INDIA. Mumbai: The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R. Hari Kumar said on Saturday that the Indian Navy has been keeping a vigil on the movements of Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and that a proposal to procure a fleet of Predator drones from the US is under consideration.
Addressing the annual press conference at Naval headquarters, the admiral stated that there are about four to six PLAN (the People’s Liberation Army Navy) ships, some research vessels, and a large number of Chinese fishing vessels in the IOR, and a close watch on all developments is being kept. “The Indian Navy’s job is to see that India’s interests in the maritime domain are protected,” he added.
The drone is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance.
“The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 “Reaper,” which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul last month. Not just the Indian Navy, but all three defence services are likely to get 10 drones each,” he added.
“Recent events like the Russia-Ukraine War have shown us that we cannot remain dependent on others for our security requirements. The government has given us very clear guidelines towards Aatmnirbhar Bharat,” Admiral R Hari Kumar said.
About the Agniveer scheme, he said that nearly 3,000 Agniveers have joined the Indian Navy, of whom 341 are women.
In Mumbai, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command (WNC), spoke about the extensive deployment of ships, submarines, and aircraft by the WNC to maintain presence in all areas of maritime interest to provide security and safeguard the national interests.
Addressing the media onboard the Indian Navy’s latest stealth guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, Vice Admiral Singh highlighted the near-continuous deployment of ships and submarines on mission-based deployments in coastal and distant waters, supported by extensive surveillance by manned and unmanned aircraft.
He also spoke about the concerted efforts towards joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations and the annual joint HADR exercises “PANEX” and “Madad.”
The Vice Admiral also stated that a thrust is on the modernization of the fleet with self-reliance, and the Indian Navy will have more made-in-India security solutions in the days to come.
Fielding a diverse range of questions from the media, Vice Admiral AB Singh clarified queries on coastal security, maritime security, Agniveers, SOPs to operate in extreme weather conditions, fighting drug trafficking through the sea, indigenous warship production, and future acquisitions, among others.
He spoke about the Indian Navy as a flexible instrument of national power as ships of the WNC undertook port calls in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Oman, and other ports, promoting goodwill and national support.
He highlighted that on Independence Day this year, the WNC ships were deployed to West Asia (Muscat, Oman), East Africa (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), and South America (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to unfurl the national flag commemorating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) to celebrate 75 years of independence.
The Navy Day is celebrated on December 4 every year, the date on which, during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, naval ships, armed to the teeth, stealthily manoeuvred off Karachi and unleashed a lethal missile attack that left the port ablaze and destroyed several enemy warships.
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