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Indian navy to acquire 6 new submarines, 33 ships
The Associated PressPublished: June 30, 2007

CALCUTTA, India: India's navy will acquire six new submarines and 33 ships, the top admiral said Saturday, a day after India decided to invite bids for combat jets to upgrade its air force's capability.

"Our interest is not restricted to the Indian Ocean," Adm. Sureesh Mehta told reporters in the eastern city of Calcutta. He did not elaborate, but said "we need a vibrant navy" to safeguard India's economic interests.

India has 7,516 kilometers (4,670 miles) of coastline.

Mehta said it would take about six years for the navy to acquire the six new submarines and 33 ships. It currently has 126 ships and 16 submarines, some of which are aging.

India has been seeking to bolster its rise as an economic power by reshaping its armed forces into a modern military capable of projecting power well beyond its shores.

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The Defense Ministry said Friday that it was inviting bids from international aircraft makers for 126 combat jets to upgrade its air force's capability at an estimated cost of 420 billion rupees (US$10 billion; €7.4 billion).

India is expected to evaluate aircraft built by U.S. manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Boeing, France's Dassault Aviation, Sweden's Gripen-SAAB and Russia's Sukhoi.

India's defense spending has steadily risen in recent years, despite significant steps toward peace with neighboring longtime rival Pakistan.

The government raised the defense budget by 12 percent to 960 billion rupees (US$21 billion; €16 billion) in fiscal 2007-08 to support the military's modernization.