India To Commission 2 Frontline Warships & a Submarine

In a major boost to India’s blue-water combat capabilities to counter China’s, the Navy is all set to commission two indigenous frontline warships and a diesel-electric submarine.

India To Commission 2 Frontline Warships & a Submarine

In a major boost to India’s blue-water combat capabilities to counter China’s, the Navy is all set to commission two indigenous frontline warships and a diesel-electric submarine next month, even as the new Russian-built frigate INS Tushil also heads home. The biggest of the new warships will be the guided-missile destroyer Surat, with a displacement of 7,400-tonne, followed by stealth frigate Nilgiri (6,670-tonne) and submarine Vagsheer all of which are packed with heavy-duty sensors and weapons for a deadly punch.

Vagsheer is the sixth and last of the French-origin Scorpene or Kalvari-class submarines built at MDL under the over Rs 23,000 crore `Project-75’. India and France are now also in final negotiations for three more Scorpenes to be built at MDL for around Rs 36,000 crore, with the first slated to roll out in six years, followed by the other two at intervals of a year each.

Overall, the Navy now has 60 warships and vessels under construction in Indian shipyards. The 3,900-tonne INS Tushil, which will traverse the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the IOR to reach India, is to be followed by the delivery of another frigate Tamal by Russia in March-April next year.

The over 130-warship Navy, with 251 aircraft and helicopters, also has the initial approval or `acceptance of necessity’ for another 31 warships, including seven new-generation frigates, eight corvettes and six stealth diesel-electric submarines. The Navy, however, will reach a force-level of just about 155-160 warships by 2030, given the slow pace of construction in Indian shipyards as well as the progressive decommissioning of older warships.

China’s Enhancing Maritime Power

In contrast, China is constructing warships and submarines at an astonishing rate, while it has stepped-up naval forays into the IOR and the hunt for overseas bases. Numerically, it already has the world’s largest Navy, with over 370 ships and submarines, including 140 major surface combatants.

Commissioned Ships

Indian navy commissioned INS Nilgiri, INS Surat, INS Tushil, INS Vagsheer & INS Nirdeshak, 4 warships,& a survey vessel.