Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Delhi class destroyer was built in the 1990s followed by successfully designed frigates and
corvettes and, more recently, an aircraft carrier that benefited, along with other navy ships,
current crop of warships being built, there is 90-95 per cent indigenisation in the “float”
section such as the hull, about 60 per cent in the “move” section (engine, transmission),
and 40-45 per cent on weapons and sensors.' The DRDO's few successes include the de-
velopment of this special steel with the Indian public and private sector, and the design of a
sonar radar. The navy's weapons systems are still imported, the DRDO having failed with
the Trishul missile.
But the navy's fleet is ageing, and the introduction of new warships is years behind
schedule. This is mainly because of inefficient and overmanned public sector naval dock-
yards that produce ships slowly - by international standards - and have prevented the
private sector from establishing a significant role. The CAG estimated in 2008 that the age-
ing and mostly Russian submarine fleet had only a 48 per cent operational availability,
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and it has not improved since then. A 30-year submarine-building plan was approved by
the government in 1999 but none of the planned 24 submarine vessels has gone into ser-
vice. The country's underwater capability took a hit in August 2013 when the navy's most
modern submarine, which had recently had an $80m refit in Russia, was destroyed in an
explosion.
There is a lack of expertise in submarine design, which could have been met by collabor-
ation with HDW of Germany if a 1980s deal had not been scrapped, after four vessels had
been delivered, because of allegations of bribes. Progress on building six Scorpene submar-
ines in India under a 2005 contract with France has been slow and the first is not expected
till 2016-17, over four years late.
Foreign Suppliers
India's foreign suppliers have traditionally been led by Russia, which inherited the over-
whelming dominance of the old Soviet Union and still has around 80 per cent of the orders,
2012, the Soviet Union and Russia (excluding other former Soviet bloc countries) had 69
per cent of the sales, rising to 77 per cent between 2000 and 2012 (83 per cent in 2012
alone). In the same period, the UK slipped from the number two spot with 15 per cent to 4.3
per cent in 2000-12 (6 per cent in 2012). Israel rose from 1.5 per cent to number two with
around 4.8 per cent (5.3 per cent in 2012), while France fell from 3.8 per cent to 1.4 per
cent. In two years of negotiations from 2011, two European groups were short listed, led by
