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  Navy in the dock

Navy in the dock

| ARUN KUMAR SINGH
Published : Sep 27, 2013, 9:56 am IST
Updated : Sep 27, 2013, 9:56 am IST

The Indian Navy has always had a sound strategy to develop a “balanced force capability” comprising naval aviation, submarines, warships and marine commandos, so that it can protect national interests

The Indian Navy has always had a sound strategy to develop a “balanced force capability” comprising naval aviation, submarines, warships and marine commandos, so that it can protect national interests across huge ocean areas by a capability to deter and, if necessary, combat all threats ranging from low-end piracy, maritime terror to conventional war. Submarines play a crucial role in determining maritime terror in conventional war. While SSBNs (ballistic missile submarine) provide strategic second-strike capability, conventional submarines and SSNs (nuclear attack submarines) form the spearhead of any naval operations to deny the use of the sea to enemy naval units, block ports and also attack land targets with conventional cruise missiles. In some distant areas like the South and East China Seas, where the Chinese have overwhelming air and sea superiority, only SSNs can be usefully deployed to blockade Chinese ports or the Malacca Straits to deny access to the Indian Ocean to Chinese warships or Chinese merchant ships carrying oil from West Asia. To meet all these requirements, the Indian Navy needs at least six SSBNs, eight SSNs and 18 conventional submarines. August 2013 was an eventful month for the Indian Navy. On August 10, the nuclear reactor of the much-delayed SSBN Arihant went critical. Another much-delayed project, the first India-built 37,500 tonne aircraft carrier Vikrant, was launched at Kochi on August 12, and should commence sea trials in 2016, with induction in 2018. Also, on August 29, India’s first dedicated military satellite (GSAT 7) was launched by a European rocket. Operational on September 14, this unique maritime satellite provides the Indian Navy with a dedicated satellite for instant communication and instant situational awareness across the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean by sending data in simple digital symbols. The Air Force and Army satellites are a few years behind the Navy. Unfortunately, the Indian Navy suffered a huge jolt on August 14 due to the explosion on board its frontline Kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhurakshak (inducted on December 24, 1997), which resulted in the tragic loss of 18 young submariners, and the sinking of the submarine in about five metres of shallow water. Had this accident taken place at sea, the loss would have been catastrophic and would have exposed the severe limitations of the Navy’s vintage submarine rescue system. It will take a few months of imported salvage operations to lift the sunken submarine to the surface and then examine it in dry dock to ascertain the probable cause of the explosion. No Navy has a salvage system capability, including India. A foreign firm (possibly based on a time-consuming global tendering process) will lift the Sindhurakshak once the contract is signed. The Indian Navy has a single vintage submarine rescue system with a capability of rescuing any surviving crew from a sunken submarine at depths less than 150 metres, whereas the modern requirement is to have a deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) up to 600 metres. In October 2012, in a joint exercise off the west coast, an American DSRV carried out an exercise wherein a few Indian submarine crew members were actually transferred from two Indian submarines that were sitting on the sea bottom to simulate distressed submarines. In an actual emergency, the Indo-American SFRK (Submarine Rescue Flyaway Kit) of a decade ago provides for an American DSRV to be flown to India for rescue operations. Since such an airlift and subsequent deployment could take an unacceptable five to six days, it’s high time India revived its 33-year-old request for two viable submarine rescue systems that has been pending with the government. In submarine rescue, time is critical and involves locating the distressed submarine, deployment of DSRV and rescue of crew in batches of about 10 to 20, depending on the size and capability of the DSRV. The rescue ship also needs to have medical facilities. Another major problem facing the Indian Navy is its ageing conventional submarine fleet. SSBNs (Arihant type) have only a strategic nuclear deterrence (second strike) role, whilst actual warfighting is done by SSNs and conventional submarines. Only one Kilo-class, INS Sindhusashtra, is 13 years old. The other eight are between 23 to 27 years old and due for replacement, given the 25-year lifespan of submarines. The four German SSK submarines are in a similar state of ageing. The much-delayed Phase 1 of the government-approved 30-year submarine building plan, which was approved in 1999, is way behind schedule. It should have been completed by now, but six Scorpene submarines under construction at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai will enter service between 2016 and 2022. The second and third phases of this indigenous submarine construction plan, which envisages another 6+12 indigenous conventional submarines between 2010 and 2030, are likely to get delayed indefinitely. The Indian government, despite being in election mode and despite an economy in shambles, needs to take some interim measures to plug the huge gaps in submarine combat capability. One interim option is to induct two new Kilo-class submarines from Russia. Unlike France and Germany which take six years, the Russians build the Kilo subs in 27 months — the Kilo, though an old design, would meet our immediate requirements as it is now equipped with modern sensors and missiles. The other option is to induct two Russian SSNs (like the INS Chakra which joined in 2012) by 2018.

The writer retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam