Editorial: Naval milestone

INS Mormugao, the indigenously built warship, is a reassuring step forward in India’s self-reliance programme.

Hyderabad: Traditionally, India has been among the global top five arms importers. However, following a major focus on the policy of self-reliance to deal with an increasingly uncertain world, the situation is changing now. There has been a renewed focus on ramping up the development of equipment and systems. The recent commissioning of INS Mormugao, the indigenously built warship, is a reassuring step forward in the self-reliance programme, providing a boost to the country’s maritime capability. Named after the historic Goan port, INS Mormugao, the guided missile destroyer was appropriately commissioned on the eve of Goa Liberation Day at the naval dockyard in Mumbai. This was the second of the four destroyers of the ‘Visakhapatnam’ class that was added to the fleet to increase marine capability.

Indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, the warship adds to India’s naval prowess to tackle the growing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean region. This stealth-guided destroyer is packed with sensors, radar and weapon systems. In future wars, the locally-designed-and-built vessels hold the key to success. Though the indigenisation drive in the defence sector has seen significant progress in recent times, the slow turnaround by the naval shipyards is still a matter of concern. It is all the more important from the strategic point of view because the Chinese navy is increasing its reach at a rapid pace. Despite considerable efforts, warship construction endeavours continue to suffer from systemic deficits. A programme mired in delays and cost overruns needs a critical audit.

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The project to construct six next-generation conventional submarines has now been further delayed. Shipbuilding has to be treated as a strategic enterprise with top priority. To achieve greater participation from the private sector, the Navy has made available its facilities for testing, trials and tuning of equipment during the development stage. Established in 2020, the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation provides an interface for academia and industry to interact with the Navy’s capability development apparatus. Efforts are afoot to address the problem areas, but the challenges are formidable.

The commissioning of INS Vikrant, the first indigenous aircraft carrier built at a cost of Rs 23,000 crore, in September was a defining moment in India’s journey to emerging as a defence industrial and technological base. The launch of the Indian Navy’s third Nilgiri-class guided-missile frigate, Taragiri, adds to the list of state-of-the-art homegrown projects meant to strengthen marine defence. One of the most powerful warships ever built in India, the INS Mormugao is 163 m long, 17 m wide, and has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes. It is equipped with cutting-edge radar and armament systems like surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missiles. As it shoulders a huge responsibility, the defence industry, both private and public, needs all the assistance it requires.