In a major development, India is planning to buy 26 Rafale fighter aircraft and three Scorpene class conventional submarines from France.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Mumbai to induct the country's largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata.
India on Monday successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka.
The Indian Navy has commissioned three new warships, INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, and INS Vaghsheer, marking a significant step in India's defense self-reliance and indigenous shipbuilding capabilities. These state-of-the-art vessels are designed and built entirely in India, showcasing the country's growing expertise in defense production. The commissioning of these warships strengthens India's position as a global leader in defense and augments its maritime strength.
INS Surat is the Indian Navy's first AI enabled warship.
The Indian navy suffered yet another mishap on Friday with gas leakage in an under-construction warship in the Mazagaon Docks here, claiming the life of a Commander and hospitalisation of two dockyard employees.
It is the first warship to have been named after a city from the Northeastern region, the approval for which was accorded by the President in April 2019.
Equipped with some of the best sensors in the world, its weapons package include sufficient wire guided torpedoes and sub-surface to surface missiles to neutralise a large enemy fleet, the Navy said.
The Navy commander also said that as many as 39 naval ships and submarines are currently being constructed in various Indian shipyards that are expected to significantly boost India's maritime prowess.
For the navy, which is making do with just 14 conventional submarines against a requirement of 24, the INS Khanderi delay extends a dangerous operational void.
INS Karanj is the third Kalavari-class submarine to be commissioned into the Navy. The diesel-electric submarines based on the Scorpene design are also referred as Scorpene class submarines.
AIP or Air Independent Propulsion system allows the vessel to stay underwater for a longer duration.
The status of the current submarine force level is alarming and we need to address the threat perceptions expeditiously. Critical decisions pertaining to national security cannot be delayed any further due to the rapidly changing maritime threat perceptions and growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Kalvari underwent around 120 days of extensive sea trials and tests for various equipment and is expected to bolster India's maritime prowess.
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