Indian Navy to have 200 warships in 10 years

On board INS Satpura: Indian Navy would have 200 warships in another 10 years, with three aircraft carriers in each of the three naval commands, for which orders have already been given to various docks in the country, a senior official said here on Wednesday.

"Right now, we have 136 ships and we are targeting 200 in the next 10 years. All our docks in our country are full of orders," Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Naval Command told reporters here. The Navy was looking at making destroyers and frigates, he said. "Right now, we have only one Landing Platform Dock (LPD) INS Jalashwa. We are going for four more LPDs." He said INS Vikramaditya, which India bought from Russia would be inducted into the Navy later this month. "Once it comes, INS Vikramaditya would be under the control of INS Karwar in Karnataka. Another aircraft carrier is in the making in Kochi now. Once it is commissioned, we will position it in Visakhapatnam," he said. Indian Navy would also engage with the Japanese Coast Guard for a joint military exercise next month off the eastern coast, he added. Earlier, he along with Puducherry Lt Governor Virendra Khataria reviewed various demonstration activities by seven naval ships -- INS Shivalik, INS Satpura, INS Ranvijay, INS Khukri, INS Kulish, INS Khanjar and INS Jalashwa, as part of Navy Day celebrations. Slithering by Marine Commandoes on board Navy`s Chetak helicopters and recently inducted surveillance aircraft P-81 were also part of the demonstration. Over 3,000 guests, mostly family members of defence personnel, senior bureaucrats and journalists, also witnessed the four-and-a-half hour long demonstration, which happened some 25 nautical miles off Chennai coast.