Two Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ships for Indian Coast Guard were simultaneously launched on Thursday at the defence PSU and warship builder – Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. at Kolkata. These FPV ships are each 50M long, 7.5M wide with a displacement of around 308 tons and are designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1500 nautical miles.

According to Rear Admiral VK Saxena, Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, “The FPV designs, exclusive to GRSE, are an improvisation on the Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV) built by the Shipyard for the Indian Coast Guard, few years ago.”

“The vessels come with an efficient hull form developed in-house and proved after extensive model testing. These are fuel efficient and the powerful platforms are well suited for patrolling, anti-smuggling, and anti-poaching and rescue operations.”

These come fitted with state-of-the-art Main Engines with Advanced Control Systems and Water Jet Units and an ‘Integrated Bridge System’ assimilating all Communication and Navigation Systems.

The key armament of a 40/60 Gun and improved habitability features with fully air conditioned modular accommodation for 35 personnel are the other salient features of the ships.

With the launch now over the company is gearing up for the post launch activities which include balance fitting out of the ship, readiness of ship systems and setting to work of equipment / systems. Once over, the ships would be put to sea for trials before final delivery, the CMD added.

These Vessels, ICGS Amrit Kaur and ICGS Kamla Devi are third and fourth in the series of five FPVs built by GRSE for the Indian Coast Guard.

Upholding the best of maritime traditions, the ships were “Launched” by Veena Naravane, wife of Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, General Officer Commanding-In-Chief; Eastern Command, Indian Army. The ceremony was held in the presence of Rear Admiral VK Saxena, CMD, GRSE, and other Senior Officials of GRSE, Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, and Indian Army.

As part of Make in India initiatives, through indigenisation efforts, GRSE has made commendable progress by successfully incorporating a high percentage of indigenous content in the ships made in shipyard.

INS Kamorta and INS Kadmatt, the first two of Class of 4 ASW Corvettes became the first warships built in the country with indigenously developed warship grade steel, thus having the distinction of achieving over 90 % indigenous content and hence a major step towards achieving self reliance in state of the art warship design and construction space.

On the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) class of ships delivered so far, almost 90% indigenous equipment fit has been achieved. Also, 70 % indigenous content in construction of four follow on WJFACs and 72 % indigenisation of the Railless Helo Traversing System on board 3rd ASW Corvette, INS Kiltan, have been achieved at the shipyard.

To its credit in over five decades the shipyard has successfully developed an array of world-class platforms including frigates, missile corvettes, anti submarine warfare corvettes and LCU ships for the Indian Navy, all of them armed with high-tech infrastructure.

It has the capacity to construct 20 ships in tandem. With the keel-laying of the 1st Advanced Stealth Frigate of P17A Project, it has once again touched a key milestone. It has also bagged orders for four Survey Vessels (Large) for Indian Navy on competitive basis and emerged a successful bidder through competition for 8 ASWSWCs, with private players active in the fray.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 18

Two militants belonging to the Al-Badar outfit were on Sunday killed in a gunfight with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said.

Based on a credible input about the presence of militants, a cordon and search operation was launched by security forces at the crack of dawn in Rebban area of Zainapora in the south Kashmir district, a police spokesman said.

He said as the search operation was going on, the search party was fired upon by the hiding militants.

The fire was retaliated leading to an encounter in which two militants were killed, the spokesman said.

He said the slain ultras have been identified as Nawaz Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Rebban Zainapora and Yawar Wani, a resident of Batnoor Litter Pulwama.

“They were affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit Al-Badar. Both the killed terrorists were involved in a series of terror attacks on security establishments and many other civilian atrocities in the area,” the spokesman said.

Arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter.

No collateral damage took place during the encounter, he said. With PTI

Another youth abducted by unidentified gunmen in Shopian district

Photo for representational purpose only.

Srinagar, November 18

Unidentified gunmen abducted a youth on Sunday from Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, police said.

The youth, Suhail Ahmad Ganai, was abducted from Meemander village.

Sunday’s incident comes after another five youths were abducted from Shopian on Saturday.

Huzaif Ahmad was killed while two others were released unharmed. — IANS

Pakistan’s threat to India that it has answer for every weaponry that India has despite the fact that the country is moving towards economic bankruptcy if International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not bail it out with $6 billion loan. But it keeps on boasting that it has answer for India’s INS Arihant and even soon to be acquired S 400 missile system. Is Pakistan really that capable?

Former foreign secretary Shashank told Oneindia, “See Pakistan is not an independent country. So the need is to understand it in a historical perspective that Pakistani and the then people belonging to Muslim League were hand in glob with British during the freedom movement. Now they are ready to play second fiddle to anyone willing to pay them money and armament at cheaper prize. They have done this to UK, the US, Saudi Arabia, China and now they are trying do do it with Russia.”

Shashank said that Pakistan sent its former Army chief General (retd.) Raheel Sharif to head Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism’s (IMCTC) first commander-in-chief. Its creation was announced by Saudi Arabian defence minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud on December 15, 2015. The alliance was to have a joint operations center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Most of its participants are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Islamic organisation and Pakistan is busy signing maximum agreement with Saudi Arabia to become a totally Salafi state. China is helping whatever way it is possible. China is actually producing a very good quality stuff and they will give them to Pakistan. Pakistan will allow China to use their people as virtual slaves and allow its territories to be used by China the way it was using North Korea. So they may keep their weapons in Pakistan because if it is in China, US may have an eye on them.

He said that there is also a need to understand the strategic location of Pakistan making it important to all rather it was created in such a way by British and the US that it remains important. Before the second world war got over, they have already negotiated partition of India in 1936 somewhere in Cairo, Egypt because the importance of steel and coal was getting over and oil was going to be the next big thing for all purposes including war and energy security. However, now Indian Ocean emerging in prominence India’s strategic importance to increased with Indian Ocean becoming the most important piece of contention.

The former foreign secretary said that historically colonial powers and even the US decided to keep a close watch on wherever oil resources were and to have their own people and government there. But former Prime Minister J L Nehru was considered unreliable for them for being a leftist despite being close to them. M N Roy had set up a school for communists for Taskant under USSR umbrella. So they were afraid that Indians might join these fellows in Taskant therefore India had to be divided. It was agreed upon after the second world war was over.

Another strategic expert Ashish Shukla said that so Pakistan will not only be bailed out but military supported for its strategic location and the Pakistan knows it well and relishes on the fact by dalliance with every important country in the world.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday said terrorism in Kashmir cannot be wiped out by killing terrorists but by bringing them back to the mainstream.

The governor, in a veiled reference to Pakistan, said the neighbouring country wants Jammu and Kashmir to remain disturbed, but its designs keep failing as they did recently during the recent municipal polls.

“Terrorism cannot be wiped out by killing militants. More of them will keep joining terror groups. They will keep attacking police and security forces which will, in turn, fire bullets, not bouquets. And they will die in the process,” he said.

“We do not want them to die. We want them to leave the gun culture and come back to the mainstream,” he added.

Mr Malik made the remarks while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a Power Department function.

“Our aim is not to hunt them down but to eradicate terrorism. We want the people in the Valley to understand that nothing is to be achieved from terrorism,” he said.

Terming terror attacks on the security personnel as “unfortunate”, Mr Malik said, “The police are fighting bravely and will take care of the situation.”

On radicalisation of youth in Kashmir, he said, “Those who are being radicalised need to know that it will not benefit them. We cannot settle an issue by taking up arms. We can do it through talks.”

Pakistan, he said, has a “big role” in fomenting trouble in Kashmir.

“It wants the state to remain disturbed. But its designs keep failing as it failed recently. It could do nothing to disrupt the municipal polls in the state,” he said.

“Pakistan is frustrated with its own problems as it is having to sell its household items to run the country,” he added.

COMMENT
The governor hoped that unlike the recent urban body polls, the voter turnout would improve in the upcoming panchayat elections.

General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), is reported to have initiated four major studies for the transformation of the Indian army into a “more agile fighting force” to face current and emerging threats and challenges. Apparently, the endeavour would be to transform the present army into a force that can deter war while being simultaneously ready to fight and win on future battlefields. All armed forces conduct such exercises periodically to evaluate the efficacy of their force structures, the effectiveness of their weapons systems and equipment and the adequacy of their logistics support chains and infrastructure for future wars.

The overall aim of transformation should be to enhance combat effectiveness by an order of magnitude. Recommendations for the future force should be made in the light of likely changes in the strategic environment, new developments in weapons technologies and ancillary defence equipment and the budgetary support likely to be provided by the government. The restructuring being undertaken by the nation’s military adversaries would also influence the recommendations that are eventually presented to the government by Army HQ.

Besides changes in the strategic environment, it must be noted that the character of conflict is constantly changing and evolving. From state versus state conventional conflict — mainly for territorial gains — the pendulum is gradually swinging towards sub-conventional conflict between states and disaffected non-State actors. In the prevailing era of strategic uncertainty, future threats and challenges are becoming increasingly more difficult to predict. Blurring the distinction between the states of war and peace, non-military means are being increasingly employed to achieve political and strategic goals in the “hybrid” conflicts of the 21st century.

Consequently, the force transformation trend line among modern armies is to move from threat-based forces that were designed to meet known threats to capability-based forces that provide a set of capabilities to deal with a range of unexpected situations. The combat capabilities that these forces must develop are carefully defined. Similarly, training regimes are being reconfigured to train officers and other ranks for certainty and to educate them to face uncertainty.

In India’s case, the unresolved territorial disputes with China and Pakistan are likely to remain the primary source of future conflict. Given the collusion between China and Pakistan in the nuclear warhead, ballistic missile and military hardware fields and their “all-weather” strategic partnership, India has to remain prepared to fight a two-front war. Deterrence can only be achieved by developing the capability to launch offensive operations deep into the adversary’s territory. As India’s territorial disputes are mainly in the high Himalayan mountains where deep manoeuvre is not possible, the army must upgrade its firepower capabilities very substantially if the stipulated military aims are to be achieved. Similarly, the ability to launch vertical envelopment operations will be a major asset in the mountains.

India’s increasing responsibilities as a net provider of security in the Indo-Pacific region will require the creation of tri-Service capabilities for military intervention singly or in conjunction with its strategic partners. While India would prefer that such interventions be launched under the United Nations flag, it is likely to join a coalition of the willing if its vital national interests are threatened and the UN Security Council fails to reach a consensus on the need to intervene.

Advanced armies such as those of the United Stated and its allies have graduated to launching “effects-based” operations in a “networked-centric” battlefield environment. These capabilities are highly capital intensive as they are based on secure, state-of-the-art command and control systems with adequate redundancy, accurate ground, air and space-based reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) systems and failsafe precision guided strike munitions. In view of perennial budgetary constraints, the Indian army will need to carefully assess as to which of the field formations must be armed with these sophisticated force multiplier capabilities; for example, the Strike Corps which are designed to launch offensive operations.

The army’s manpower-intensive deployment on the northern borders can be reduced to a large extent by employing modern RSTA resources backed by readily available reserves. New vulnerabilities are appearing on the horizon with alarming regularity. Cyber security is posing a huge challenge and nation States are finding it difficult to cope with the increasingly sophisticated hacking techniques being employed by State and non-State actors and rogue individuals. This is one field in which India’s famed expertise in developing software can be exploited to advantage.

“Non-contact” warfare techniques are gaining currency. For example, measures designed to harm a country’s economic stability — such as the circulation of fake currency — are adding to the challenges to be overcome by security planners. While decades-old insurgencies in the north-eastern states are gradually coming under control, the emergence of new internal security challenges like being called upon to deal with left wing extremism (Maoist terrorism) cannot be ruled out. Hence, the army must continually sharpen its counter-insurgency skills and capabilities.

The process of transformation must also review the suitability of military doctrines such as Cold Start and the usefulness of present organisational structures during future wars so as to enable the Army HQ to make appropriate changes. The army’s human resources development (HRD) policies, particularly the adequacy of current training regimes, must also be re-evaluated. The likely impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), killer robots, unmanned or autonomous combat vehicles and the opportunities provided by the exploitation of “big data” must be diligently studied.

The process of transformation for future wars has only just begun with the convening of four study groups by the COAS. It must be an evolutionary process with course corrections being made periodically as experience is gained during the implementation stage. To succeed, the transformation process must have the full support of the political leadership and the bureaucracy.

Six militants were killed on Friday in a gun battle with security forces in south Kashmir’s Bijbehera area after the Indian Army and state police launched an operation, officials said.

“We have recovered war-like stores from encounter site,” army spokesperson Rajesh Kalia said.

The operation is still in progress, according to officials.

Officials said they had information that six or seven militants were hiding at Seikpora village and when search and cordon operation began in early hours it turned into an operation.

On Tuesday, four militants were killed in neighbouring Shopian district in a similar operation

Dehradun, November 6

Army chief Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troopers in Uttarakhand’s Nelang border and offered them Diwali greetings. He reached Nelang on the Indo-China border at 8.30 am in a chopper and spent more than two hours with the troopers.

Uttarakhand shares a 345-km border with China of which 122 km falls in Uttarkashi district. The border is guarded by the ITBP which has nine posts, most of which are located some 12,000-17,000 ft from the ground level. The current temperature here is sub-zero.

He also took briefing of the situation and later left for Harshil where he was accorded a grand reception.  Bipin Rawat also visited the Gangotri shrine where he went by road. The Army chief is scheduled to spend the night at the Harshil Army guest house after which he will leave for the state capital on Wednesday.  —  IANS