national power projection, diplomacy and regional stability in an age of rising strategic competition, resource control and security challenges, Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh said on Monday. The Indian Navy's role in shaping the geopolitical environment in the Indian Ocean region and beyond continues to grow towards prominence, said Deshmukh, the chief of materials of the Indian Navy.

"In an age of rising strategic competition, resource control and security challenges, the Indian Navy has become an essential instrument of national power projection, diplomacy and regional stability," the vice admiral said at the launch of the eighth anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft built by Defence PSU GRSE for the Navy. The ship, named Ajay, was launched by Priya Deshmukh, wife of Vice Admiral Deshmukh, at a function here. This is the eighth and last ship in a series of anti-submarine warfare shallow water crafts, built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, for the Indian Navy. "As the global powers endeavour to assert themselves in this region, where 80 per cent of the global trade flows, the Indian Navy needs to retain the stature of being the preferred security partner to the maritime threats that emerge and also the first responder in case of HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) missions," he said. The vice admiral said that towards meeting these requirements, the Indian Navy is constructing a large number of ships with diverse roles through the Indian shipbuilding industry, which is clear from the order books of various shipyards across the country, giving prominence to self-reliance.

He lauded the role of GRSE, which has built the highest number of warships among all the shipyards in the country. GRSE has emerged as one of the premier defence shipyards of the country, having built more than 110 warships for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. He said that India is among a few countries in the world that build modern warships, conventional and nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. GRSE chairman cum managing director Commodore (Retd) P R Hari said that the ship 'Ajay' is among the 16 anti-submarine warfare shallow water vessels being built for the Navy by two shipyards, eight each by GRSE and a sister shipyard. "The previous Ajay, which was the first indigenous warship of our nation, was built by GRSE six and a half decades back and was inducted in the Indian Navy in September 1961," he said.

The newly launched 'Ajay' is a third-generation warship, he said. These ships are versatile platforms and can participate in a variety of operations, a GRSE official said. He also said these vessels are designed and built with low draughts and are thus capable of coastal operations. They are equally capable of low-intensity maritime operations and laying mines, he said. "These 77.6-metre-long and 10.5-metre-wide warships are also capable of full-scale sub-surface surveillance in coastal waters and can carry out operations against surface platforms as well," he said. They can carry out coordinated anti-submarine operations with aircraft. These warships pack a lethal anti-submarine suite comprising lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets and mines, the official added.