The Hindu : National : Navy’s initiative to get stealth frigates

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Friday, Aug 17, 2007
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Navy’s initiative to get stealth frigates

Ravi Sharma

Bangalore: To augment its surface combatant fleet with a new class of multi-role, fast stealth frigates, the Indian Navy has floated a global request for information (RFI).

The RFI was issued last December to a number of Russian, European and American shipyards for building one vessel in an international shipyard and six in India, most probably at the Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai, or the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.

The deal is expected to be worth around Rs. 30,000 crore.

The Navy’s initiative comes in the wake of the inability of the Indian shipyards to deliver on time, and on account of delays in acquiring modern equipment in the past two decades due to constraints on defence budgets.

The RFI, the first official step in any defence contract, is followed by a request for proposal (RFP), the proposals, contract and price negotiations, before the deal is finally inked.

The stealth frigate project, named Project 17A, is part of the Navy’s plans to acquire a follow-up generation of ships to the ongoing but delayed Project 17, under which Shivalik class multi-role frigates are being built.

Project 17 envisages building a total of 12 ships. The seven ships, for which the RFI has been issued, form part of the project.

Lockheed optimistic

Interestingly, the Navy’s requirement for stealth frigates is being looked at optimistically by the world’s biggest military contractor Lockheed Martin. It has just replied to the RFI. According to Royce Caplinger, Managing Director, Lockheed Martin Global Inc., the company has also identified an overseas shipyard, which will build the first ship of this class for the Indian Navy.

Speaking to The Hindu from Washington, Mr. Caplinger, however, refused to divulge the name or country of the identified shipyard because of proprietary obligations.

He said: “We are hopeful of continuing into the next [RFP] phase.”

Lockheed Martin, which is also in the process of replying along with an Indian prime (Larsen & Toubro Ltd.) to the Navy’s RFP for setting up Integrated Platform Management Systems on the Navy’s ships, has thought it prudent to base a Maritime Sensors and Systems Team in India.

According to the former Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral P.J. Jacob, India should encourage the setting up of ‘Greenfield’ shipyards if the Navy is to, as planned, acquire around 35 ships over the next decade.

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