Indian Navy concerns

The Indian Navy, considered a vital instrument of diplomacy, power projection and essential for safeguarding the country’s manifold maritime interests, is suffering from serious time and cost overruns.

At sea with ageing fleet, cost & time overruns

Dinesh Kumar

ON April 11, Ashton Carter became the first US Secretary of Defence to visit an aircraft carrier belonging to the Indian Navy when he was taken on board the 44,400-tonne Soviet-origin INS Vikramaditya. While New Delhi’s intention was to showcase the Navy’s currently largest and most powerful vessel, mandarins in South Block cannot be unaware of the serious deficiencies that afflict the Indian Navy, considered a vital instrument of diplomacy, power projection and credible second-strike capability in the event of a nuclear war.

In many ways INS Vikramaditya’s pre-induction history and current status serves as a microcosm to what ails the Navy. Firstly, like the Army and the Air Force, the Navy is similarly largely import-dependent for all its submarines and fighter and maritime reconnaissance aircraft, most helicopters, a few ships and for many sub systems, including missiles.

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Source: tribuneindia.com