Kolkata: Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari underlined on Wednesday that the recent attacks on the ships in the Red sea have created threats in the global maritime domain.
He said, “Today sea-line communications are an important contributor to world trade and prosperity. Recent events particularly in the Red Sea have highlighted the threats in maritime environment across the globe.”
The IAF chief added, “A large number of Indian naval ships are patrolling the high seas and rendering assistance to safeguard the seafarers and merchant vessels of different nationalities.”
He was speaking at the launch of two anti-submarine warfare shallow water crafts (ASW SWC), INS Agray and INS Akshay, being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in the city for the Indian Navy.
The two warships were launched by Neeta Chaudhari, wife of the IAF chief, at a ceremony. They are the reincarnations of Abhay-class warships of the Indian Navy. While the original INS Agray was decommissioned in 2017, INS Akshay was decommissioned in 2022.
The two warships were fifth and sixth in a series of eight ASW SWCs being built by the defence PSU. These 77.6-metre-long and 10.5-metre-wide extremely potent warships are capable of full-scale subsurface surveillance of coastal waters, various surface platforms and coordinated anti-submarine operations with aircraft.
They can reach maximum speeds of 25 knots and pack a lethal anti-submarine suite comprising lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets and mines.
