Defense Technology International – What the Tourists in the Maldives Don’t Know

“Asia Sentinel” an independent website, reports that now India is preparing to reopen the former RAF base in the Maldives islands to surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and possibly ships, to monitor Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. Under a deal signed in August, India is also installing radar across the Maldives, linked to its coastal command.

Defense Technology International – Sea Trials For MiG-29K

The new MiG-29K carrier-based fighter started its sea trials on Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, on September 28-29. According to MiG, two aircraft – a MiG-29K single-seater and a two-seat MiG-29KUB – made several take-offs and landings from the carrier in the Barents Sea.

PTI – Navy grounds entire Sea Harrier jet fleet after recent crash

The Indian Navy has grounded the entire Sea Harrier fighter jet fleet against the backdrop of one of the aircraft crashing off Goa last week, rendering its lone aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, without its aerial firepower.

Reuters – Pakistan says Indian submarine harms regional peace

India’s launch of its first nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles is “detrimental to regional peace and stability,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, vowing to safeguard its own security.

Daily Telegraph – Warship sent to protect Seychelles from pirates

An Indian warship have been sent to protect the Seychelles from Somalian pirates who have attacked eight merchant vessels in the area in the last week.

Defense Tech – Indian-Russian Ties Are Chilling

Norman Polmar describes why the Indian Navy wants to do business with countries beyond Russia…

Defense Technology International – India Lays Keel of Its First Homemade Aircraft Carrier

India laid the keel of its first aircraft carrier on February 28. The ship will be named INS Vikrant, which, in Sanskrit, means “courageous” and “victorious”,

Seattle Post Intelligencer – Boeing wins first military contract with India

India becomes the first country outside the U.S. to purchase the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

BBC – Indian navy ‘captures 23 pirates’

The Indian navy says it has arrested 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who tried to storm a ship in the Gulf of Aden.

BBC – India navy defends piracy sinking

The Indian navy has defended its action in sinking a ship near Somalia that maritime officials have confirmed was a hijacked Thai fishing boat.

BBC – Indian navy ‘sank Thai trawler’

The owner of a Thai fishing trawler has said the Indian navy sank it off Somalia’s coast last week after wrongly assuming it was a pirate “mother ship”.

Associated Press – India navy sinks suspected pirate ‘mother ship’

An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate “mother ship” Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night.

Daily Telegraph – India launches first navy mission against pirates

More details on India’s attempt to fight piracy off of Somalia.

India Today – India sends the frigate INS Ganga to mount its own anti-piracy patrol off of Somalia.

Associated Press – For decades the world relied on the powerful U.S. Navy to protect a vital sea lane in the Indian Ocean. But as India and China gain economic heft, they are moving to expand their control of the waterway, sparking a new ó and potentially dangerous ó rivalry between Asia’s emerging giants.
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Reuters – The United States has no plans to sell an ageing aircraft carrier to India, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday.
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Guardian – India has kept its efforts to build a nuclear submarine under wraps for more than 30 years, but a top Indian scientist has confirmed that the ongoing project at the Kalpakkam nuclear facility near Chennai to develop a nuclear reactor fuelled by enriched uranium was in fact intended to power the country’s first indigenously built submarine.
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Indian Express – Malabar Exercise: From tracking nuclear submarines to managing 200 aircraft and taking on deep-sea terror threat, five Navies cover a sweeping range of maritime operations.
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Asia Times – India begins to secure the Indian Ocean.
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AFP – A massive naval drill opens in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday with warships from the United States and four other nations flexing their muscle in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
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Virginian Pilot – The amphibious ship Jalashwa, which for 36 years sailed under the U.S. flag as the Trenton, is now flying the saffron, white and green colors of India.
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India Defence – Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said today that they Indian Navy has put forward a requirement of Rs.110,000 crore (US$ 25 Billion approx.) for the next Five-Year Plan to equip itself to take on the challenges of the future.
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Associated Press – Indian and U.S. destroyers, frigates and submarines conducted joint naval exercises off India’s western coast.
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Xinhua – The Indian Navy’s patrolling and transportation capabilities will receive a big jump when the landing platform dock (LPD) USS Trenton it is acquiring joins the fleet early next year.
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US Naval War College Review – India has strengthened its position on the Indian Oceanís littoral and among the oceanís island nations. India also has become a more palpable presence in key maritime zones; its links with the most important external actors also have been strengthened. These are significant achievements, and they derive from Indiaís growing economic clout, maritime strength, and a surer hand in diplomacy. As this process unfolds further, it will have a transforming effect on the Indian Ocean basin and, eventually, the world.

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