Commending the Navy on maintaining continuous deployment of ships, submarines and aircraft in India’s areas of interest in the last one year, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday took note of the critical capability shortfalls that the service is facing in various platforms.
She made these comments while addressing the on-going biannual Naval Commanders Conference.
Combat edge
“Ms. Sitharaman took note of the critical capability shortfalls that the Navy is facing in ship-borne multi-role helicopters, conventional submarines and mine counter measure vessels, which need urgent redressal to maintain the combat edge of the Navy,” the Navy said in a statement.
Ms. Sitharaman assured the Commanders’ that that these issues were being given due impetus and efforts were in hand to mitigate these shortcomings at the earliest, the statement added.
The Defence Minister also acknowledged the “high operational tempo” maintained by the Navy in the last one year through regular deployment of ships, submarines and aircraft from the South China Sea and Sea of Japan in the East to the Persian Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean in the West and the shores of Australia in the South.
The statement said the Minister has acknowledged the focused efforts of the Navy in deterring piracy attempts off the Gulf of Aden.
24/7 surveillance
The Navy has recently validated a new mission based deployment concept to maintain round-the-clock surveillance of critical choke points and sea lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean Region in the backdrop of increased Chinese presence in the region.