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The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ‘Vikrant’ during sea trials near Kochi.
The Navy which had taken an early lead towards indigenisation decades ago and in 2014 promulgated the Indian Navy Indigenisation Plan (INIP) 2015-2030 to enable indigenous development of equipment and systems is further ramping up indigenisation efforts especially in weapons and aviation related items. This falls in line with the Government’s push to cut down on defence imports and boost domestic manufacturing which has gained further urgency due to the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine and the large scale dependency of Indian military on Russian arms and equipment.
Locally made items
“Till date, Navy has indigenised around 3,400 items under INIP, including over 2,000 machinery and electrical spares, over 1,000 aviation spares and over 250 weapon spares. The existing Naval Aviation Indigenisation Roadmap (NAIR) 2019-22 is also under revision. All the fast moving aircraft mandatory spares and high-cost indigenous repairs are being included in the revised NAIR 2022-27,” one official said.
Four in-house indigenisation committees have been formed to handle indigenisation of spares with respect to naval aircraft. In addition, the Naval Liaison Cells (NLCs) located at various places have been nominated as ‘indigenisation cells’.
There are currently 41 ships and submarines under construction, 39 are being built in India shipyards while in principle approval from MoD exists for 47 ships to be built in India, the Navy has stated earlier.
Focus areas
The Navy is working with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the industry to cut down developmental timelines, the official cited above said. “Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are doing a great job.”
Some of the focus areas include indigenous design and development and production of Anti-Submarine Weapons and sensors, Satcom and electronic warfare equipment, Anti-Ship Missiles and Medium Range Surface to Air Missile, combat management system, software defined radios, network encryption devices, Link II communication system, main batteries for submarines, distress sonar system, components of missiles and torpedoes etc.
The Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) which was launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in August 2020 provides an accessible interface for academia and industry with Indian Navy capability development apparatus, officials said. In the last two years, 36 IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) applications have been filed by Navy personnel.
