Navy Chief swears by desi systems; wants closer links with DRDO

New Delhi, May 28: Admiral R K Dhowan on Thursday reiterated Indian Navy's commitment towards inducting home-grown systems and platforms.

Chairing the last session of bi-annual Naval Commanders' Conference, Admiral Dhowan stressed the need for indigenisation of platforms, weapons, sensors and equipment, through the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), public industry, private sector and in-house efforts.

While emphasising that the roadmap for the Navy's expansion and growth would continue to remain anchored on self-reliance and indigenization, the Navy Chief wanted his designers and technical officers to work in close coordination with DRDO so as to develop niche technologies for the future Navy.

The DRDO, which is currently directionless and clueless about its future, following the sacking of its chief in January this year, should find some solace in the Navy Chief's comments.

The Indian Navy has always supported the desi efforts in defence and patiently backed the efforts of DRDO, which is normally at the receiving end.

Admiral Dhowan also touched upon enhancing operational readiness of the Commands, infrastructure development, human resources management, coastal security and cyber security in the Navy.

Men & women behind machines greatest strength

"Our men and women are our greatest assets and their morale and well-being should always remain of primary concern. The men and women behind the machine are the Navy's greatest strength. They need to be viewed and harnessed as such at all levels," Admiral Dhowan said.

The Chief also released the Maritime Infrastructure Perspective Plan (2015-27) and reviewed progress of various infrastructure projects.

Navy said that an integrated roadmap and action plan to develop ecologically sustainable infrastructure was also released by the Chief.

In a related development, the Navy inaugurated the ‘Conclave of Chiefs' on the sidelines of the Commanders' Conference.
For the first time, former Chiefs interacted with the Commanders and other senior officers and got some insights into Navy's future plans.

OneIndia News