The government will beef up the armed forces by creating 763 posts at different levels of the Bangladesh Navy (BN) and the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF), said government sources. This is part of the process of implementing the Forces Goal 2030. In all, 568 posts will be created in different categories of BN. These include two posts of Captain, six posts of Commander, 18 posts of Lieutenant Commander, and 14 posts of Lieutenant for BN’s four new warships, the sources added. The BAF will also create 195 posts at the Bangabandhu Aeronautical Centre (BAC), a state-owned aerospace, defence security, and advanced-technology company operated by the BAF.
For creating the posts, three separate proposals were placed at the meeting of the secretaries’ committee on improvement of administrative affairs at the Secretariat on Sunday. The committee has approved the proposals, a senior official of the Cabinet Division told The Independent.
“The proposals were sent to the defence ministry after taking the consent of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the defence minister,” he said. “The public administration ministry and the finance ministry have also given their approval,” the official added.
According to one proposal, 138 posts would be created for two warships, BNS Sandeep and BNS Hatiya, while the 430 posts in 11 categories would be created for the two other warships, BNS Swadhinota and BNS Prottoy.
BNS Swadhinota and BNS Prottoy were built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd of China, and BNS Sandeep and BNS Hatiya were built at Khulna Shipyard, the sources added.
The proposal says the warships will ensure maritime security, provide assistance to the civil administration if required, conduct anti-smuggling operations, and help create skilled manpower to send on peacekeeping missions abroad.
At the same time, the ships will supply the required logistics, like emergency supplies of fuel, and land special forces during amphibious operations of the naval force and regular patrolling in maritime territory, the proposal added.
Sources said the warships BNS Sandeep and BNS Hatiya were handed over to the BN on June 25, 2015. The Prime Minister had commissioned these on September 6, 2015. But the warships had not started operating in full swing because of the shortage of manpower.
To strengthen BN, they have also prepared a plan to spend Tk. 14,000 crore by buying military hardware. Many posts have already been created for the naval force. The government has upgraded the post of the chief of the force to Admiral from the existing rank of Vice-Admiral.
The PM also commissioned two Ming-class submarines recently. A Dornier 228NG (New Generation) aircraft has been inducted into the BN for maritime patrol and rescue missions along the country’s coastline. The existing manpower of the force is 22,000, said sources in the naval headquarters.
The maintenance, repair and overhauling (MRO) unit of the BAC overhauled a few aircraft, fighter planes, and helicopters of the BAF in the last few years. That way, they saved a lot of foreign currency, according to another proposal.
Four more MROs would be set up under the BAC to overhaul and maintain more BAF aircraft, fighter planes, and helicopters in future. The authorities are planning to form an independent body under the force to monitor and coordinate among the MROs, the proposal said.
The BAC designs, develops, and builds aircraft and avionics systems for the armed forces. It also performs local maintenance works on the mid-life upgrades (MLUs) of systems of foreign-built military and civilian aircraft. Mainly focusing on avionics, aviation, and high-tech electronics, the BAC also manufactures and maintains military systems for the Army and Navy. These include radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other defence systems. The BAC has been established to maintain the aircraft of the BAF by the country’s own engineers and technicians, using the country’s own resources. The BAF has been involved in various combat and humanitarian operations, from the Bangladesh Liberation War, when it was born, to supporting international efforts, including the Coalition of the Gulf War and United Nations peacekeeping missions.