DTN News - MID EAST HOT SPOTS: Iran Begins Naval Maneuvers Near Strait of Hormuz

DTN News -  MID EAST HOT SPOTS: Iran Begins Naval Maneuvers Near Strait of Hormuz

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Todays Zaman
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 28, 2012:  Iran's state TV is reporting the country's navy has begun maneuvers in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world's oil passes.

It says the maneuvers began early Friday, involving warships, submarines jet fighters and hovercrafts.

The drills come as the West increases its pressure over Iran's nuclear program. The West suspects it may be aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Iran has threatened to close the straits over Western sanctions but has not repeated the threats lately.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Todays Zaman
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: Indian Navy Commissioned Two Warships Into Navy Fleet

DTN News: Indian Navy Commissioned Two Warships Into Navy Fleet

Source: DTN News - compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources

(NSI News Source Info) VISAKHAPATNAM, India - June 30, 2010: Giving a boost to Navy's defence capabilities, two state-of-the-art high-speed warships, INS Cankarso and INS Kondul, were commissioned here today in the naval fleet.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan commissioned the ships in the presence of Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice-Admiral Anup Singh and other senior Naval officials.

The indigenously-built ships use water jet propulsion technology and can achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots. They will be based in Goa and tasked with the role of detecting, locating and destroying small, fast-moving enemy surface craft engaged in covert operations, a Navy spokesman said.

INS Cankarso and INS Kondul are fitted with 30-mm CRN-91 gun built by Ordnance Factory, Medak, and Igla missiles and set of machine guns ranging from light to heavy. "These features are an improvement over the previous fast attack craft (FAC) ships," the spokesman said.

These two ships are the first lot of the ten similar ships that the Navy proposed to induct in its fleet. They belong to the Car Nicobar class V and VI in the FAC series.

"In addition to their primary role, the ships will be tasked with the role of policing, anti-smuggling and fisheries protection in India's coastal waters. In the long run, these ships could help in ensuring stability in India's maritime zones of responsibility," the spokesman said.

These vessels are an improved version of the Fast Attack Craft (FAC) earlier constructed by GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers) with a more efficient hull-form design and has been proven after extensive model testing to achieve speed in excess of 35 knots.

These ships will stay close to the coastline and be used mainly for patrolling and rescue operations. Rear Admiral T S Ganeshan (Retd) - the Chairman & Managing Director of GRSE - stated, "The ships have submarine warfare capability and are not vulnerable themselves."

This would indicate a sonar fit and anti-submarine warfare weaponry, such as torpedoes and anti-submarine rockets.

The first vessel - Car Nicobar - has been named after the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. The second vessel - Chetlat - has been named after the northernmost of the Lakshwadeep Islands and was launched by Mrs Beena Suthan, the wife of Vice Admiral Raman Prem Suthan - the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command. These are the first warships to be built at the built at the Rajabagan Dockyards purchased by GRSE in July 2006.

In a unique event, on 16 Feb 09, the Indian Navy will commission two ships, INS Carnicobar & INS Chetlat on the same day. These would be the first two in a series of ten Water Jet fast attack ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. The ships are being commissioned at Chennai by the Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala and are the first ever water jet propelled ships of the Indian Navy. The commissioning marks another step in the direction of indigenisation of the Navy’s ship building efforts. These fast attack crafts are named after pristine islands located in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep respectively and will be based at Chennai thereby strengthening coastal security of the region. These fast attack crafts are most suited for interception of fast moving surface crafts apart from performing anti smuggling, fisheries protection, as well as search and rescue operations where time is of paramount importance.

These are the two ships of a new generation of ten Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts, designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. They are an improvement upon the earlier version of the Fast Attack Crafts, with a more efficient hull form developed indigenously. The Fast Attack Crafts can achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots.

DTN News: Indian Navy To Add 125 More Ultra Modern Warships And Many Submarines In The Next Ten Years

DTN News: Indian Navy To Add 125 More Ultra Modern Warships And Many Submarines In The Next Ten Years

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MUMBAI, India - August 1, 2009: Indian Navy to add 125 more ultra modern Warships and many submarines in the next ten years. The race between Indian and Chinese Naval dominance is spectacular sight. Jointly Indian and Chinese Navy will soon counter US Naval strength. The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. It currently has approximately 55,000 personnel on active duty, including 5,000 members of the naval aviation branch and 2,000 marine commandos, making it the world's fifth largest navy. The Indian Navy currently operates more than 155 vessels, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, along with operational jet fighters. Though the primary objective of the navy is to secure national maritime borders, India also uses its navy to enhance its international relations through joint exercises, port visits and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief. In recent years, the Indian Navy has undergone extensive modernization and expansion with an intention to increase its capabilities as a recognized blue-water navy.* India has one of the fastest growing navies in the world. Its fleet of about 120 vessels is the fifth largest in the world. Within a decade Indian will only lad America in Naval power. China is not sitting around. Chinese are catching up fast. But India is zzoming fast past their Chinese Naval counterpart. Captain Alok Bhatnagar, director of naval plans at India’s ministry of defence gave an upbeat estimate of India's future naval plans. Hundreds of ships are already in the plans. Nuclear submarines, Aircraft carriers, Warships, Frigates, Remote controlled underwater submerged war apparatus are all in the making.

Admiral Sureesh Mehta, chief of naval staff, says in an upbeat statement that the Indian navy would spend more than Rupees $10 billion a year on an average over the next twelve years on new capabilities, with about 70 per cent devoted to acquisitions of sophisticated naval hardware.

U.S. Destroyers To Escort Ships In S. China Sea / US Destroyers To Escort Ships In South China Sea: official

U.S. Destroyers To Escort Ships In S. China Sea / US Destroyers To Escort Ships In South China Sea: official

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 13, 2009: The United States has decided to provide heavily armed destroyers to escort U.S. surveillance ships operating in the South China Sea after a tense naval standoff this week, a U.S. official said March 12. "Right now they are going to escort these types of ships for the foreseeable future," the defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. The U.S. government has said Chinese boats moved directly in front of the U.S. Navy surveillance vessel Impeccable on Sunday, forcing the ship to take emergency action to avoid a collision. A day after the incident, the USS Chung-Hoon destroyer accompanied the Impeccable - an unarmed ship designed to track submarines with sonar - in the same area, the official said. Since Sunday's high-seas standoff, there have been no incidents of harassment from Chinese boats or aircraft, he said. "It's been quiet," the official said. "There's a great deal of emphasis right now to keep this at the diplomatic level. So that's been our focus." The escorts by warships applied to operations in the South China Sea, he said. Chinese military chiefs believe the U.S. Navy ship was on a spying mission, state media reported March 11. The U.S. keeps a close eye on China's military arsenal, including its expanding fleet of submarines. The episode complicated fragile military relations between the world powers, which had improved after the two held defense talks in Beijing last month. President Barack Obama on March 12 urged more military dialogue with China to avoid similar incidents after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the White House said in a statement. "The president also stressed the importance of raising the level and frequency of the U.S.-China military-to-military dialogue in order to avoid future incidents," it said. As part of cooperation efforts, the two countries established a hotline between the Chinese defense ministry and the Pentagon in April last year. But the hotline was not used during or after Sunday's standoff, defense officials said. The U.S. government immediately protested to Chinese authorities after the incident, which occurred about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island. Beijing has rejected the U.S. account and demanded the United States cease what it calls illegal activities in the South China Sea. The Chinese maintain the area is part of the country's exclusive economic zone. Washington insists the area is part of international waters and that U.S. ships have a legal right to operate there. The Chung-Hoon is a guided-missile destroyer based in Hawaii that joined the U.S. Navy fleet in 2004.

Somalia: Pirates Still Have The Upper Hands In Spite Of Anti-Piracy Patrol By 20 Warships / Lack of Co-ordination By U.N.

Somalia: Pirates Still Have The Upper Hands In Spite Of Anti-Piracy Patrol By 20 Warships / Lack of Co-ordination By U.N. (NSI News Source Info) January 3, 2009: The twenty or so warships of the anti-piracy patrol have made a difference, with half the number of ships being captured by pirates since the foreigners arrived.This handout photo released by the French Ministry of Defense on January 1, 2009 shows French soldiers arresting presumed Somali pirates in the eastern part of the Golf of Aden off the Somali coast. Eight pirates where apprehended whilst trying to hijack the cargo vessel S. Venus. flying a Panamanian flag and have been placed aboard the French frigate "Premier Ma�e L'Her" before their handing over to Somalian authorities.

There were only two captures in December, while in the months before that, it was about four a month. Most of the warships are escorting convoys of merchant ships through the Gulf of Aden. But many merchant ships don't want to wait for a convoy to form, go it alone, and are most vulnerable to the pirates. Last year, about 120 ships were attacked, and 40 captured. At least 19 of these are still being held. Those that were ransomed are believed to have been paid a total of $30-40 million. The TNG parliament has 30 days to elect a new president, via secret ballot. The TNG was supposed to hold national elections in 2009, but that seems unlikely. Most of the clans negotiated the organization of the TNG, but could not agree on how to run it. Now several factions of the TNG, several factions of Islamic Courts, Somaliland, Puntland and several wealthy pirate warlords up north, all contend for power. Ethiopian convoys have begun leaving Mogadishu, and there is panic in Baidoa (the capital of the TNG) at the thought of Ethiopian troops leaving there as well. African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu are also discussing getting out, rather than face the wrath, alone, of local clans eager to regain their control of the city. The Ethiopians are expected to be all gone by the end of the month, and then there will be more intense fighting, as the clan militias, as is their custom, try to make the most of the new situation. December 31, 2008: In Mogadishu, clan militias loyal to the TNG are planning on leaving with the Ethiopians, not wanting to face the gunmen from local clans alone. December 30, 2008: Fighting has intensified in Mogadishu, where local clans sense that they will be able to return to their neighborhoods, from the refugee camps outside town, because Ethiopian troops are leaving. December 29, 2008: After four years in office, Transitional National Government (TNG) president Abdullahi Yusuf has resigned. He was never able to unite the many factions in the country, even though all those factions, after several years of negotiations, were able to cobble together the TNG. Part of Yusuf's problem was corruption, Much foreign aid flowed to the TNG, and much of it was stolen by Yusuf and his cronies. Those friends, their families, and what's left of the loot, are now fleeing Baidoa for Puntland. December 28, 2008: Al Shabaab was forced out of another central Somali town, by more moderate Islamic fighters. This left another twenty or so dead or wounded. More moderate Islamic Courts militia, some of them allied with the Transitional National Government (TNG), have united to oppose the radical al Shabaab fighters, who are too radical and righteous for most Somalis tastes. December 27, 2008: For the last few days, there has been fighting in Gureil (370 kilometers north of Mogadishu) between radical Islamic fighters (al Shabaab) and local, generally pro-government Islamic Courts group. There have been several dozen casualties, and the al Shabaab group was eventually driven away. December 24, 2008: Yemen is creating a regional anti-piracy center, which will collect and distribute information on piracy and anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden region. The center will be operational in about six months. Many of the "Somali pirates" are actually Yemenis, and the Yemeni coast guard is too small to keep pirates away from the Yemeni coast. However, the government has sufficient control on land to prevent pirates from establishing the kind of bases they have in northern Somalia.