In a mega boost for the Indian Navy and surveillance capabilities of the defence forces, the Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared the major deals for building two nuclear submarines indigenously and buying 31 Predator drones from the US.
There has been intense Western media reporting alleging that a novel Chinese submarine prototype destined for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sank whilst under construction at the Wuhan Shuangliu shipyard on the Yangtze river four months ago.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu and held discussions on defence cooperation, including the Rafale Marine, Scorpene submarines, space, and international situation, especially Ukraine.
A satellite image from March 10, captured by Maxar Technologies, shows the Zhou-class sub, with its signature x-shape tail, docked at the port. Furthermore, Maxar imagery reviewed in June shows that the sub did not return to the pier.
The 39th Annual Conference of the Marine Medicine Society, themed 'The Future of Maritime Healthcare: Innovation & Solution,' was inaugurated by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of Naval Staff, at INHS Asvini.
The facility aims to enhance the escape capabilities of crew from a distressed Kalvari-class submarine, and has been indigenously designed and developed, keeping in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, highlighting India's focus on self-reliance in defence capabilities.
Amid increasing use of unmanned warfare, the Defence Ministry has given approval to the Indian Navy's plans worth over Rs 2,500 crore to build 100-tonne unmanned underwater vessels.
In a move towards boosting its surveillance and fighting capabilities, the Indian Navy is looking towards concluding three major defence deals this financial year, including the 31 MQ-9B drone deal, 3 additional Scorpene submarines and the 26 Rafale-M fighter aircraft project.
The Ministry of Defence in an official statement on Tuesday stated that Indian Navy has launched the Malpe and Mulki, fourth and fifth ships of the Eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft project, being built by M/s Cochin Shipyard.
The INS Arihant is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine made by India, commissioned in 2018, while the INS Arighaat is the second SSBN, commissioned last week into the Navy by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
In a significant milestone to develop bilateral naval cooperation, the Indian Navy and the South African Navy have signed an Implementing Agreement (IA) that ensures the safety of the South African Navy's submarine crew in times of distress or accident.