Navy demonstrates its might

As part of the ‘Day at Sea’ demonstrations by the ships of Eastern Fleet, Indian Naval ships including Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Jalashwa, Destroyers Rana and Ranvijay and the missile corvettes Kirpan, Kulish and Kirch enthralled thousands of audience off Chennai Coast on Oct. 27.

A large number of exercises including demonstration of Naval ships which ward off attacks by fast moving crafts manned by terrorists and pirates, simulated missile firing demonstration, search and rescue (SAR) by naval helicopters, a slithering operation undertaken by marine commandos on small crafts depicting pirate vessels and close quarter manoeuvres involving personnel and stores transfer between ships at sea were demonstrated to the visitors embarked onboard for the sea sortie.

Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral P Ajit Kumar, Flag Officer-in-Commanding Eastern Fleet, said the Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam is the sword arm of the Indian Navy and is formed with a wide array of extremely potent war fighting ships including the indigenous stealth frigates of the Shivalik class.  Jalashwa is an amphibious ship, primarily designed to carry armed troops to distant shores.

The ship, being a versatile platform, can also be used for other secondary roles such as disaster relief and evacuation of Indians stranded in war-torn areas abroad.  Rana and Ranvijay are the guided missile destroyers of Soviet origin and have served the Navy for nearly three decades and are considered one of the most powerful ships in the arsenal of the Indian Navy. The ships are equipped with long range surface-to-surface missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles and numerous guns to thwart all possible attacks. The K class missile corvettes are indigenously developed ships which are armed with long range surface-to-surface missiles and guns, he added.

Governor of Tamil Nadu K. Rosaiah, Chairman of Chennai Port Trust Atulya Misra and a large number of dignitaries were embarked onboard the ships participated in the Day at Sea to witness different events. Besides, senior officers from the three Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), senior Government functionaries from the State and more than 2, 500 guests were also embarked on various ships to witness the annual event organised to mark the Navy Week celebrations.

The Navy Day is celebrated on Dec. 4 every year to commemorate a daring first of its kind missile attack by the OSA class missile boats on Karachi during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. This was for the first time post-Independence that the Indian Navy was drawn into war and it proved its mettle bringing a hasty end to the conflict. The attack was so fierce that the entire Karachi remained ablaze for many days after the attack, thereby delivering a severe blow to Pakistans’ war waging potential.









www.sagarsandesh.com