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News of Jan
5, 2007
Indian Navy's Strategic
Capabilities
Defence Minister Antony Interacts
On Board
INS Viraat, Jan 5
The Indian Navy displayed its awesome firepower, including a state
of the art anti-missile system, as Defence Minister A.K. Antony
spent a day at sea to understand the strategic capabilities that
make the navy a powerful force multiplier.
Fifteen frontline vessels of Mumbai-based Western Fleet, including
three indigenously-built Delhi class destroyers, a submarine and
also an equal number of aircraft were on the view during the "Day at
Sea" as the flotilla sailed 40 nautical miles off the county's west
coast.
"The navy's primary role is to safeguard the nation's maritime
interests, ranging from sea-borne trade, energy security, the
exclusive economic zone, the merchant fleet, offshore oil and gas
resources, ports, harbors and the long coastline," a visibly
impressed Antony noted after witnessing the demonstration Thursday
and Friday from this lone aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.
"The government is committed to providing the navy with full
capabilities that range from sea control to sea denial and low
intensity maritime operations and humanitarian missions, while
ensuring long-range sustainability," he said.
"In tandem with the ministry of external affairs, we have been
making attempts to reach out to our Indian Ocean neighborhood and
beyond," Antony said, pointing to the "strong defense relationship"
that exists with Singapore and Vietnam.
"We are in the process of establishing closer ties with Malaysia and
Myanmar. Bilateral exercises with other navies help us in enhancing
inter-operability," the minister added.
There was much on offer during the display, as destroyers, frigates,
missile vessels, supported by combat jets and helicopters, flexed
their muscles to demonstrate the power and capabilities of what is
termed a carrier battle group. It is these capabilities that have
enabled the navy show the Indian flag during what are termed
friendly foreign visits to almost every major port worldwide.
But by far the highlight of the display was the late night firing of
two Israeli Barak missiles at an oncoming hostile target.
Manifesting itself as an orange glow, the hostile - a Russian P-21
missile fired from INS Ganga - raced across the skies even as INS
Gomti fired two Baraks that were visible as dots of blue as they
charged to meet the intruder.
Moments before contact, they dimmed and seemed to slow down as their
on-board computers applied a mid-course correction and then both
impacted with the hostile, lighting up the sky with an orange glow.
"It was very exciting and thrilling. The result was very good,"
Antony said of the Barak strike during a brief media interaction
Friday, before he was flown to the guided missile destroyer INS
Mumbai for a "steam past" the participating ships that brought the
demonstration to a close.
The statement would serve to put at rest the purchase of the missile
system with allegations of kickbacks in the deal and corruption
cases being registered against former navy chief Admiral Sushil
Kumar and some others.
There were also reports that delays and cost overruns had prompted
the navy to abandon the Trishul anti-ship missile the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing and opt
for new generation versions of the Barak.
Then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee had said last year that the
Trishul project had been given a year-long extension to July. But
given the Barak's success Thursday night, and that too in front of
the defence minister, it could possibly mean the DRDO version has
little chance now, military analysts said.
What exactly the navy was capable of was demonstrated in a telling
manner during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict last year when a
destroyer and three frigates that were on their way home after
visits to Mediterranean ports evacuated over 2,000 Indians and also
nationals of South Asian countries.
The Western media had termed this the "biggest evacuation of people
since Dunkirk", a reference to the French port from where hundreds
of British troops had to be pulled back after being defeated by the
German army at the height of World War II.
This was Antony's first major interaction with the navy and was part
of his efforts to gain first-hand knowledge of the functioning of
the armed forces.
He would be visiting Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh Jan 9-10 for a
briefing on the India-China border and then travel to the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands to examine the functioning of the country's
first tri-services command.
The navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and the Flag Officer
Commanding Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sangram Singh Byce,
were among those who
witnessed the display.
IANS
News of Jan
5, 2007
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