Adm. R. Hari Kumar said on Sunday that the Indian Navy will use both of its aircraft carriers for big operations off the west coast in the next ten days.
He said that both aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya and the made-in-India INS Vikrant, would be in Vishakhpatnam for “Exercise Milan,” but that both ships would not be working together for 10 days.
“Exercise Milan will have both carriers there.” “However, in ten days, the carriers will be put into service, they will be integrated into the fleet, and the fleet will be involved,” the Navy chief said.
He went on to say that when Exercise Milan was over, “both the carriers and the escort ships would go to the western coast.” “They will be a part of us.”
“Right now, operations are moving pretty quickly along the western seaboard. Ten of our ships are out there fighting drones, and another three to four ships are out there fighting pirates, which has never happened before.” The Navy chief said, “This wasn’t the case before.”
INS Vikrant would not be put on the east coast until the right infrastructure was built there, he said.
When asked about the approval of the C295 surveillance planes for the army, Admiral Hari Kumar said, “The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) gave its approval yesterday.” Nine planes are for the Navy and six are for the Coast Guard. That’s a total of 15 planes.”
The head of the Navy also said that the C295 plane would now be made in India, which is in line with the goal of making India “self-reliant.”
DRDO and Tata Advanced Systems Limited will work together to make the sensor suite and the information management system. This is what’s important. “Because this is a development project, it will probably be at least four to five years before we get the first plane,” the Navy chief said.
