Navy To Buy 80 Fast Interception Craft

India has signed a deal with a Sri Lankan firm worth over 300 crore rupees to procure 80 fast-interception craft, FIC. These fast-interception crafts will equip Navy's Sagar Prahari Bal, SPB which is being raised after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. A Navy spokesperson said that the boats are to be delivered in the next three years. fast-interception crafts  are small boats, with a crew of five to seven sailors at top speeds of 40 to 50 knots, and are equipped with light machine guns. These 80 fast-interception crafts  will be in addition to the 15 similar boats being acquired from the French shipyard Chantier Naval Couach, three of which have already been inducted at Mumbai.

After 26/11, several steps have been taken to boost coordination in intelligence-sharing and operational matters, with fully-networked joint operation centres being set up in different locations. With 1,000 well-armed personnel, the SPB will be tasked with the protection of naval and other assets, and bases and harbours on both the west and east coasts. It was one of the steps announced by the government after 26/11.