[iwar] India should keep N arms under sea: Navy chief

From: Ravi V Prasad (r_v_p@yahoo.com)
Date: 2002-12-02 17:21:23

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From: Ravi V Prasad <r_v_p@yahoo.com>
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Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 17:21:23 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [iwar] India should keep N arms under sea: Navy chief
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India should keep N arms under sea: Navy chief

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2002 11:17:04
PM ]

NEW DELHI: India "conceptually" should have the
strongest arm of its "nuclear weapon triad" undersea,
in the form of submarines capable of launching nuclear
missiles, said Navy chief Admiral Madhvendra Singh on
Monday.

Admiral Singh, however, refused to "either confirm or
deny" the existence of nuclear weapons on Indian
warships or whether India was soon going to acquire
Russian nuclear submarines and the long-range TU-22m3
strategic bombers.

Any country with a declared policy of no first-use of
nuclear weapons, like India, must obviously have a
nuclear triad. 

"The strongest arm of the triad is under the sea...It
does not make sense to keep nuclear weapons on land,
where they can be targeted," said Admiral Singh,
speaking to reporters in the run-up to the Navy Day on
Wednesday.

Asked about the package deal to acquire the
decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral
Gorshkov, he said: "The price negotiations are going
on. As and when both the sides are happy, we may
strike a deal...we have a professional team handling
it to ensure the country gets a good deal."

This becomes important since the negotiations for
Admiral Gorshkov have attracted some criticism for the
sharp escalation in its high retrofitting costs to
over $ 1 billion. Some experts have even questioned
the need to purchase a second-hand, partly burnt
carrier.

Admiral Singh, however, dismissed such reports.
Holding that Admiral Gorshkov was in a "good shape",
he said there was "absolutely no doubt" that the Navy
desperately needed another carrier. While India's
solitary carrier INS Viraat has a residual life of
only five to six years more, the proposed indigenous
construction of a carrier will take almost a decade.

As for other major programmes, Admiral Singh said all
the three much-delayed Talwar class "stealth" frigates
being built in Russia would be inducted next year.
"They will be a considerable and powerful force," he
said.

These frigates were to be delivered much earlier but
their Shtil surface-to-air missile systems are yet to
pass muster. Consequently, around 500 Indian naval
officials, sent to Russia several months ago to get
the warships, have returned home empty-handed.

The Navy will soon induct Kamov-31 early-warning
helicopters, Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Prabal
and Kora class missile corvettes, and Brahmaputra
class frigates. Admiral Singh also said the mid-life
upgrades will also soon be underway for the Ranbir
class destroyers and Godavari class frigates.

The Navy chief said a long-term Vision-2025 plan,
along with a 15-year shipbuilding plan, as well as an
"aviation masterplan" for modernising the ageing
chopper and aircraft fleet had already been submitted
to the defence ministry.

The government has also approved the Navy's 30-year
submarine building project, which proposed initially
to make six advanced French Scorpene submarines under
licence at the Mazagaon Docks.

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