Indian Navy plans to acquire fighter planes

New Delhi, Mar 25: Indian Navy is planning to take up aggressive acquisition programmes in aviation, its Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has said.

Verma said, "We are acquiring our ships, aircraft and submarines in accordance with the Navy's current Maritime Capability Perspective Plan. There are presently 40 ships and submarines on order."

He said, "Navy has aggressive acquisition programmes in aviation including induction of Mig 29K, the acquisition of Boeing P8I MPA aircraft, additional Kamov 31 helicopters and new multi-role helicopters."

"We would also by then have our indigenous strategic submarine force fully operationalised," the Chief of Naval Staff said in an interview to recently published 'Manas Defence Year Book'.

When asked on expanding reach of Chinese Navy in Indian Ocean, he said the force views it with respect and not in confrontational terms.

"We appreciate that the economy of China, like that of India, is highly growth-oriented and, consequently, highly dependent upon energy. Thus, to sustain her economic growth, China - like India - must rely increasingly upon external sources of energy and raw materials," he added.

OneIndia News