The Indian Navy will be procuring a third aircraft carrier and inducting 56 warships and submarines to augment its maritime capabilities, Naval Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Monday.
The third aircraft carrier is in its third and final phase of construction at Kochi, while the sea trials for the warships are expected to commence in mid-2020.
Apart 56 warships and the aircraft carrier, 32 ships, and submarines are presently under construction at different Indian shipyards. These include the aircraft carrier, Vikrant, P-15B Class Destroyers, P17A class stealth Frigates, P28 ASW Corvettes, Offshore Patrol Vessels and Scorpene class submarines.
"The Indian Navy has been at the forefront of self-reliance in defense production,' right since Independence," he said at the Indian Navy's annual press conference.
He also said that on the aviation front, a long-standing critical shortfall in the naval helicopter fleet has been finally addressed with the accord of AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) for 111 utility helicopters in August this year and issue of LoR (Letter of Request) for 24 multi-role helicopters last month.
Admiral Lanba said that the induction of the new assets and capabilities are being progressed in consonance with the Indian Navy's long-term perspective plans.
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He also touched upon the Indian Navy's thrust on supporting the Make-in-India vision and apprised that since 2014, 82 per cent of AoNs on cost basis has been accorded to Indian vendors. Also during the same period, 72 per cent of the cost of contracts concluded is with Indian vendors.
The Naval Chief also stated that more than two-thirds of Navy's modernisation budget has been spent on indigenous procurement in the last four years. And that 60 per cent of the naval budget is earmarked for modernisation and capital expenditure.