Navy Day special- INAS 322 Guardians with their ALH helos

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The Indian Navy is adding more teeth to its air wing to bolster its coastal security operations. The Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS 322, Guardians), raised in November 2013 and operating the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs), is also on an expansion mode with more assets set to join them soon.

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Currently, his team operates eight ALH Mk-1s and more advanced versions are expected to join the Squadron in future.

Navy officials told OneIndia that ALHs will be positioned at Chennai, Goa, Port Blair and Vishakhapatnam in a phased manner.A total of 32 more ALHs are likely to be ordered from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) out of which 16 are earmarked for the Indian Coast Guard.

“ALH will be part of small ships and the trials are already on. ALH has already done some landings on INS Vikramaditya. For SAR (Search and Rescue) mission, we are now dependent on the Chetaks and the Seakings. To bride the cap between these two, ALH fits in the 5.5 tonne category,” says Capt Iyer, hailing from Palghat.He said the strength of his Squadron will be tripled in the next three years with the addition of more assets.

On the current roles being played by the ALH, Cdr Tomer says it involves, training for air crew, SAR missions, Special Operations by MARCOS, Communication duties, and operations from the ships.

“The Navy wants us to integrate with the fleets and get on with the operations in the Gulf of Eden. We are also moving into the night SAR missions, a capability with very few countries. It’s a highly specialised role and we are getting on to that domain as well,” says Cdr Tomer.ALH has become a mature platform nowLt Cdr Jithu Joy, Senior Tech Officer, Guardians, joins the discussion on ALH and its roles. “Now the aircraft is a stable one. I must say it has become a mature platform now. On a daily basis, we are interacting with HAL. If there are any major servicing, we send the aircraft to the MRO Division in Bangalore,” he says.

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INS Vikrant model at IFR 2016- posted on BRF

Indian Navy Dhruv ALH

Looks like there are serious plans afoot to order an additional 2 AIP equipped Scorpene submarines from the MDL yard that is building them for the Indian Navy.

India and France to focus on Rafale deal- more defence projects in pipeline during Francois Hollande visit

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The first of the six Scorpene submarines, under construction at the Mazgaon Dock Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai in partnership with French group DCNS, is set to enter service in October and the navy is seriously considering a plan to enhance the order by another two.

Besides, discussions on a point defence missile system to be developed jointly are also likely to progress. Officials from India and France have told ET that a proposal to keep the MDL line running beyond 2020 – when the last of the current six on order is delivered – is a distinct possibility given the underwater fleet requirements of the Indian Navy.

“We may look at an addition of two more submarines, but with an enhanced capability of staying underwater for longer. This would also help retain the skilled manpower that MDL has raised over the years by working on the Scorpene submarines,” a senior Navy officer told ET.

The Indian Navy is looking at an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which would increase underwater endurance, for the additional submarines.

Work on an Indian AIP is underway with the system being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). A land prototype of the AIP is currently being constructed by L&T and if successful, would be considered for an enhanced Scorpene order. “The land-based AIP is being built on the specifications of the Scorpene submarine. It may however not be ready on time for the initial six boats, but can be fitted to additional boats if ordered,” an official familiar with the AIP project said.

Shore Based Testing Facility operational..here is the Twitter video of a MiG-29K successfully trapping on the SBTF