A day ahead of Navy Day on December 4, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba on Monday said that Indian Navy is "overwhelmingly" ahead Pakistan and is more than capable against China in the Indian ocean. Speaking about the possible two front war, Admiral Lanba said that the the Indian Navy has only one front - the Indian Ocean and balance of power in the region rested with Indian Navy.
"As far as the Pakistan Navy is concerned, we are overwhelmingly ahead. For China, we are more than capable in the Indian Ocean. As far as Indian Navy is concerned, we don't have two fronts. We have one and that is Indian Ocean. The balance of power in Indian ocean rest with us," the Navy chief said during his annual press confernece ahead of Navy Day.
Lanba said that the modernisation of the force will be his priority in the next year and in a bid to achieve that, 6 new submarines will be inducted in the Navy's fleet soon. The chief of naval staff said that Navy will try to effectively implement the Centre’s Make in India scheme and soon 32 indigenously built ships and warships will be inducted in its fleet.
“Very soon six new submarines will be inducted in the Navy. The trial of new aircraft carrier Vikrant is going on in third and final stage in Kochi and its induction will give a new power to the Navy,†he said adding that the strength of the Indian Navy has improved a lot after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
Admiral Lanba also said that most of the trials of second class scorpion submarine has also been completed and the shortage of naval helicopter fleet is also being addressed with the Light Utility Helicopters. The Navy has ordered the purchase of 24 multi role helicopters under the FMS route.
Speaking about the issue of pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Navy chief assured India’s commitment towards curbing the "global menace". He said that since 2008, 70 Indian naval warships have safely escorted as many as 3440 ships with over 25,000 sailors on board. So far, the Indian Navy has thwarted 44 piracy attempts and apprehended 120 pirates in multiple operations in the Gulf of Aden, Lanba added.
Meanwhile, Indian navy personnel conducted rehearsal for 'Beating the Retreat' at Gateway of India in Mumbai as part of the Navy Day celebrations on December 4.
Watch Video: Indian navy personnel rehearsal for 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony for Navy Day
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2018/12/03/IndiannavychiefSunnilLanbaNavydaydecember4-834855123.jpg)