The Hindu : National : U.S. Navy to come to the aid of Indian submarines in distress

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Wednesday, Mar 23, 2005

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U.S. Navy to come to the aid of Indian submarines in distress

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. The Indian Navy has tied up with its U.S. counterpart to rescue its aging submarines in distress. The agreement under which the U.S. Navy will land a submarine rescue team and equipment within 48 hours of receiving a SOS will apply to the Indian Navy's four German origin submarines as they have been reconfigured for the purpose. It will be extended to a dozen submarines as soon as the hatches were fitted to allow the entry of the deep-sea rescue vehicle (DSRV) and crew, said the Vice-Chief of Naval Staff, Yashwant Prasad, said here today.

The Government is understood to have paid an advance for the purpose and the Chief of Naval Staff, Arun Prakash, who is currently in the U.S., is expected to finalise the deal. Other senior naval sources said an American naval team had surveyed the airports at Chennai and Mumbai where they were expected to land after receiving the distress call.

With Indian submarines aging and the Government unable to take an early decision on a new lot (codenamed Project 75), the Navy wants to ensure that the crew aboard the present ones is rescued in case of an emergency. The DSRVs that will be made available to the Indian Navy can be assembled within hours and have an endurance depth of 600 metres. Vice-Admiral Prasad called the initiative a "humanitarian programme to save crews in distress." The programme was conceived in 1995 and both sides had almost signed the deal when the U.S. imposed sanction following India's Pokhran nuclear tests.

The Navy chief is also expected to hold talks on plugging another lacunae — shortage of reconnaissance and anti-submarine planes. "The P3C Orion planes are outstanding. We are definitely interested. The offer is there but procurement is a long process," the Navy chief had said before leaving for the U.S. The existing fleet is depleted as well as old and emergency plans include upgradation of three Russian IL-38 planes and the purchase of new ones till the P3C Orion planes started arriving. The Indian interest in the American naval planes means that the plan to upgrade the larger TU-142 planes has been virtually abandoned.

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