Indian Navy to develop “long legs” by 2027
03 Dec 2011
New Delhi: India will develop "long legs" at sea with "a brand new" navy and force levels of 150-odd warships and 500-odd aircraft, Indian Navy chief, admiral Nirmal Verma, said on Friday. He was addressing the annual press conference ahead of Navy Day on 4 December.
According to Adm Verma, the Indian Navy will have "over 150 ships and close to 500 aircraft and helicopters" by 2027.
"Today, Indian Navy is poised for a very good growth path. Navy veterans could not have imagined the growth curve that we have today," he said.
With the induction of two new tankers this year, indicted by the navy on the eastern and western sea boards, adm Verma said India now had the capability to operate two task forces on either side of India's coast at the same time.
"The two tankers inducted are going to provide us long legs. Two tankers on either coast will make it possible to operate two task forces at greater distances for longer periods," he said.
"When I say long legs, we can translate it into two distinct methods of deployment -- deployment at long distances and deployment at long distances along with ability to stay there for some time. We are talking about reach and sustainability," he said.
