India: Naval fleet to be bolstered

Kochi: As many as 27 ships including an aircraft carrier will be ready in the next five years and orders will be placed for another 32 ships to bolster the Indian Navy's strength, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash said here today.

'We have already placed orders for 27 ships including six submarines and one aircraft carrier in the Indian docks. They will be ready in four to five years,' he told reporters.

'The Government has cleared purchase of another 32 ships and we will place orders now. We will place orders to Indian manufacturers and only if it is so needed, we will depend on foreign countries. In the next 10 to 15 years, the fleet depletion will thus be fully made up,' Admiral Arun Prakash said.

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