Tata Power SED bags Rs 1,200 crore contract from the Ministry of Defence for supply of ship-borne 3D Air Surveillance Radars
Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (Tata Power SED) today announced the signing of an important deal with the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, to supply 23 ship-borne 3D Air Surveillance Radars to the Indian Navy over the next 10 years.
The contract, estimated value is about INR 1200 crore, was signed under the Buy & Make (India) category of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013 that will be offering the Indian Navy a proven solution, with a production arrangement in India under Transfer of Technology (ToT) and thereby furthering substantive self-reliance for India’s defence requirements.
The contract will be executed by Tata Power SED as the prime contractor with foreign OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) partner Indra Sistemas, Spain.
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) has entered into an SPA with Tata Power for purchase of Tata Power SED, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
In November 2017, Tata Power SED had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the supply of Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) for Indian Naval applications. This Contract was also part of “Make in India” initiative and the second contract under the MoD procurement category “Buy and Make (India)” signed by MoD. Tata Power SED partnered with DSIT Solutions Limited, Israel for the delivery of PDDS Systems under a ToT arrangement for DSIT’s PointShieldTM PDDS. For Diver Detection Sonar, this was one of the largest orders in the world market.
Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (Tata Power SED) today announced the signing of an important deal with the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, to supply 23 ship-borne 3D Air Surveillance Radars to the Indian Navy over the next 10 years.
The contract, estimated value is about INR 1200 crore, was signed under the Buy & Make (India) category of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013 that will be offering the Indian Navy a proven solution, with a production arrangement in India under Transfer of Technology (ToT) and thereby furthering substantive self-reliance for India’s defence requirements.
The contract will be executed by Tata Power SED as the prime contractor with foreign OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) partner Indra Sistemas, Spain.
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) has entered into an SPA with Tata Power for purchase of Tata Power SED, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
In November 2017, Tata Power SED had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the supply of Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) for Indian Naval applications. This Contract was also part of “Make in India” initiative and the second contract under the MoD procurement category “Buy and Make (India)” signed by MoD. Tata Power SED partnered with DSIT Solutions Limited, Israel for the delivery of PDDS Systems under a ToT arrangement for DSIT’s PointShieldTM PDDS. For Diver Detection Sonar, this was one of the largest orders in the world market.
L-56: Indian Navy gets more firepower with another warship
The Indian Navy Saturday received another landing craft utility (LCU), L-56. The warship was built and designed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata. The LCU was GRSE’s 100th warship. The ship can accommodate 216 personnel and is equipped with two indigenous CRN 91 guns, read a statement by GRSE.
“The LCU is 63-metre-long and 11-metre-wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m. It can achieve a speed of 15 knots. The ship is fitted with the state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems such as Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System,” read the statement.
GRSE has emerged the first Indian shipyard to make and deliver 100 warships to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Mauritius Coast Guard.
The 100th Warship, IN LCU L-56, was formally handed over by GRSE CMD Rear Admiral V K Saxena, IN (Retd.), to the Commanding Officer of the Ship, Lt. Cdr. Gopinath Narayanan. It is the sixth of eight such vessels for the Navy. The construction of the other two warships is progressing as per the schedule. The design of these LCU Mark-IV ships has been developed by GRSE, as per requirements by the Navy.
GRSE has delivered eight warships in the last 22 months.
L-56: Indian Navy gets more firepower with another warship
The Indian Navy Saturday received another landing craft utility (LCU), L-56. The warship was built and designed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata. The LCU was GRSE’s 100th warship. The ship can accommodate 216 personnel and is equipped with two indigenous CRN 91 guns, read a statement by GRSE.
“The LCU is 63-metre-long and 11-metre-wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m. It can achieve a speed of 15 knots. The ship is fitted with the state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems such as Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System,” read the statement.
GRSE has emerged the first Indian shipyard to make and deliver 100 warships to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Mauritius Coast Guard.
The 100th Warship, IN LCU L-56, was formally handed over by GRSE CMD Rear Admiral V K Saxena, IN (Retd.), to the Commanding Officer of the Ship, Lt. Cdr. Gopinath Narayanan. It is the sixth of eight such vessels for the Navy. The construction of the other two warships is progressing as per the schedule. The design of these LCU Mark-IV ships has been developed by GRSE, as per requirements by the Navy.
GRSE has delivered eight warships in the last 22 months.
L-56: Indian Navy gets more firepower with another warship
Indian Navy’s maiden nuclear, biological and chemical training facility inaugurated in Lonavla
The nuclear, biological and chemical training facility ‘Abhedya’ at INS Shivaji has special significance for the Indian Navy because now we will be able to provide holistic training in all three disciplines to our personnel on board a ship,” said Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of Naval staff, during the inauguration of the facility in Lonavla on Monday.
Admiral Lanba was on a two-day visit to INS Shivaji, on the occasion of the platinum jubilee of the establishment, wherein he commissioned Abhedya.
Abhedya, a one of its kind training facility in Asia, means ‘impenetrable’ and symbolises the protective cover that is provided on naval ships fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical detection and protection systems.
The facility, initiated in 2016 and executed by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) will provide realistic training to naval personnel in detection, protection against and decontamination of nuclear, biological and chemical agents.
“INS Shivaji has grown from strength to strength over 75 years and it has state-of-the-art training facilities. I am happy to commission it here. We had two simulators for damage control and fire fighting on board a vessel, and now, we have commissioned the nuclear, biological and chemical simulator,” added Admiral Lanba.
Simulators are equipped with advanced sensors, which can detect and measure the exact contamination of NBC components in water and air, and can be used for training on how to nullify ship compartments and operate in case of a nuclear, chemical or biological attack. The facility at INS Shivaji will help train naval officers and sailors with respect to nuclear, biological, chemical aspects on board vessels and the duration of the training can vary from two days to six months depending on the courses - basic, advanced or refresher.
“The simulator is unique across Asia. It would enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities. The training facility building will house a modern NBC simulator and well-equipped, sophisticated NBC laboratories for creating real-life scenarios,” said the PRO of INS Shivaji.
The facility is a part of INS Shivaji which imparts training in nuclear, biological and chemical aspects, damage control and fire-fighting to navy personnel.
Even though almost all of Indian Navy’s combat ships are nuclear-chemical-bio weapons hardened (have all facilities, sensors and suits to deal with an adverse situation if the vessel moves through a hostile NBC environment) and necessary equipment to tackle such threats, earlier there used to be only theoretical training about how to deal with such situations.
“Now, with this facility we will actually be training on live sources (we have Cobalt 60 which is a live source) and the training will be realistic. Likewise, we don’t have chemical agents or biological agents, but we have simulators which can be used for training men (how to and what precautions have to be taken). We have got a dedicated library for such agents and the system will automatically tell you what the agent is. So, with this facility, the men would be better equipped and trained and will deal with real-time scenarios,” said the project director of the facility at INS Shivaji.
It is imperative in this nuclear age for our personnel to be trained properly on how to operate in such adverse situations, the project director added.
The event was also attended by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Chief of Materiel and other senior officers and dignitaries of the Indian Navy.
INS Shivaji already has modern damage control and fire simulators. Specialised courses related to NBC will be conducted from now at the school.
During the platinum jubilee celebrations, the Admiral also launched the Shivaji website on the Indian Navy’s portal and released the platinum jubilee logo with the theme ‘Propelling the Indian Navy since 1945’.
Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
INS Shivaji, Lonavla, will be celebrating 2019-20 as the ‘Platinum Jubilee Year’. The premier Cat ‘A’ training establishment of the Indian Navy, commissioned as HMIS Shivaji in 1945 has entered her 75th year of commission. It imparts training in engineering discipline to personnel of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and several friendly foreign countries.
What is NBCD school?
Established as the ‘Atomic, Biological, Chemical Defence (ABCD) School’ in 1953, as a first of its kind in the country, the school was re-christened as ‘Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence including Damage Control and Fire Fighting (NBCD) School’, in 1964. The NBCD School is mandated with two core tasks, the primary task being conduct of NBCD training for personnel from the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, Defence Civilians and international trainees. The secondary task of the school is to conduct functional trials of new induction equipment and acceptance trials of NBCD equipment fitted on new construction ships.
To fulfill its primary task, the school is equipped with state-of-the-art simulators
1) ‘AKSHAT’ for damage control
2) ‘AJAR’ for fire fighting
3) ‘ABHEDYA’ for NBC training
Damage control simulator
The facility, a training simulator constructed for the Indian Navy by Goa Shipyard Ltd, simulates ship motions, compartment flooding, failure of electrical power and machinery, thus providing a real- time environment for Naval officers and sailors for carrying out urgent repairs to damaged underwater hull and ruptured pipelines of ships at sea.
Fire fighting training
Training imparted to deal with five classes of fire on board a naval vessel.
Indian Navy’s maiden nuclear, biological and chemical training facility inaugurated in Lonavla
The nuclear, biological and chemical training facility ‘Abhedya’ at INS Shivaji has special significance for the Indian Navy because now we will be able to provide holistic training in all three disciplines to our personnel on board a ship,” said Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of Naval staff, during the inauguration of the facility in Lonavla on Monday.
Admiral Lanba was on a two-day visit to INS Shivaji, on the occasion of the platinum jubilee of the establishment, wherein he commissioned Abhedya.
Abhedya, a one of its kind training facility in Asia, means ‘impenetrable’ and symbolises the protective cover that is provided on naval ships fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical detection and protection systems.
The facility, initiated in 2016 and executed by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) will provide realistic training to naval personnel in detection, protection against and decontamination of nuclear, biological and chemical agents.
“INS Shivaji has grown from strength to strength over 75 years and it has state-of-the-art training facilities. I am happy to commission it here. We had two simulators for damage control and fire fighting on board a vessel, and now, we have commissioned the nuclear, biological and chemical simulator,” added Admiral Lanba.
Simulators are equipped with advanced sensors, which can detect and measure the exact contamination of NBC components in water and air, and can be used for training on how to nullify ship compartments and operate in case of a nuclear, chemical or biological attack. The facility at INS Shivaji will help train naval officers and sailors with respect to nuclear, biological, chemical aspects on board vessels and the duration of the training can vary from two days to six months depending on the courses - basic, advanced or refresher.
“The simulator is unique across Asia. It would enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities. The training facility building will house a modern NBC simulator and well-equipped, sophisticated NBC laboratories for creating real-life scenarios,” said the PRO of INS Shivaji.
The facility is a part of INS Shivaji which imparts training in nuclear, biological and chemical aspects, damage control and fire-fighting to navy personnel.
Even though almost all of Indian Navy’s combat ships are nuclear-chemical-bio weapons hardened (have all facilities, sensors and suits to deal with an adverse situation if the vessel moves through a hostile NBC environment) and necessary equipment to tackle such threats, earlier there used to be only theoretical training about how to deal with such situations.
“Now, with this facility we will actually be training on live sources (we have Cobalt 60 which is a live source) and the training will be realistic. Likewise, we don’t have chemical agents or biological agents, but we have simulators which can be used for training men (how to and what precautions have to be taken). We have got a dedicated library for such agents and the system will automatically tell you what the agent is. So, with this facility, the men would be better equipped and trained and will deal with real-time scenarios,” said the project director of the facility at INS Shivaji.
It is imperative in this nuclear age for our personnel to be trained properly on how to operate in such adverse situations, the project director added.
The event was also attended by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Chief of Materiel and other senior officers and dignitaries of the Indian Navy.
INS Shivaji already has modern damage control and fire simulators. Specialised courses related to NBC will be conducted from now at the school.
During the platinum jubilee celebrations, the Admiral also launched the Shivaji website on the Indian Navy’s portal and released the platinum jubilee logo with the theme ‘Propelling the Indian Navy since 1945’.
Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
INS Shivaji, Lonavla, will be celebrating 2019-20 as the ‘Platinum Jubilee Year’. The premier Cat ‘A’ training establishment of the Indian Navy, commissioned as HMIS Shivaji in 1945 has entered her 75th year of commission. It imparts training in engineering discipline to personnel of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and several friendly foreign countries.
What is NBCD school?
Established as the ‘Atomic, Biological, Chemical Defence (ABCD) School’ in 1953, as a first of its kind in the country, the school was re-christened as ‘Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence including Damage Control and Fire Fighting (NBCD) School’, in 1964. The NBCD School is mandated with two core tasks, the primary task being conduct of NBCD training for personnel from the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, Defence Civilians and international trainees. The secondary task of the school is to conduct functional trials of new induction equipment and acceptance trials of NBCD equipment fitted on new construction ships.
To fulfill its primary task, the school is equipped with state-of-the-art simulators
1) ‘AKSHAT’ for damage control
2) ‘AJAR’ for fire fighting
3) ‘ABHEDYA’ for NBC training
Damage control simulator
The facility, a training simulator constructed for the Indian Navy by Goa Shipyard Ltd, simulates ship motions, compartment flooding, failure of electrical power and machinery, thus providing a real- time environment for Naval officers and sailors for carrying out urgent repairs to damaged underwater hull and ruptured pipelines of ships at sea.
Fire fighting training
Training imparted to deal with five classes of fire on board a naval vessel.
Indian Navy’s maiden nuclear, biological and chemical training facility inaugurated in Lonavla
Indian Navy’s Chetak helicopters playing a major role in relief operations in Mozambique
The Indian Navy’s Chetak helicopters are playing a major role in the ongoing relief operations in Mozambique which was hit by a tropical cyclone earlier this month.
The Chetaks are being employed for evacuating the local population and dropping supplies, such as food and water, even as the 1960s vintage helicopter has become an obsolete part of the navy’s helicopter fleet.
While the Chetaks, which have been in the navy’s service for decades, will be replaced by 111 Naval Utility Helicopters, a naval amphibious warfare vessel INS Magar carrying a Chetak helicopter has departed from Mumbai for Mozambique. The helicopter will add to the existing Chetaks that are being used for relief efforts in the country.
INS Magar is headed for Mozambique’s Port Beira with relief material for the cyclone ravaged areas. “The Indian warship is carrying 300 T of relief supplies including essential medicines, anti – epidemic drugs, food provisions, clothing, repair and rehabilitation equipment, and temporary shelters. The ship is also carrying a naval Chetak Light Utility helicopter that will be used in the ongoing relief operations,” reads a navy statement issued on Thursday.
The navy’s Chetaks have undertaken several sorties for evacuating local personnel in coordination with local authorities and the UN mission there. “The helicopter also undertook evacuation of three pregnant ladies, dropping relief materiel (food and water) including 500 kg provided by the World Food Programme,” reads an earlier navy statement on the relief operations.
Officials said that the Chetaks have also been used for aerial surveying of the damage done by Cyclone ‘Idai’ which struck Beira, Mozambique on March 15, causing widespread damage and leaving hundreds dead in the country’s central and northern provinces. The helicopters are also being used for positioning and extracting UN and Indian Navy medical teams.
Aviation experts said the Chetaks are reliable for such missions and played an important role in the past such as last year’s Kerala floods. “Although the helicopter has a single engine, it has been doing a good job. They are reliable for operations such as winching and cargo drops,” said an expert.
However, another expert added, “The main issue with them is that they are obsolete, so the fatigue level is setting in.”
Even Indian Navy ships Sujata, Sarathi and Shardul, which were operating in the southern Indian Ocean were diverted to Port Beira last week to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to the local population. The ships provided food, medicines and clothing to the Mozambique Defence authorities. They have also rescued more than 192 survivors from Buzi area near Port Beira.
Three medical camps have been set up at Port Beira, Gaura-Gaurathe Island and Matadoura School, Imnhamizua. “Medical assistance has been provided to over 1500 affected people from the local population,” said an official, adding that 22 tons of fresh water has been provided to local authorities. The HADR relief operations by the ships at Port Beira are likely to continue till March end.
Indian Navy’s Chetak helicopters playing a major role in relief operations in Mozambique
The Indian Navy’s Chetak helicopters are playing a major role in the ongoing relief operations in Mozambique which was hit by a tropical cyclone earlier this month.
The Chetaks are being employed for evacuating the local population and dropping supplies, such as food and water, even as the 1960s vintage helicopter has become an obsolete part of the navy’s helicopter fleet.
While the Chetaks, which have been in the navy’s service for decades, will be replaced by 111 Naval Utility Helicopters, a naval amphibious warfare vessel INS Magar carrying a Chetak helicopter has departed from Mumbai for Mozambique. The helicopter will add to the existing Chetaks that are being used for relief efforts in the country.
INS Magar is headed for Mozambique’s Port Beira with relief material for the cyclone ravaged areas. “The Indian warship is carrying 300 T of relief supplies including essential medicines, anti – epidemic drugs, food provisions, clothing, repair and rehabilitation equipment, and temporary shelters. The ship is also carrying a naval Chetak Light Utility helicopter that will be used in the ongoing relief operations,” reads a navy statement issued on Thursday.
The navy’s Chetaks have undertaken several sorties for evacuating local personnel in coordination with local authorities and the UN mission there. “The helicopter also undertook evacuation of three pregnant ladies, dropping relief materiel (food and water) including 500 kg provided by the World Food Programme,” reads an earlier navy statement on the relief operations.
Officials said that the Chetaks have also been used for aerial surveying of the damage done by Cyclone ‘Idai’ which struck Beira, Mozambique on March 15, causing widespread damage and leaving hundreds dead in the country’s central and northern provinces. The helicopters are also being used for positioning and extracting UN and Indian Navy medical teams.
Aviation experts said the Chetaks are reliable for such missions and played an important role in the past such as last year’s Kerala floods. “Although the helicopter has a single engine, it has been doing a good job. They are reliable for operations such as winching and cargo drops,” said an expert.
However, another expert added, “The main issue with them is that they are obsolete, so the fatigue level is setting in.”
Even Indian Navy ships Sujata, Sarathi and Shardul, which were operating in the southern Indian Ocean were diverted to Port Beira last week to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to the local population. The ships provided food, medicines and clothing to the Mozambique Defence authorities. They have also rescued more than 192 survivors from Buzi area near Port Beira.
Three medical camps have been set up at Port Beira, Gaura-Gaurathe Island and Matadoura School, Imnhamizua. “Medical assistance has been provided to over 1500 affected people from the local population,” said an official, adding that 22 tons of fresh water has been provided to local authorities. The HADR relief operations by the ships at Port Beira are likely to continue till March end.
Indian Navy’s Chetak helicopters playing a major role in relief operations in Mozambique
Third Edition of Bilateral Maritime Exercise between Royal Australian and Indian Navies – AUSINDEX-19 set to begin
The third edition of AUSINDEX, an acronym for Australia India Exercise is scheduled to commence with the arrival of HMAS Canberra (L02), a Landing Helicopter Dock, HMAS New Castle(06) and HMAS Paramatta(154), both frigates; HMAS Collins, a conventional submarine and HMAS Success(OR 304), a Durance-class multi-product replenishment oiler at Visakhapatnam on 02 April 19. The aim of the exercise is, “To strengthen and enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability between the IN and RAN, providing opportunities for interaction and exchange of professional views between the personnel of the two navies”.
A sign of strengthening of bilateral and defence cooperation between the two countries as envisaged in the Framework for Security Cooperation (FSC) announced by the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers in 2014. The maiden edition of the exercise was held in September 2015 at Visakhapatnam. Australia hosted the second edition of the exercise off Freemantle in June 2017, wherein ships of the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy (IN) exercised with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships and submarines.
Building on a long history of cooperation – including the shared experiences in the trenches of World War I in Gallipoli and along the Western Front – Australia and India have a positive defence relationship, underpinned by the 2006 Memorandum of Defence Cooperation and 2009 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation. However, post the 2014 bilateral FSC the cooperation on defence and security matters between the two countries has gained significant momentum thus, witnessing conscious and focussed enhancements.
The complexity of the biennial maritime exercise over the past four years has steadily increased. The third edition would involve exercises in all three dimensions with focus on ASW. The number of units being fielded by both navies in the bilateral exercise is the highest till date. The increased scale of participation signifies the importance attached to the exercise by both countries while the enhanced complexity is indicative of the interoperability between the two navies. Overall, the exercise underscores India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and shared objectives of the two countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries.
Third Edition of Bilateral Maritime Exercise between Royal Australian and Indian Navies – AUSINDEX-19 set to begin
The third edition of AUSINDEX, an acronym for Australia India Exercise is scheduled to commence with the arrival of HMAS Canberra (L02), a Landing Helicopter Dock, HMAS New Castle(06) and HMAS Paramatta(154), both frigates; HMAS Collins, a conventional submarine and HMAS Success(OR 304), a Durance-class multi-product replenishment oiler at Visakhapatnam on 02 April 19. The aim of the exercise is, “To strengthen and enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability between the IN and RAN, providing opportunities for interaction and exchange of professional views between the personnel of the two navies”.
A sign of strengthening of bilateral and defence cooperation between the two countries as envisaged in the Framework for Security Cooperation (FSC) announced by the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers in 2014. The maiden edition of the exercise was held in September 2015 at Visakhapatnam. Australia hosted the second edition of the exercise off Freemantle in June 2017, wherein ships of the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy (IN) exercised with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships and submarines.
Building on a long history of cooperation – including the shared experiences in the trenches of World War I in Gallipoli and along the Western Front – Australia and India have a positive defence relationship, underpinned by the 2006 Memorandum of Defence Cooperation and 2009 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation. However, post the 2014 bilateral FSC the cooperation on defence and security matters between the two countries has gained significant momentum thus, witnessing conscious and focussed enhancements.
The complexity of the biennial maritime exercise over the past four years has steadily increased. The third edition would involve exercises in all three dimensions with focus on ASW. The number of units being fielded by both navies in the bilateral exercise is the highest till date. The increased scale of participation signifies the importance attached to the exercise by both countries while the enhanced complexity is indicative of the interoperability between the two navies. Overall, the exercise underscores India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and shared objectives of the two countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries.
Third Edition of Bilateral Maritime Exercise between Royal Australian and Indian Navies – AUSINDEX-19 set to begin
