File photo of Indian Navy Chief, Admiral RK Dhowan
Navy Chief Admiral RK Dhowan appealed to the private sector to tap into the "huge opportunities" in the naval defence sector on Thursday. He also said that the force has prepared a 15-year indigenisation plan that will soon be shared with India Inc.
While inaugurating a seminar, the Navy chief said that a warship can be broadly divided into three segments - float, move and fight. The Navy has now achieved an indigenisation of 90 per cent in the float category.
Admiral Dhowan said, "In the move segment, we have achieved 60 per cent of indigenisation. There is huge opportunity for Indian industry as well as small and medium enterprises."
The Indian Navy's air fleet strength of 223 aircraft and helicopters is on the threshold of transformation, both in terms of numbers and capability. Admiral Dhowan said, "This is one area where there is a huge opportunity for indigenisation of our future naval aviation assets. The Indian Navy needs to remain a multi-dimensional network centric force which is ready to take on any challenges in the 21st century."
The Navy chief said that the force has prepared a 15-year indigenisation plan up to 2030, in order to synergies efforts between Navy, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian industry so that future ships can be made 100 per cent in India.