Prateek Tanmay
Future wars cannot be fought by individual services, but must be fought together as a unified nation to achieve success, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said on Wednesday in Karwar during the commissioning ceremony of INS Malvan, the second vessel in the Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) series.
He also underscored the need for developing military technologies at a faster pace, stating that “technology delayed is technology denied”, and made a pitch for self-reliance in the aviation sector.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command; senior naval officers, veterans and representatives of state-run Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
Referring to INS Malvan, he said: “This ship and its crew carry forward the legacy of the erstwhile Malvan. I can see some stalwarts here from that ship, which served the nation with pride for decades until it was decommissioned in 2003.”
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Western Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan during the commissioning ceremony of INS Malvan, the second indigenously built Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC). (Photo: Defence PRO/PTI)
INS Malvan is the second of eight ASW-SWCs, being indigenously built by CSL, Kochi, and the sixth of 16 ASW-SWCs to be commissioned into the Indian Navy. With over 80 per cent indigenous content, the ship reinforces the Government of India’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and India’s expanding ecosystem of naval design, equipment, system integration, and growing self-reliance in defence shipbuilding.
The vessel is equipped for underwater surveillance, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, and low-intensity maritime operations (LIMO), along with mine warfare capability. The vessel will further bolster coastal defence, littoral security, and enhance maritime domain awareness.
Highlighting the criticality of achieving jointness among the three services, particularly in fighting future wars, he said, “No future war is going to be fought by an individual service. All of us, whether we are in blues (IAF), whites (Navy), or OGs (Army), or whichever colour, whether we are in allied services, we all have to fight together as one nation, and then only we will succeed.”
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He mentioned that the growth of indigenous R&D (research and development) and production capabilities is encouraging, even as India has some distance to cover before reaching its targets. “If you have to grow and remain relevant, it has to be at the speed of relevance. If you are growing at a speed that by the time you design and develop something, the world has moved over to a new technology, then that has no meaning. So according to me, any technology delayed is technology denied,” he said.
He further said India’s indigenous infrastructure is growing in terms of production; there is a big impetus which has been given.
“I’m not saying we’ve reached somewhere very close to the target, but we are in the right direction, and as long as one is moving in the right direction, there is hope. I am sure if we don’t waver from this path and remain focused, this will be a game changer,” he added.
He said under the aegis of Project Seabird, Karwar has emerged as a symbol of India’s maritime strategic vision and stands as one of the most modern naval bases globally.
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Emphasising the significance of maritime security and maritime power for India’s growth, he stated that for any nation, maritime routes determine trade, and trade ultimately shapes destiny.
“And as far as India is concerned, we all understand how important the Indian Ocean region is to us,” adding that the Indian Navy has been playing a vital role in securing sea lines of communication and ensuring that Indian trade and economic growth continue unhindered.
He further stated that recent global developments have shown that no country can succeed without secure sea lines of communication and free trade.
Referring to the government’s thrust on self-reliance, the Air Chief said the Navy had made significant progress in indigenous shipbuilding and expressed hope that the aviation sector would implement a similar model.
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“I just hope that the other two services, especially the Indian Air Force, learn the lesson as to how the Indian Navy has been able to get this whole concept right, where you have your Indian Navy officers who are embedded in your shipbuilding right from the beginning,” he said.
He said India was moving closer towards achieving self-reliance, even as some components still needed to be sourced or co-produced abroad, but those gaps would be bridged in due course.
INS Malvan derives its name from the historic coastal town of Malvan in Maharashtra, a region associated with the illustrious maritime heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The vessel also encapsulates the legacy of her predecessor, an inshore Indian Naval Minesweeper that remained in service until 2003.
