Naval LCA to get clearance soon
(The Hindu, 24 June 2002)

Karwar naval base project back on track
(The Economic Times, 24 June 2002)

Project Seabird, the Navy's ambitious, but much-delayed endeavour to meet India's strategic needs in the coming decades through a futuristic naval base at Karwar (Karnataka), finally appears to be gaining some momentum now. Defence Ministry officials claim the project, which was earlier scheduled to be completed by 1995, should be up and running by 2005-2006. The Western Naval Command, which controls the Navy's sword arm in the shape of the potent western fleet, will then be progressively shifted from Mumbai to Karwar as facilities start becoming operational there. "Apart from strategic reasons, the basic aim of the upcoming Karwar naval base is to decongest the existing bases on the west coast, especially Mumbai,'' said an official. With the naval bases at Mumbai, Cochin and even Visakhapatnam getting increasingly crowded now, it is felt that they will not be able to support the Navy's expanding strategic three-dimensional role in the future.

Project Seabird, which covers more than 8000 acres of land along the western coast, entails creation of operational base facilities to handle a large number of warships and aircraft, along with a dockyard for repair, refit and modernisation of ships and submarines. With marine works and construction now underway at Karwar, the Defence Ministry is also firming up several contracts with international collaborators to develop state-of-the-art facilities at the proposed base. A $32 million order, for instance, was recently awarded to Rolls-Royce to provide a ship-lifting system at the base. The ship-lift, with a capacity of almost 10,000 tonne, will be capable of handling vessels up to the Delhi destroyer class warships. It should become operational towards end-2004. Project Seabird has already faced several time and cost overruns and experts say the Navy must be prepared for more delays in the coming years. Although conceived in the 1960s, the project was finally sanctioned in August 1985. The project's estimated cost was Rs.350 crore in 1985. It jumped to Rs.959 crore by 1990 on finalisation of the detailed report. Subsequently, despite a considerable reduction in the scope of the enterprise, the projected cost of Phase-I of the project stood at Rs. 1294.41 crore in October 1995 when the Defence Ministry approved it.

Indian warship key attraction in Petersburg
(Times of India, 23 June 2002)

India assisting Israeli Navy
(The Economic Times, 17 June 2002)

Israel is developing a second strike naval capability far from its territorial borders, thanks to strengthening strategic ties with India, a noted strategic expert has said. Professor Efrayim Inbar of Bar Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies was commenting on an American media report that Israel had three nuclear-armed submarines for which a long-range cruise missile had been tested in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka two years ago under US supervision. Inbar said, "Israel's close ties with India enable it to broaden its naval activities far from the Israeli coastline and secure a permanent presence that is hard to keep under surveillance." Israeli Reserve Colonel Gidi Netzer, specialist on the India-Pakistan conflict, said, "Indian defence officials, however, certainly would have had foreknowledge of the Israeli cruise missile test, which would have been carried out with full Indian coordination because of its regional and strategic sensitivities."

Pentagon sources, quoted in the Washington Post over the weekend, said Israel had acquired three diesel submarines from Germany, which it is arming with newly designed cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, thus giving Israel a triad of land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons for the first time. Inbar said, "Using the American precedent, a second naval-based strike, utilising the advantages of camouflage and mobility would significantly improve Israel's military capability, assuming Israel has nuclear armed missiles." Israel is studiously ambiguous about its purported nuclear capabilities and, like all previous foreign reports, Israeli defence sources have neither confirmed nor denied the present nuclear claims. Instead, defence sources in Tel Aviv quoted in Yediot Aharonot said they actually anticipated the Pentagon leak. "Certain American circles don't approve of Israeli advances in the nuclear field...After Israel launched its advance Ofek 5 intelligence satellite, it was clear that someone in the US keeping a tab on Israel's nuclear and space capabilities would try to disclose pertinent information."

Offering a different explanation, Inbar told the Hebrew daily that this could be the Pentagon's way of explaining why it refuses to supply Israel with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Tomahawk, which is equipped with a space mapped route and radar system enabling in flight changes of course to evade intercepting missiles, travels at between 800 to 850 km/h and has a range of up to 2200 km. "Alternately, other (Israeli) sources may have leaked the story to reassure its public that Israel has a strategic deterrent to counter the threat from Iran's recently tested, 1,300-km-range Sheehav-3 missile," said Inbar. Several months ago, Knesset chairman of the parliamentary defence matters subcommittee Yuval Steinitz asked the director of Israel's National Security Council, General Uzi Dayan, to prepare a report on ways and means of building a long reach Israeli naval presence to counter Iraqi and Iranian strategic ballistic missile threats. "One option could definitely include naval cooperation with India in the Indian Ocean," Steinitz told IANS recently, "but its feasibility was a matter for the professionals to decide." Indian strategic experts who attended an academic seminar in Israel in April said naval defence cooperation between both nations has not been discussed.

20 Navy warships return to Mumbai
(Times of India, 14 June 2002)

Pakistan withdraws warships from high-alert positions
(Rediff, 14 June 2002)

Indian Navy invites donations for Vikrant museum project
(Chalo Mumbai, 14 June 2002)

The Indian navy has floated a trust to accept donations for the Vikrant maritime museum project. The trust - IMS Vikrant Fund Trust - has been registered with the Charity Commissioner of Greater Mumbai, defence sources said. Donations for the project are exempt from income tax up to 50% under section 80-g. The erstwhile aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy was converted into the Indian Maritime Museum (IMS) Vikrant last December, and has been drawing huge crowds. The ship is presently at the naval dockyard in Mumbai for essential maintenance and will be re-opened to visitors after the monsoon. Contributions for the museum have been invited in favour of 'IMS Vikrant Fund Trust' and may be addressed to the secretary, IMS Vikrant Fund Trust, Command Welfare Office, Headquarters, Western Naval Command, Mumbai. Those interested in donating can also contact on telephone number 268-7200 for further information.

Indian warships at the naval port in Mumbai on 13 June 2002, after they were withdrawn from their forward positions. The warships were recalled back as a measure to ease rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the two countries amassed more than a million troops on their frontier and looked ready to go to war over the disputed territory of Kashmir. [Image © Yahoo News]

Indigenously designed Fast Patrol Vessel launched
(MoD Press Release, 12 June 2002)

Sub combat abilities enhanced
(The Tribune, 10 June 2002)

We are ready for Pakistan
(Indian Express, 09 June 2002)

Navy prepared for battle at 4 hours notice
(Times of India, 08 June 2002)