NMRH Project : The first part gave an introduction and talked about the Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, Fighter Aircrafts and Helicopter fleets. (https://www.myind.net/indian-navy-spreads-its-wings-part-1) In 2008, the IN initiated procurement of 16 Naval Multi-Role Helicopters (NMRH), with an option for another 8, as replacement for its Sea King helicopters.

The Indian Navy plans to eventually acquire 91 NMRH to replace its fleet of aging Sea King and other helicopters. The helicopter being sought should be capable of in-flight refueling and possess anti-submarine and surface warfare capability as part of its primary mission.

The 10 ton weight category helicopter should be capable of carrying cruise missiles and lightweight torpedoes for advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare, and ferrying 15 soldiers,

Also required is a secondary mission capability of anti-ship surveillance and targeting, search and rescue, medical evacuation and logistics missions from naval vessels.

Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) Project

MoD on October 8, 2014 released a RFI for procuring more than 100 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) under Buy and Make (Indian) category of the Defense Procurement Policy. The NUHs will replace the ageing Chetak helicopters in service with the IN and be used for

1. Search and Rescue.
2. Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC).
3. Communication Duties.
4. Anti-Piracy and Anti-terrorism.
5. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
6. Limited Maritime Reconnaissance and Targeting.

The Buy and Make (India) category involves initial off the shelf purchase from an Indian vendor (including an Indian company forming joint venture/ establishing production arrangement with OEM), followed by licensed production/ indigenous manufacture in the country.

Qualitative Requirements

The NUH is required to be twin-engined with wheeled landing gear and folding rotor blades. It should be capable of operating from ship and ashore and be able to carry weapons in support of its maritime surveillance and targeting capability.

The IN is looking for a helicopter with a max weight of 4.5 ton that is capable of flying day or night in adverse weather conditions. Field trials of the helicopter, as part of the selection process, will be held in India.

In response to the earlier RFP, HAL expressed its inability to bid against the requirement citing challenges in modifying its Dhruv to feature folding rotor blades.

Hawk AJT

The IN is in the process of acquiring 17 Hawk AJT from HAL for advanced training of its MiG-29K pilots.

Delivery of the 17 ordered aircraft is scheduled to be completed by 2016-17.  The IN inducted its first four Hawks at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam on November 6, 2013. All the 17 Hawks on order will be based at INS Dega.

Dornier 228

The IN operates a fleet of over 40 Dornier 228 aircraft as utility transport and Short Range Maritime Reconnaissance (SRMR). The DAC on October 26, 2014 cleared the purchase from HAL of an additional 12 Dornier surveillance aircraft with enhanced sensors as part of the SRMR capability enhancement program.

UAVs

The Indian Navy is using Israeli Searcher medium endurance (20 hrs.) and Heron long endurance (50 hrs.) drones for maritime surveillance. Both the UAVs are fitted with Synthetic Aperture Radar capable of detecting and non-cooperatively identifying warships, electro optical sensors and Automatic Identification System (AIS) for identifying cooperative fishing boats and smaller vessels

The Indian Navy started operating UAVs acquired from Israel in 2003 from Kochi. It raised its first UAV squadron, INAS 342 ‘Flying Sentinels,' at Kochi on January 6, 2006. The Navy commissioned its second UAV Squadron, INAS 343 'Frontier Formidables,' on Jan 17, 2011 at Porbandar.

The third UAV squadron (IANS 344, Spirited Shadowers), the first on India's eastern coast, was commissioned at INS Parundu in Uchipuli near Chennai on April 11, 2012.A fourth squadron is planned to be raised in Behala for surveillance of the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. Each squadron is established for eight Searcher II and six Heron UAVs each.

NSUAS

MoD released a RFI on February 5, 2015 for procuring from Indian vendors approximately 50 Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), SLOC   monitoring   and   Coastal/EEZ   surveillance,   anti­piracy   and   anti­-terrorism, assistance in Search and Rescue and assistance in Maritime Domain Awareness using AIS inputs.

Qualitative requirements for the NSUAS include

1. Small footprint
2. Day and night capability
3. Ability to operate from naval vessels 50 m or longer, both with and without helicopter decks
4. Onboard maritime surveillance radar.
5. Ability to fly pre­-programmed or operator initiated missions using GPS and onboard flight control system.
6. Additional, ability to operate from shore.

Rotary Wing UAV (RUAV)

The Navy has projected the DRDO a specific requirement for a 10-t class RUAV. Technology development for the RUAV is underway. DRDO was exploring the option of either converting an existing manned platform (like Chetak) to a RUAV, or developing a new platform from scratch.

HAL is independently working on a RUAV and is funding development of a 2-t RUAV by IIT Kharagpur. The MOD officially confirmed on April 22, 2013 that DRDO is developing a rotary wing UAV or RUAV. [via PIB]

Rustom-1

DRDO is working with the Navy to equip Rustom-1 with AIS interrogator to facilitate surveillance of the maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka.

Emerging Challenges

As a result of economic growth in Asia, particularly in China, the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has steadily increased.

Approxiately two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments transit through the IOR to the Pacific, and in 2014, more than 15 million barrels of oil passed through the Malacca Strait per day. Much of the oil that transits through the Malacca Strait meets the growing energy requirements of China.

China is understandably concerned about its Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) through the IOR and the Malacca Strait, and is rapidly building a blue water navy that can secure its SLOCs. People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships are now permanently deployed in the IOR on the pretext of countering the threat from Piracy. Chinese warships have established a permanent presence in the IOR through a base in Djibouti and replenishment port calls in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Of particular concern to India is the increasing presence of PLAN conventional and nuclear submarines in the IOR. It's likely that a PLAN aircraft carrier would be deployed in the IOR within the next 10 years.

Like China, India too is heavily dependent on oil imports from the Gulf. Heavy PLAN presence in the IOR along with China's adversarial posturing towards India have rightly heightened concerns among Indian security planners.