40 warships, new jets on Indian Navy's 'buy' list

New Delhi, Dec 2: The Indian Navy will be acquiring 40 warships and new fighter jets indigenously and from abroad, Admiral Nirmal Verma said Wednesday.

Asserting that the navy's primary role remains the country's maritime interests, he said the focus had not shifted even after being appointed the nodal agency for coastal security following the Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people in November last year.

"Just because of (the revamped) coastal security, we have not steered away from our role. The task is going on as before and another task (of coordinating coastal security) has been added," Verma told reporters here. "It has not distracted us from our main task."

He said there were presently 40 ships and submarines on order.

"Our preferred choice of inducting ships has been through the indigenous route," he said. "There are presently 34 ships and submarines on order from Indian shipyards."

While the navy's main thrust was on indigenisation in building warships, Verma said there was a need to cut down the time taken in ship building.

"We want to build (ships) at a certain pace," he said, adding that the current methodology adopted was more time-consuming than those followed by shipyards in other countries.

The navy is acquiring a number of platforms - frigates, destroyers, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, mini counter vessels, fast interceptors and tankers while finalising design for the landing platform dock on the lines of INS Jalashwa (USS Trenton).

Work on the indigenous aircraft carrier was going on with some 10,000 tonnes of steel already in Hull. It is expected to be ready for launch next year ahead of the induction scheduled in 2014.

While MiG-29 K will be on the deck of INS Vikramaditya, the naval version of the Light Combat Aircraft is earmarked for the indigenous aircraft carrier.

The navy hopes to invite tenders for six Medium Range Maritime surveillance aircraft and is looking for helicopters for its ships.