Admiral Lanba: World Class Navy by 2050

The government has approved an expansion and upgrade plan for the Navy with 56 new ships and submarines, replacing some of the existing vessels.

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba told a press conference on 3 Dec 2018, “The government has given approval to having 56 ships and submarines. Some of these will replace the existing fleet and include new ships like fleet ships, submarines and mine sweepers.”

The vessel construction plan would be spread across a decade.

This is in addition to the 32 ships and submarines already under construction.

“By 2050 we will also have 200 ships, 500 aircraft and be a world-class navy,” said the Admiral in his comparative assessment of China’s naval power.

Responding to questions on security, the Admiral said a pilot project on to fit Automated Identification System (AIS) transponders on fishing boats had been successful.

“It will now be implemented across India. There are some 2.2 lakh fishing boats, under 20 metres in length, that do not have AIS transponders. The issue was to have low-cost transponders. I agree it has taken 10 years but soon we will have these transponders on all fishing boats,” he said. fiinews.com