Indian Naval Discussion

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 23 May 2009 22:29

Talking about rough seas, here is a funny anecdote related to that

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Arti ... cle22.html

Tilak · Post by **Tilak** » 23 May 2009 22:41

China proposed division of Pacific, Indian Ocean regions, we declined: US Admiral
Manu Pubby Posted: Friday ,
May 15, 2009 at 0242 hrs IST

New Delhi: In a startling disclosure, a top US Admiral has revealed that China offered to divide the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions between China and the US after Beijing launched its own fleet of aircraft carriers.

The offer was made by an unnamed top Chinese Navy officer while discussing the country’s ongoing aircraft carrier programme, one of the senior-most officers of the US military, Pacific Command (PACOM) chief Admiral Timothy J Keating said. He added that the incident was disclosed to Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta during their meeting on Thursday.

Keating said that the offer, which was made somewhat “tongue in cheek” was declined by the US but the top Chinese officer indicated that Beijing would pursue the development of aircraft carrier technology.

“We (Keating and Mehta) talked a little about the potential development of a Chinese aircraft carrier. I related (to Mehta) a conversation I had with a senior Chinese Naval officer during which he proposed, in his words, that as China builds aircraft carriers — he said plural — we can make a deal,” the PACOM chief said after meeting the top Indian military leadership besides the National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary.

The proposed “deal” envisaged that after China has its own aircraft carriers — it remains the only major naval power currently without such a capability — the Pacific region could be divided into two areas of responsibility.

“(The Chinese officer said) You, the US, take Hawaii East and we, China, will take Hawai West and the Indian Ocean. Then you will not need to come to the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean and we will not need to go to the Eastern Pacific. If anything happens there, you can let us know and if something happens here, we will let you know,” Keating recalled.

Keating and Mehta also discussed the recent “aggressive” tactics of Chinese vessels against US Navy warships operating in the East China sea. Calling the tactics, which were described in reports as very close passes and attempts to block US warships by Chinese vessels, as “irresponsible”, Keating said that he and Mehta viewed them with “concern”.

Is there some kind of "Operation Browbeat India" at play here?, with any eye on getting CISMOA, EUVA and LSA signed and delivered.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 23 May 2009 23:36

Why be surprised? The Chinese got balls. It is sad our babus don't have any.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 23 May 2009 23:38

The Indian Naval Air Arm page has been updated. Comments & Suggestions are always welcome;

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Air-Arm.html

Pragadeesh · Post by **Pragadeesh** » 24 May 2009 02:19

Rakesh wrote:The Indian Naval Air Arm page has been updated. Comments & Suggestions are always welcome;

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Air-Arm.html

Rakesh, I think AEW rotary wing aircraft KA-31 (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Ka-31.html) is missing in the list. Excuse me if I am wrong. Thank you.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 24 May 2009 02:35

You are absolutely right. Thanks for pointing out the error. I have fixed it.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 24 May 2009 03:17

Tilak wrote:
Is there some kind of "Operation Browbeat India" at play here?, with any eye on getting CISMOA, EUVA and LSA signed and delivered.

Chicom is already making waves within the finance community - IMF, want a global currency, ADB (Aruachal Pradesh issue) and currencies with Argentina and now Brazil.

This was coming, which is why I had raised the issue of SL.

Now, with a seemingly stable government, India has no (more) excuses. It is already rather late. The good news is that any move by either China or Pakistan will hurt the West before it really hurts India.

The new great game is on.

Watch and enjoy.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 24 May 2009 05:37

New article added on INS Jawaharlal Nehru

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Nehru.html

maz · Post by **maz** » 24 May 2009 07:37

Rakesh, please add PTA Sqn to the list of Dega based units.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 24 May 2009 19:35

Maz, do we have the sqn # of the PTA (Pilotless Target Aircraft) ?

Also, can anyone please confirm this for me? Is it INS Parindh or is it INS Parundu, as the link below suggests?

http://www.marinebuzz.com/2009/04/01/in ... s-parundu/

from the above link it states that Parundu means Eagle in Tamil and I found a beautiful pic...check it out...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oochappan/370703121/

dinakar · Post by **dinakar** » 24 May 2009 22:47

Rakesh wrote: Also, can anyone please confirm this for me? Is it INS Parindh or is it INS Parundu, as the link below suggests?

Rakeshji yes it is INS Parundu and in Tamil Parundu means Eagle
link

Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Naval Staff, has said that the Indian Armed Forces, including the Navy, have not extended military assistance to Sri Lankan forces battling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Addressing a press conference after commissioning the INS Parundu, a full-fledged naval air station at Uchipuli near here on Thursday, he said Indian forces had no role in the ongoing military action against the LTTE.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 24 May 2009 22:54

Shamyji...thank you sir! I have changed it.

Can you please email me at koshyr AT hotmail DOT com

maz · Post by **maz** » 25 May 2009 02:37

Indian warships arrive in Jeddah on a goodwill mission

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cf ... 9052438879

INS Delhi and Aditya are visiting Jeddah as part of the Indian Navy’s overseas deployment to Russia, Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

srai · Post by **srai** » 25 May 2009 03:52

tsarkar wrote:You're right Austin.

Six Rajputs were planned, however the last one was cancelled because of its dated design & systems, anticipation of quick availability of the Delhi class and to free funds.

IN typically needs 24 frigates and destroyers and presently has 3 Type 1135.6, 3 Type 15, 3 Type 16A, 3 Type 16, 5 Type 61ME and 3 Type 12I = 20, so four short.

3 Type 17 will replace 3 Type 12I, 3 Type 15A will replace 2 older Type 61ME (Rajput, Rana). The additional 3 Type 1135.6 presently being built will address the shortfall.

2012-13 the fleet would be 3 15A, 3 17, 6 Type 1135.6, 3 Type 15, 3 Type 16A, 3 Upgraded Type 16 and 3 Upgraded Type 61ME = 24

4 Project 15B initiated this year would replace the remaining 3 Upgraded Type 61ME and add numbers while Project 17A should replace the 3 Upgraded Type 16 in the 2013-2018 timeframe. And surriptiously sneak past a few more numbers past the bean counters.

So it looks like by 2018-2020, IN will have the following fleet:

Primary
10 - destroyers (3 P15, 3 P15A, 4 P15B)
16 - frigates (3 1135.6, 3 1135.6 Mod, 3 P17, 7 P17A)

Plus (secondary)
3 - frigates (3 Type 16A since they were commissioned recently in the early 2000s)

Total: 26 + 3 = 29 destroyers and frigates

Himanshu · Post by **Himanshu** » 25 May 2009 11:37

Maz.. Any new updates about INS Kadamba (Seabird) or ENC base at Rambili.. the topography is quite good at Karwar.. but lot of dredging would be required at Rambili....

vavinash · Post by **vavinash** » 25 May 2009 11:50

Considering the lightening speed at which P-15a's and P-17's are being build by 2018-20 IN will be lucky to have

Frigates : 3 P-16a, 3 P-17, 3 Talwars , 3 Mod Talwars, 3 additional mod talwars if ordered before 2010-12 and 3 P-17a's. : 15-18

Destroyers: 3 Delhis, 3: kolkotas, If very very lucky 4 P-15 Bs. : 6-10.

Corvettes: 4 P-28a, 4 P-28s : 8

So a min of 29 max of 36. Not too shabby.

tsarkar · Post by **tsarkar** » 25 May 2009 16:19

Snaik –
It is definitely possible to extend the life of ships via refits, however battering by waves over 30 years takes its toll on the structural integrity. Such ships don’t make stable weapons or sensor platforms. There are frequent machinery breakdowns. Crew ergonomics takes a hit resulting in low efficiency. It’s difficult and expensive to replace a boiler or turbine. On old ships it will require cutting through decks – that further affects integrity. The money can surely be better invested elsewhere.

With due credit, respect and recognition to the Russians for doing a good job, Smetlivy usually operates in the sheltered waters of the Black Sea and Med where mission endurance doesn’t exceed a week. INS Krishna commissioned 1967 recently went to the Persian Gulf that would be a 4 day cruise at 12 knots from Mumbai. A typical Indian Ocean Region patrol ranges from 21 – 28 days.

Austin – Regarding third set of 1135.6,

In the late 90’s when 1135.6 was negotiated, it was the best available option – 25+ km Shitil vis-à-vis <10 km range Seawolf on Type 23 and <15 km Crotale on Lafayette & 220 km supersonic Klub cued by Ka-31 giving unmatched air and surface warfare capability. However one drawback was lack of second helicopter facility that is essential for ASW. This was rectified in the Shivalik. In a nutshell, two helicopters + frigate can triangulate and create a kill box for submarines beyond its torpedo range.

Today, with better designs available in India and elsewhere, doesn’t seem logical for ordering another set of a 90’s design. IN has been discussing Project 17A with shipyards round the world – maybe this news is being misrepresented as additional orders.
S-125M hasn’t been upgraded. A salvo of four should be good against any F-7, Mirage III/V or first generation F-16 without ECM.

Maz -
Type 12 was the old Talwar class. Type 12I stood for Type 12 improved. The hull design as you correctly pointed out was FSA34.

AK-630 operation is as SNaik described. While the gun is usually called AO-18, my understanding is that AO-18 refers to the 30x165mm cartridges and gun is GSh-6-30K also used in MiG-27. Here’s an interview of the designer and the manufacturer’s page.

http://www.aviation.ru/gun/article.1/
http://www.kbptula.ru/eng/zencom/ak630.htm

It is a gas operated blowback weapon that doesn’t require any external electric or pneumatic drive like US Phalanx/Vulcan. The flaw is that Phalanx tracks its own stream and based on the delta between the target and stream, corrects the gun alignment. The MR-123 radar doesn’t provide correction; hence it is pretty useless at max range. So it usually fires 400 round bursts at 1-2 km ranges. The rate of fire cannot be adjusted – the gas pressures are too high to be regulated without complex machinery that will negate size/weight advantages. With the Elta 2221 radar, this flaw is rectified and today I’ll rate it better than Phalanx. Raytheon offered Phalanx 1B but IN decided to use Barak1+2 AK-630+Elta 2221 on newer ships.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 25 May 2009 18:38

tsarkar: your help, as always, has been invaluable. Please take a look at these two pages and let me know if they look good.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Rajput.html

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Godavari.html

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 25 May 2009 18:58

tsarkar wrote:Today, with better designs available in India and elsewhere, doesn’t seem logical for ordering another set of a 90’s design. IN has been discussing Project 17A with shipyards round the world – maybe this news is being misrepresented as additional orders.

Better Design Yes , but can they deliver on time ? Do they have the capacity to build additional frigates ? and as far P-17A goes we have not gone beyond RFP stage.

But the news was from some officials in Russia link

SNaik · Post by **SNaik** » 25 May 2009 19:20

Tsarkar,

I fully agree with "The money can surely be better invested elsewhere", nevertheless, there's always the "stop-gap" factor. Smetlivy is just that (like Rajputs could be for Indian Navy). In 2003 she even particiapted in Ind-Russian exercise in Indian Ocean.

Russian designations are pain. There are at least four that I know of - designers index, producers index, classified index for the Force and open index. AO-18 is designer's index, AK-630 is the Navy designation, GSh-6-30 is the designation for Air Force which uses lighter version AO-18A without liquid coolant system. Producer's index is TKB-635. The classifed designation (so called GRAU index) is 9A-621. Cartridges has the same designation as gun and are divided by type as OFZ AO-18 and OT AO-18.

Rakesh,

Russian sources claim that Project 61ME is equipped with newer MG-335 Platina sonar, the same as Pr.61MP for Soviet Navy, Titan/Vychegda was installed on original Project 61. Parus is gyrostabilization system for firecontrol radar Yatagan, the SAM is M-1 Volna-M (S-125M). Fire control for P-20M SSMs is provided by Korall-NKE with Baza-61ME gyrostabilization system. 4 PK-16 decoy launchers are installed. Torpedo launcher is PTA-33-61ME. The ship carries 7.8 tons of fuel for helicopter. Two M-3EE main power units were installed, rated at 40425 HP each.

Baljeet · Post by **Baljeet** » 25 May 2009 21:16

Rakesh wrote:Why be surprised? The Chinese got balls. It is sad our babus don't have any.

Rakesh
I agree and want to add, When a country is led by someone who has lost the balls, have grown hair instead, There shouldn't be any surprise. However, chinese are getting too cocky if they think they can divide world oceans like it is their "Baap ki Zageer". Chinese are known to forget the lessons of history and throw false bravado around. I guess they have forgotten the whupping they got from Vietnam. Even if Chinks make AC who is to say they will have the trained force, tactics, resources, electronics to be at par with US. US has developed and refined AC based force tactis over 60 years. Chinese think they can catch up to US by making few carriers. I say, go ahead. Knock yourself out. IN has been operating carrier force way far longer than chinese ever did. IN have the wherewithal and tactics to take the chinese on high seas. IN has been working the high seas for some time now. Chinkis didn't become part of Anti Piracy until IN got involved. Chinese took affront to Indian operation. They felt slighted, lost face they reacted and ordered few ships to ECA pronto with much fan fare. All the while chinese and japanese fishing trawlers were looting the somalian coast of sea food.

JMT

Arun_S · Post by **Arun_S** » 25 May 2009 22:25

Indonesia May Have Role in India's Regional Plan

By vivek raghuvanshi
15 May 2009
NEW DELHI - The Defence Ministry may redraw India's defense strategy in the southeast, giving extra importance to relations with Indonesia. Some active-duty and retired Indian military officials have suggested more diplomacy with Jakarta and joint exercises with Indonesian troops, ministry sources here said.

Efforts also should be made to check the growing Chinese military buildup in the Indian Ocean region, a senior Defence Ministry official said, noting that China already has a base in the Coco Islands, leased from Myanmar, from which it monitors India's ballistic missile testing range. Indian defense planners have been told that India's Sunda-Banka, Lombok-Makassar and Ombai-Wetar straits are becoming strategic sea passages much like the Strait of Malacca, Defence Ministry sources said.

A senior ministry official said India and Indonesia have been strengthening their defense ties for some time, and the two countries have even explored the possibility of joint production of weapons and military equipment.

The two countries have also discussed joint patrols by Indian and Indonesian warships in the Strait of Malacca, the region's favored sea route for large ships, including oil tankers from the Arabian Gulf.

An Indonesian diplomat said that Jakarta is interested in buying the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile, jointly developed by India and Russia. Indonesia also is interested in the co-production with India of radars, electronic equipment and artillery weapons, the diplomat said.

maz · Post by **maz** » 26 May 2009 00:46

The Russian supplied sonars on the SNF's have since been upgraded with Humsa/ Humsa NG sets along with IAC Mod 0 FCS during refits. It is a safe bet to assume that all upgraded SNF's have BEL built sonar sets now.

It is interesting to see that even the USN is resorting to extending service life of the remaining CG and through refits and capability upgrades.

It would be a grave mistake to underestimate our friends in the PLA Navy. Unlike India, when the Chinese decide on something, they make it happen. Not only do they make it happen, they do it on a scale the IN simply cannot match.

Cases in point: just look at the numbers of FFG that are churned out from Chinese yards in recent years. Yes, they may not quite be on par with IN ships today but, every few ships or so, there are step changes in the technologies that are incorporated into their combatants. Moving beyond FFG, the Chinese destroyers are fielding technology that surpasses the IN in many respects. The PLA has a huge head start on submarines and just about everything else. While the IN is studying the Jalashwa, and the bureaucracy takes eons to decide which foreign design to adapt, the Chinese just went ahead a built a large LPD of their own. Guess what, they are now going to build 30K ton LHA(flattops).

As for aircraft carriers, it is just a matter of time before they start their multi ship carrier program in earnest. Somehow I suspect that they wont bother with building a 40K ton carrier design. Rather, they will start with large carriers.

Is it not strange that the reason a larger carrier cannot be built at CSL is a lack of suitably wide berth? I imagine this detail was well known all along. If so, would it not have been prudent to have built a bigger berth in all these years the ADS program was dormant? How long might it realistically be before the second carrier (60K ton) is built at CSL? 10 years, 15 years? So yes, the IN may have the lead in carrier aviation for now, but the writing is on the wall.

As for minor warships, well, in the time it has taken GRSE to build one 280 ton patrol boat - 36-40 months, the Chinese produce several of their catamaran hulled missiel boats. To be fair to GRSE, they have done a lot to cut down build time by outsourcing hull block construction to pvt shipyards so that only final assy and outfitting is taking place at GRSE. The last three WJFAC took 8 months from laying the keel block to launching and they expect to deliver in another 12 months - for a total build time of about 20-24 months. This is a huge improvement. I should imagine that after modular construction technologies have been absorbed by the PSU shipyards, build times will come down significantly and be comparable to leading shipyards elsewhere. But the PSU's need to be contantly on top of their game. and the bureaucracy needs to move swiftly.

Another curious thing concerns replenishment ships. Why did the IN go to the Italians to build fleet tankers when any of the large pvt yards could have built the proven GRSE/ Bremer Vulkan Aditya design within 3 years or less?

tsarkar · Post by **tsarkar** » 26 May 2009 10:54

Hello Rakesh,

I apologize for not being able to read the pages. For some reason both my home and office browser opens only the forum but can’t open the main website pages. However I’ll find a way to go through them.

Please incorporate SNaik’s and Maz’s views – their information is correct. SNaik has a very good understanding of Russian systems – my understanding was limited to badly translated manuals in poor English cyclostyled on rotting paper. On the AK-630, the documentation referred to GSh-6-30 while the cartridges were stenciled AO-18.

Shipbuilding is a mix of commercial, engineering, manufacturing and operational knowledge.

IN had only two tankers (Jyoti, Aditya) and the Aditya design was dated. Bremer Vulkan had folded up. No domestic shipyard could design and deliver lesser than 6-8 years, so Fincantieri was awarded after a proper selection process. The same design is a frontrunner for Royal Navy contract to build six replenishment tankers.

Added later - there is no 100% ToT. Some components are always imported from the lead shipyard since it might be uneconomical / timeconsuming to manufacture. Offsets are a much better way of forcing them to invest.

Avarachan · Post by **Avarachan** » 26 May 2009 12:49

Maz,

An insightful post. But let's not put ourselves down. Yes, we should learn from the Chinese. But we are capable of surprises, too: who would have ever thought that our BMD program would be as advanced as it is?

The Chinese don't have as much room for maneuver as they think: they're surrounded by states which are deeply suspicious of them. Think of Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia.

Kersi D · Post by **Kersi D** » 26 May 2009 13:07

tsarkar wrote:Snaik –

Maz -
Type 12 was the old Talwar class. Type 12I stood for Type 12 improved. The hull design as you correctly pointed out was FSA34.

Is Type 12 same as Whitby class ? The old INS Talwar & INS Trishul were Whitby class frigates.

By the way the (old) INS Talwar & INS Trishul were the first major warships of IN to have ship-to-ship missiles. Each were retro fitted with 2 / 3 Styx launchers in lieu of the old twin 114 mm guns.

Till the Leander series, RN referred to all its ships by name class rather than the number e.g. Leopard class, Whitby class, Salisbury class. Leander class etc. Later ship were referred by number class like Type 21, Type 42, Type 82 etc. With the new Darings, RN may be reviving the old system, often calling the ships as the Daring class rather than Type 45.

Just for information

K

viveks · Post by **viveks** » 26 May 2009 13:53

Say...whatever happened to them scorpenes. Howz that going on.....no news from that end.
BJP had cleared some big ticket deals.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 27 May 2009 01:23

Gorshkov deal to finalise in near future

The government has now decided to speed up renegotiation with Russia for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier refit project and has scheduled three visits by officials to seal the deal by July-end to allow the ship to join the Indian Navy in the next three years.

...
A senior official of the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition left for Russia on Monday to work out the “item-by-item” cost of the refit project for Admiral Gorshkov, which India bought in January 2004 for $1.5 billion, of which $964 million was for the warship and the rest for the onboard 16 MiG-29K fighter aircraft.

The sources said the Defence Secretary would lead a team to Moscow from June 1 to hold talks on the whole gamut of Indo-Russian defence relations and, in particular the Gorshkov deal.

Another senior official of the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition will visit Russia in the middle of June to work out the warship’s trials in Barents Sea in 2011, they said.
...

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 27 May 2009 18:11

I think one reason for the urgency is that the Gorshkov deal is also linked with that of the Akula-2,expected later this year.Some of the extra costs being mentioned might actually be for both acquisitions and not just that of the Gorshkov,as the cost of the sub lease/purchase is a far more important secret to be kept,especially as more than one to be acquired is reportedly planned.

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 27 May 2009 19:40

Were the Tu-22s also not part of the triple package? Gorshkov, Akulas, and Tu-22s.
Later we heard about Tu-22 / Tu-160.

Anyways, I suppose no news is good news as far as the Scorpenes / second line subs / ATV is concerned. People around Vizag need to be extravigilant with binoculars and cameras, to witness any big sub in the waters. The port is not deep enough to accomodate a fully dived ATV, it has to come out surfaced! A crate of beer to the first posted picture of the ATV.

sum · Post by **sum** » 27 May 2009 19:55

Even thinking of the day when breaking pics of the ATV in Vizag waters are posted in BR is giving me goose-bumps!!!!

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 27 May 2009 22:25

That would be a "red letter" day better than the first flight of LCA day. Old timers would remember how excrciating it was to have discussion on LCA program for almost decade on ground/taxi trial mode.

Dmurphy · Post by **Dmurphy** » 28 May 2009 07:24

viveks wrote:Say...whatever happened to them scorpenes. Howz that going on.....no news from that end.

Wait till 2012 for the first one to roll out. One every year after that. I only hope they close the deal for the 6 more subs (with AIP?) ASAP, they can then maintain the continuity and make it 12 subs in 12 years. May be even start manufacturing them parallely. Or am i day dreaming?

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 29 May 2009 03:46

I have added a new album on INS Tabar. Many thanks to Ian Johnson and Navy League - Australia!

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Gall ... its/Tabar/

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 29 May 2009 04:34

Rakesh wrote:I have added a new album on INS Tabar. Many thanks to Ian Johnson and Navy League - Australia!

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Gall ... its/Tabar/

In the above page, under the weapons section, it says "INS Tabar's VLS can launch the Indian designed 3M-54E Klub-N (NATO: SS-N-27) subsonic ASCM." Shouldnt this be Russian designed?

narayana · Post by **narayana** » 29 May 2009 17:08

Rani Abbakka' commissioned into ICG

The Centre had already approved a large vessel, five off shore patrol vessels, ten fast patrol vessels, 25 inshore patrol vessels and 20 interceptor boats, he said, adding post Mumbai 26/11 attack, the security scenario had warranted extensive patrolling and enhanced surveillance along the coast in the country.

Anurag · Post by **Anurag** » 29 May 2009 19:54

India, France to hold joint naval exercise in Atlantic

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009- ... 449939.htm

manish · Post by **manish** » 29 May 2009 20:03

arun wrote:
A lot of 3 of the 84 contracted 5 Tonne Interceptor Boats were delivered on April 28, 2009:

GSL delivers first batch of Interceptor Boats to CS police

Can some kind soul confirm or otherwise that the :

A.. 12 Tonne Interceptor Boat is the Motomarine Hurricane 110 RIB …… CLICK

B.. 5 Tonne Interceptor Boat is the Motomarine Invader Magna 960 RIB ……. CLICK

TIA.

Here's more - its 5T one - this time for the Karnataka Coastal Security Force.
The link has images too.
Mangalore: Coastal Security Force Equipped with Speed Boat

Mangalore, May 27: The lack of basic facilities that had been plaguing the Coastal Security Force functioning, promises to be a thing of the past, with the addition of a new speed boat to enable the Force to affectively face the security threats across the length of the coast with more efficient surveillance and improved operational capability, on Wednesday, May 27.

The speed boat with a capacity of five tonnes with a speed of 35 knots per hour, costing Rs 1,05,00,000, was inaugurated on NMPT berth in Panambur by Inspector General of Police, western range, Gopal Hosur.

maz · Post by **maz** » 29 May 2009 20:50

correction: the Coast Guard IPV ICGS 'Rani Abbakka’ was launched, not commissioned at HSL

http://www.24dunia.com/english/shownews ... nched.html

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 29 May 2009 22:29

i am mighty glad that the legendary Abbakka has captured some national attention.

Abbakka Rani (Tulu: ಅಬ್ಬಕ್ಕ ರಾಣಿ ) or Abbakka Mahadevi (Tulu: ಅಬ್ಬಕ್ಕ ಮಹಾದೇವಿ)was the queen of Tulunadu who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. She belonged to the Chowta dynasty who ruled over the area from the temple town of Moodabidri. The port town of Ullal served as their subsidiary capital. The Portuguese made several attempts to capture Ullal as it was strategically placed. But Abbakka repulsed each of their attacks for over four decades. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani ('The fearless queen').[1][2] She was also one of the earliest Indians to fight the colonial powers and is sometimes regarded as the 'first woman freedom fighter of India'.[3][4]

in the meanwhile, INS Talwar thwarts a hijack attempt by pirates. for good measure sends two to their maker. (pictures too)