The Union defence minister Rajnath Singh today said that the Indian Navy needs to remain prepared to meet any challenges in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) while highlighting that the need for remote sensing technology, satellite data and imagery, and maritime tracking applications has heightened due to evolved threats to maritime security.
Inaugurating the stealth frigate INS Dunagiri, built under Project 17A of the Indian Navy by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), in Kolkata, defence minister Rajnath Singh today, said, “The Indian Navy needs to be ready to meet any challenges in the Indian Ocean Region and Indo Pacific region while also support India’s partner countries when the need arises. Unprecedented unlawful activities are occurring using advanced technologies. Certain suspicious military and civil vessels are spotted on the seas which lack any clear intentions for their presence. The need for remote sensing technology, satellite data and imagery has heightened. Maritime tracking applications are needed to combat such threats.”
Highlighting the recent incident of underwater drug smuggling in Spain, using autonomous underwater drones, he said the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard need to increase surveillance, and for this “we need to augment our infrastructure and assets. There is also a need for reorientation in the training of India’s maritime security forces.”
The defence minister opined that the launching of the stealth frigate exhibited the indigenous design strength of the navy and the technical prowess of the Indian shipyards, ancillary industries and MSMEs. Singh said, “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who had travelled in German and Japanese submarines, fighting for India’s freedom, would have been proud to witness India’s indigenous naval assets. We all know what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.”
The GRSE had bagged the order to build three such frigates, and the warship INS Dunagiri was the second under Project 17A of the Indian Navy. These are guided missile frigates where the Italian company M/s Fincantieri is the know-how provider for technology upgrades and capability enhancement. The ship was built with equipment sourced from more than 25 Indian manufacturers.