SP's Naval Forces Oct-Nov 2010

october-November l 2010

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PaGe 4

lead story

Delay No More

Business at With the second refit and modernisation of the existing submarine fleet around the corner, the naval as well as the non-uniformed decision-makers need to orchestrate their act and deliver to this nation a wellconceived and timely-implemented submarine modernisation programme

Sea

The two capabilities that can transform the way submarines do trade at sea are revolutionary developments in AIP systems and torpedo technologies PhotograPh: hDW

n COMMODORE (RETD) C.P. SRIVASTAVA

A

ssume A scenArIo whereIn the so called tech whiz kids ask the submarine drivers, “what do you want us to develop which will transform the way submarines do business at sea?” can this aspect then drive the development trends without going overboard in the wish list and yet inject sufficient stretch to keep the technology pundits busy and cajole them to deliver beyond the routine? The aim of this article is to challenge the current frontiers of submarine technologies and demand submarine capabilities which will transform submarine warfare as currently known. In this article, only two facets of submarine development are being discussed in detail-propulsion and payload.

The other aspects are mentioned in passing.

Commodore (Retd) C.P. Srivastava

PaGe 6

No Go Countering of a2/ad is not merely a seadenial threat to be tackled by the Us Navy.

It is to be seen as an area denial threat which has to be defeated for successful power projection in any area of the Us interest.

Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand

PaGe 9

Submarine Propulsion The deployment envelope of conventional submarines has always been governed by the capability of its propulsion system, as it dictates speed and underwater endurance. Therefore, unlike most current air independent propulsion (AIP) systems which generally deliver in the ‘4 knots-14 days’ format, the next generation AIP systems needs to deliver speeds in the region of 14-16 knots and endurances of 2-3 weeks. For this, AIP systems need to move from the current ‘add on’ status to the ‘primary mode of propulsion’. The air dependent diesel engine-storage batteries combine can then be relegated to ‘a bring back home’ propulsion system. For this, it is imperative that the submarine be designed around such a high performance AIP system rather than the current philosophy of treating AIP as a mere add on to an existing design. The power train would be complete with a Permasyn motor and glass reinforced plastic shrouded propeller. such an AIP system will provide the submarine the ability to integrate with the fleet, be deployed quicker, and keep much larger areas under surveillance. so let us revisit the submarine propulsion and demand from emerging AIP technologies, submerged speeds and endurances of such magnitudes that revolutionise submarine deployment and not merely make existing submarines less indiscreet.

Strengthening Naval Ties India may sign CIsMoa to enable import of equipment. It appears that long-term Indo-Us strategic partnership will develop gradually, depending on mutual trust and convergence of concerns Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand

PaGe 12

Ransom on the High Seas From 22 in 2006 to 217 in 2009, the number of incidents of attacks on ships by somali pirates has doubled with each passing year. the scourge of piracy can only be addressed collaborative efforts by the shipping industry, security agencies and the international maritime organisations.

Commander Shishir Upadhyaya

PLUS INS Kalpeni Commissioned First TecKnow News in Brief

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Howaldts-werke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) have a long experience in the construction of submarines

Submarine Payloads The aim of submarines is to detonate ord-

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PhotograPhS: Ng, US Navy, DCNS, hDW

lead story

Submarines Manufactured Globally marine companies in the us, europe and the russian Federation are leading manufacturers of submarines in the world n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

ered submarines are the Barracuda attack submarines and the latest ballistic-missile submarine Le Terrible. conventional submarines are the scorpene class, which have been supplied to chilean, malaysian and Indian navies. The Andrasta class of submarines are specifically optimised to operate in coastal waters which is considered the future area of operations. It can also operate effectively in deep waters.

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uilding a submarine is a highly specialised task involving complex technology. marine companies in the us, europe and the russian Federation are leading manufacturers of submarines in the world.

United States l

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding: For more than a century, northrop Grumman shipbuilding (nGsB) has been designing, building, overhauling and repairing a wide variety of ships for the us navy, the us coast Guard and world navies. newport news is constructing the nation’s latest attack submarines-the Virginia class, as part of a team with General Dynamics electric Boat and has already delivered the first five boats.

and support of complex surface combatants.

Electric Boat is more than 100 years old and has established standards of excellence in the design, construction and life cycle support of submarines for the us navy. electric Boat has delivered the lead ship of the Virginia class, uss Virginia (ssn774), and the final ship of the seawolf class, uss Jimmy carter (ssn23), to the us navy in 2004.

Europe France

General Dynamics

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It was formed in 1952 with the combination of electric Boat company and other companies. In the early 1990s, it sold of all its divisions except electric Boat and Land systems. subsequently, it has been growing by acquiring new businesses and has formed four business groups of which marine systems is one. The marine business includes: l National Steel and Ship Building Company (NASSCO) has been designing and building ships since 1959. l American Overseas Marine (AMSEA) is the ship operating segment of General Dynamics marine systems. l Bath Iron Works is a full service shipyard specialising in the design, building

nance in the vicinity of enemy assets at sea and ashore. The ordnance could be in any form, from a sea mine or an underwater saboteur with a range of influence of a few hundreds of yards to torpedoes or missiles.

As a submarine commander all these payloads are relevant, but the growth potential of torpedoes is the most significant followed by the underwater launched missiles.

Anti-Ship Missiles: submarine launched anti-ship missiles were developed primarily to cater to the sensor-torpedo range mismatch. however, as the range and endurance of torpedoes increased, wire-guided torpedoes once again became the weapon of choice of submarine commanders. The lethality and stealth of the torpedo always outweighed the advantages of an anti-ship torpedo. It may therefore be prudent to steer torpedo development to a threshold which makes it the weapon of choice for all seaborne targets. once this is assured, the anti-ship missile may be considered for deletion from the submarines payload.

Land-Attack Missiles: submarine launched land-attack missiles have the potential to become weapons of deterrence, if they are accurate and capable of precision strike with reasonable target discrimination. In fact, it may be possible to pre-programme them for specific targets of strategic significance. some of our existing missile inventory has the potential to being

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Germany ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems: German naval shipbuilding industry comprises numerous yards. however, only howaldtswerke-Deutsche werft (hDw) and Thyssennordseewerke (Tnsw) have experience in the construction of submarines. In late 2004, hDw was acquired by ThyssenKrupp, forming the new group ThyssenKrupp marine systems. ThyssenKrupp marine systems includes hDw, sweden’s Kockums and hellenic shipyards in Greece. German naval shipyards have exported submarines to countries all over the world. ThyssenKrupp offers three types of submarines: l Type 209 is diesel-electric patrol submarines. l Type 212A is hybrid diesel-electric/AIP submarines, with an AIP system based on fuel cell technology. l Type 214 is hybrid diesel-electric/AIP for long-range submarines.

Italy DCNS: France has a long history of shipbuilding since the first naval dockyard came up in 1631. In 2008, Le Terrible is the latest in the line of nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines. Dcns is one of the leading groups which has more than 350 years of history and as early as 1926, it already had all the facilities now owned by the Group. In 2007, Dcn and Thales joined forces within the convergence project and it became Dcns which now acts as prime contractor for naval shipbuilding and support. It has great expertise in building conventional and nuclear powered submarines. The examples of nuclear-pow-

encapsulated for underwater launch from the standard 533mm torpedo tubes. This is an area of development which can change the way submarines are currently deployed and tasked.

Wire Guided Heavy Weight Torpedoes: Developments in the arena of wire guided torpedoes have not only been path breaking but also have significant latent potential, which is yet to be exploited. It is well within the realms of emerging technology and not outrageous to expect wire-guided torpedoes with combat ranges of 100 km and endurance in the region of two hours. coupled with very advanced onboard signal processing and acoustic tell back, these would have the potential to be deployed either as ‘underwater drones’ with a warhead or as extended acoustic surveillance vehicles transferring real time data to the submarine. replacing the warhead with enhanced fuel or payload will make them truly formidable assets onboard submarines. one could then consider deploying them for extended durations, of the order of a couple of days, in standby, loiter or conserve modes, in areas of tactical significance, fairly remote and distant from the operating area of the ‘mother submarine’. The submarine would have constant control on the operation of its onboard sensor suite and its mobility through the guidance wire.

Light Weight Torpedoes, Rocket Torpe-

Fincantieri Navali Italiani: It was founded in December 1959 and is today one of the largest groups in the world in the design and construction of merchant and naval vessels. It is also the reference builder for providing a wide range of ship including surface vessels (frigates, corvettes, patrol vessels, etc) and submarines. Fincantieri is also partner to some of the main companies in the defence sector for submarine programmes. The cooperation between Fincantieri naval Vessel Business unit and russian Partner state-owned enterprise central Design Bureau for marine engineering rubin (under the aegis of russian Federal state unitary enterprise rosoboronoexport),

does and Anti-Submarine Rocket: Longrange wire-guided torpedoes could be augmented by light weight torpedoes, 200 knots high speed rocket torpedoes (VA-111 shkval) or submarine fired anti-submarine rockets (rPK-7 Vetar). This combination of heavy weight, lightweight and rocket torpedoes will provide the submarine a spectrum of ordnance against all targets. The issue of carrying sufficient reloads can be resolved by a spacious storage compartment with an automated quick reloading system.

Mine Saddle and Swimmer Delivery Vehicles: The ability to carry mines and swimmer delivery vehicles is a capability all submarines of the future must possess.

These payloads must ideally be carried externally and not replace or impinge on the regular payload carrying capability. Further, the submarine must have the ability to continue on its primary mission once these tasks are accomplished. such a capability is available even currently and may require only certain refinement.

Miscellaneous Issues Combat Systems, Sensors, Communication and Navigation Suite: Developments in the spheres of integrated combat systems, acoustic and non-acoustic sensors, communications suite and navigation complex have more or less reached a plateau and no ‘game changing advantage’ is likely to accrue by

resulted in the s1000 submarine. The u212 submarine is the result of an agreement signed on April 1996 between German and Italian moD. Two submarines i.e. Todaro and scire have already been realised for the Italian programme.

Spain Navantia: navantia’s activities include naval construction, propulsion and energy, ship repairs, military and civil platform control systems as well as weapons. It is also involved in submarines and has built four s80 submarines for the spanish navy. navantia is also involved in the engineering/technology transfer of scorpene submarines for India.

Russian Federation russia has had a record of designing and building the largest number of conventional and nuclear powered submarines. It is estimated that as of January 1, 1989, the soviet navy held 317 submarines, including 207 ssns, apart from specialised submarines. In case of sub surface platforms, the central Design Bureau for marine engineering (ruBIn) located at st Petersburg is the nodal agency which specialises in submarines and other underwater technologies. shipbuilding (GrTsAs) in severodvinsk is made up of two shipyards-the northern machine-Building enterprise and the Zvezdochka state machine-Building enterprise. Indian submarines of russian origin have been undergoing midlife upgrade at Zvezdochka. severnoye mashinostroitelnoye Predpriyatiye (severnoye machine- Building enterprise) is another major shipyard both in russia and europe.

vigorously perusing development efforts in these spheres. It may therefore be prudent to acquire the contemporary and thereafter upgrade these during the modernisation programmes of the submarines.

Silencing Techniques: submarines of the same vintage have reasonably similar noise characteristics and silencing techniques. The guiding principle should be to ensure that only those machinery and equipment are fitted onboard which meet very stringent specifications related to their radiated noise and vibration levels. This approach is far better than permitting their fitment on board and then investing in containing the generated noise levels.

Automation: Another sphere which merits development is automation. It may be prudent to reduce the crew to about 20, which is dictated by the minimum damage control and fire fighting requirements rather than watch keeping alone.

Revolutionary Developments As practicing submariners, it may be prudent to clearly differentiate between development efforts and technology trends which have incremental payoffs and others that may have transformational payoffs.

Two capabilities that can in fact change the way submarines do business at sea are revolutionary developments in AIP systems and torpedo technologies.

Reporting for Duty

I n

c o o p e r a t i o n

w i t h

The Class 214 submarine. Powered by Fuel Cells.

For extended submerged operations.

Robust and reliable. Stealthy.

Deep diving capabilities. State-of-the-Art. Multi-mission/ISR roles.

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH Werftstr. 112 - 114 24143 Kiel 路 Germany Tel.: +49 - 431 - 700 - 0 Fax: +49 - 431 - 700 - 2312 www.hdw.de 路 email: info@hdw.de

E D I T O R I A L

 M o d e r N I s at I o N

The season of happenings in India has begun with a promise of cool weather, festivals, business delegations and defence seminars. The first seminar on the horizon is on naval armament to be held from November 24 to 25.There has been a lot of focus on China’s growing naval power which is a concern for India. The US is equally concerned, as its influence is being challenged in the Pacific. Simultaneously, Iran is challenging the US in the Persian Gulf. The joint orchestration of anti-access/ area-denial (A2/AD) strategy to counter the US by China and Iran is not merely an attempt at sea denial but denial of crucial areas to it. The US Navy has thus come up with an Air Sea Battle strategy, jointly with the US Air

Delay No

Force to counter A2/AD. Read through the lead article to know more about the Air Sea Battle strategy. India is planning to acquire additional conventional submarines to make up for its dwindling force levels as well as fighting obsolescence. Accordingly, there are three articles which include analyses of India’s submarine arm, trends in submarine design and a brief survey of the global submarine industry. In view of the ongoing strategic dialogue with the US and the importance of President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to India in November, an insight into the Indo-US defence cooperation has been included. Then there is an article on maritime piracy, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal

Verma’s visit to the US, report of Indian Navy’s joint exercises with Brazil and South Africa, and the usual News Digest.

Wish all readers an enjoyable reading.

Happy Dussehra and a prosperous Diwali.

Jayant BaranwaL Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

More

with the second refit and modernisation of the existing submarine fleet around the corner, the naval as well as the non-uniformed decision-makers need to orchestrate their act and deliver to this nation a well-conceived and timely-implemented submarine modernisation programme Crisis of Ideas and Decision-Making –When an organisation does not know what it wants to do.

Crisis of Action and Capability –When an organisation is unable to do what it wants to do. n COMMODORE (RETD) C.P. SRIVASTAVA

s

uBmArInes TAKe A DecADe to be designed and manufactured, have an operating life span of three to four decades and require at least two mid-life upgrades to remain operationally relevant. It is therefore imperative that modernisation of submarines are conceived with an unambiguous understanding of what is required and to be executed on time. This becomes all the more relevant when viewed in the backdrop of the prevalent decision-making mindset and acquisition process. considering the highly restricted indigenous submarine building capability and commensurate infrastructure, our modernisation processes would have to be made enterprising along with proficient decision-making. Greater emphasis should be placed on cooperative mechanism, joint ventures, transfer of technology arrangements, etc, in consonance with emerging trends in shipbuilding practices to drastically reduce the prevailing gestation periods of modernisation. surprisingly, the Indian submarine arm has delivered both—a relatively successful modernisation project as well as the shishumar class refit-cum-modernisation programme and the eKm modernisation programme. some consider the later a regression in operational capability and platform availability. The aim of this article is not only to discuss the material aspects of the modernisation projects, but to evaluate in hindsight the approach followed and its operational outcome. These insights should drive the forthcoming second refit-cummodernisation of the submarine fleet.

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Shishumar Class Modernisation The schedule and scope for the ‘major refit and modernisation package’ for the shishumar class was conceived with the two broad realities and one firm operational resolve.

The first reality being that since mazagon Docks Limited (mDL) had constructed these boats; they would be able to carry out the refit and modernisation. however, the original equipment manufacturer (oem) of the new/upgraded equipment would provide necessary inputs which would help the naval

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Design team and mDL undertake the structural changes, where required. The second reality was all that was required as part of the modernisation package, was available in the open market. It was only a question of identifying and thereafter procuring it at a realistic price and within an appropriate time frame. These realities were rather straightforward and well understood. however, the firm operational resolve was the tough one and finally turned out to be the differentiator.

The shishumar class submarines were into their fourth/fifth operations cycle and their combat potential was established.

Therefore, even the remotest risk of diluting the platform’s operational capability was not acceptable to the operational directorates.

Thus, a crucial and overriding decision was taken that only sea proven systems/equipment will replace the existing ones. This translated into two assurances-firstly, the operational capabilities and performance of the upgraded/modified submarines was predictable and enhancement of combat effectiveness was assured, secondly, the submarine refit schedule was insulated from the uncertainties and delays in the development and availability of the new system/ equipment.

This operationally significant resolve was challenged repeatedly by various professional directorates, Defence research and Development organisation (DrDo) labs and defence public sector undertakings (Psus) by way of offering a number of ‘nearly ready’ or ‘promise to make it ready’ category of indigenous/indigenously assembled systems.

The cliché that ‘this decision does not encourage indigenous development’ was used time and again. however, this stigma was countered by the assurance that the moment a system is ready, a submarine platform would be provided for trials. Its acceptance as a replacement was, however, subject to the system meeting the design/performance criteria promised by the developing/manufacturing agency. once the requirement for the replacement system/equipment to be sea proven was accepted, the process of short listing, ordering and receiving the system at refitting yard was a matter of procedure. The

subsequent delays in starting and completing the refit and modification in time were due to inordinate delays in the procurement of hardware, coupled with the tardy practices and non-adherence to the principles of project management at the yard.

The outcome of this has been the fact that the modernisation programme of the shishumar class submarines has been a success story and especially in enhancing the combat effectiveness of the platform. The fact that the required scale and speed of modernising these submarines have not been achieved is a reflection of the existing ‘crisis of action and capability’ in the current procurement and refitting process rather than a ‘crisis of ideas and decision-making’.

Modernisation of Sindhughosh Class Submarines The approach, challenges, scope and outcome of the modernisation programme of the sindhughosh class submarines were entirely different, despite the fact that it was conceived nearly at the same time and under the same leadership/decision-makers.

Ground realities: The on ground realities that differentiated the two modernisation approaches were stark. Firstly, the submarines were acquired from russia and like most such acquisitions, documentation was rudimentary and transfer of technology nonexistent. secondly, none of the Indian shipyards had the expertise or infrastructure to undertake major refits and modernisation.

Finally, there were very serious hygiene and housekeeping issues, coupled with certain technical and operational limitations, which severely restricted the deployability and combat exploitation of the platform in our environment. All these merited immediate mitigation. enhancing combat effectiveness through improved weapons and sensors was

This time around, neither a crisis of ideas and decisionmaking, nor a crisis of action and capability is acceptable

unfortunately second in the list of priorities. under the circumstances, the most logical decision was taken and the initial submarines were sent to the russian yard and were refitted and modernised with a very limited indigenous package. however, the fault lines and decision cross roads, appeared when the logical decision to build indigenous refit capability was taken.

Problems of simultaneous induction of multiple uncertainties: It is a sound and proven strategic management concept not to introduce multiple variables into a situation or system simultaneously. unfortunately, this was precisely done while conceiving and scheduling the refits and modernisation of the second lot of sindhughosh class submarines.

Firstly, the guiding principle of replacing any existing system only with a sea proven system, as practised in shishumar modernisation, was sacrificed at the altar of promoting indigenisation. The primary acoustic sensor of the submarine was replaced with a non-proven system simultaneously in two or three platforms. unlike a ship in which the sonar is one of many sensors, non-operational sonar in a submarine is tied alongside. Thus, design deficiencies and delays in operationalising the sonar on board rendered the two otherwise operational submarines undeployable. secondly, the first indigenous refit-cummodernisation was undertaken in one of the naval dockyards, primarily geared for repairs and not major refits. Thereafter, the second refit cum modernisation was outsourced to a public sector shipyard, which initiates the process of acquiring the expertise of refitting submarines from an overseas yard only after the submarine landed in its premises. It would not be unrealistic to assume that the submarine will be available to the Indian navy only after a decade.

Moving Forward The submarine fleet will soon be due for its second modernisation. with new inductions nowhere in sight, it would not only be essential to upgrade the combat effectiveness of these frontline assets but also ensure that it is done within a realistic time frame. repeating mistakes of the past would be

M o d e r N I s at I o N  PhotograPh: SP guide Pubns

The Scorpene submarine developed by DCNS incorporates the very latest naval technology. At the heart of the submarine is the SUBTICS integrated combat system, a highly computerised central management system, which oversees all of the submarine’s sensors and its seapons. Scorpene will enhance Indian Navy’s potential

criminal. so the approach should be to firstly identify the capabilities which these submarines can absorb and thereafter articulate the strategy to implement the refitcum-modernisation programme.

Upgrading combat effectiveness: Identifying appropriate upgrades is a function best done by the current users. however, it has to be forward integrated with what is planned for the newer submarines being inducted and backward integrated with what is available in our existing inventory. It also needs to be driven by the axiom ‘let best not be the enemy of good’. some contemporary trends which may be considered for the appropriate class of submarine are as follows: l Payload upgradation in the form of tube launched missiles, contemporary universal torpedo with extended range/speed, wire guidance and no depth limitation, external mine carrying capability and swimmer delivery vehicle.

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non-acoustic sensors in the form of optronic periscopes, esm including comInT capability, etc.

Acoustic sensors such as PTAs in the form of clip on or thin line towed array, etc. communication suite covering the entire spectrum from satellite to VLF, which is compatible with other platforms and supports net-centricity Integrated weapon control and sensor display. noise reducing concepts such as permasyn motor, glass reinforced plasticshrouded propellers, polymer injection technique, etc. emergency and safety systems such as emergency blowing system (akin to hydrazine), more capable and safer escape suite, nATo compliant uwT, etc. navigation upgradation in the form of electronic chart display and information

Our modernisation processes will have to be made enterprising along with proficient decision-making

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system, doppler log, ring laser gyros and accurate Ins, etc.

Strategies to implement refit-cummodernisation programme: If modernisation is to proceed as per a realistic time frame, there needs to be a predefined implementation strategy in place. Based on our not so good past record and the lessons learnt, some of the critical aspects have been enumerated below: l Keeping in mind the excessively long lead time, initiate the process of identifying,

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finalising and procuring the necessary equipment immediately. The existing process cannot be wished away. Therefore, probably starting yesterday would have been more appropriate. ruthlessly follow the principle of not permitting any equipment, indigenous or otherwise, on board, unless it is sea proven. off load refits only to yards with proven track record of undertaking such work.

Accept the fact that sindhughosh class being a russian design, with no transfer of technology, may have to be refitted in their yards, as in the past. however, do not forget to factor this while short listing and acquiring the next generation submarines.

Put in place a programme management team. The team members should be programme/project managers by qualification and certification and not by virtue of their assignment.

Do not forget the core purpose of the exercise-upgrading the combat effectiveness of the submarine fleet in a time bound manner. All other requirements such as developing indigenous industry, enhancing indigenous content and encouraging research and development, etc, are subservient and cannot be at the cost of the primary purpose.

What needs to be done? no nation can afford a gap of 30 years in the induction of submarines, the weapon platforms which have an optimum operation life span of the same period. The situation cannot be further compounded by not keeping the available assets combat worthy. The only way to do so is to conceive and execute refits and modernisation of submarines in a time bound manner. reflecting on the past provides us with a clear understanding, albeit in hindsight of what was correct the first time, what may or may not work again, and what was downright disastrous. with the second refit and modernisation of the existing submarine fleet around the corner, the naval as well as the non-uniformed decision-makers need to orchestrate their act and deliver to this nation a well-conceived and timely-implemented submarine modernisation programme. This time around, neither a crisis of ideas and decision-making, nor a crisis of action and capability is acceptable.

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PhotograPh: Information Dissemination

 s t r at e G y China’s Kilo class and Song class submarines are reported to be equipped with Klub ASCM, also known as the SS-N-27B Sizzler which is specifically designed to penetrate US Aegis ballistic missile defence system

Air and Anti-ship missiles

countering of A2/AD is not merely a sea-denial threat to be tackled by the us navy.

It is to be seen as an area denial threat which has to be defeated for successful power projection in any area of the us interest.

www.spsnavalforces.net

T

he us hAs Been a global power for more than half a century and has secure access to resources, commerce and trade. It has tried to defend and restore democratic rule but has been supporting authoritative regimes in self-interest. The us interventions, twice in Iraq and current operations in Afghanistan, are examples of projection of power. 9/11 has further given an impetus for projection of power to safeguard the us homeland and economic interests. It also extends the umbrella of power projection to its allies and partners who cooperate with it. The most important ingredient of acquiring global power is the ability to project and maintain military power to substantially influence the areas of interest.

During the cold war period, ussr challenged the us’ global status. But us could still have its way in Korea, Persian Gulf and other sub-regions. After the collapse of ussr, the us took the mantle of being the sole superpower. however, this status is now being challenged by china in the western Pacific region and Iran in the Persian Gulf.

Although china is way ahead of Iran both militarily and economically, both are authoritarian regimes and want to curtail us’ reach in their own way. currently, china and Iran are trying to create ‘no-go’ zones in their maritime areas. Thus, the us has no choice but to find ways and means to maintain access to these zones. The anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy is not merely a sea denial scenario but denial of crucial areas to the us. A2/AD strategy includes naval power coupled with air power integrated with air defences to maintain air parity or superiority over its territory and forces. The us navy naturally plays a major role in maritime affairs and it has come out with the concept of Air sea Battle along with the usAF to examine the possibility of maintaining the us power projection capability despite the threat from china and Iran. In

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a way it is analogous to the Air Land battle concept against the soviet union during the cold war period. however, during this period, the us was able to operate its carrier-borne force successfully. This could be achieved due to its strong submarine force and long-range bombers although the cost must have been prohibitive. After the collapse of the soviet union, the us had a free run as seen from the examples of the us navy operations in the two Gulf wars, Balkans conflict of 1999 and off the Pakistan coast after 9/11.

China and Western Pacific Region The Pacific ocean is the largest of the earth’s oceanic divisions and extends from the Arctic in the north to the southern ocean in the south. It is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east. It covers about 46 per cent of the earth’s water surface and about 30 per cent of its total surface area. Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during world war II. however, by the end of the war, Japan was defeated and the us Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. many important ports are located on the Pacific like shenzhen and shanghai (china); Los Angeles and san Francisco (us); sydney (Australia); Tokyo (Japan); Vancouver (canada), etc. china’s major area of concern is Taiwan, which is in the Pacific ocean and so are us’ closest allies Japan, south Korea and the Philippines.

China’s Threat The chinese threat manifested through the1996 Taiwan strait crisis due to a series of missile tests conducted by the People’s republic of china is in the coastal areas around Taiwan and the Taiwan strait. The intention was to send a strong signal to the Taiwan Government to adhere to the onechina policy. The us responded strongly by sending uss nimitz into the Taiwan strait in December 1995 which was a clear signal by the us that it was willing to defend Taiwan with military action. since the 1996

Anti-Satellite and Cyber Weapons china is determined to acquire anti-satellite (AsAT) and cyber weapons. on January 11, 2007, after three failed attempts, PLA rocket forces destroyed an inoperative chinese weather satellite, although the us intelligent estimates were that this capability would be acquired only by 2010. china’s progress in this exclusive technology is really impressive. china has also developed ground-based AsAT laser systems that have reportedly been employed to “dazzle” the us military satellites as the us uses them extensively for Isr, navigation, command and control, and communications for power projection. In Afghanistan, all Predator strikes are satellite based and so are all GPs based navigation systems and thus can be severely interfered with. chinese cyber warfare capabilities are highly classified and much is not known except that it is formidable. India has been at the receiving end of chinese hackers which made India’s Defence minister to direct the three chiefs to develop counter cyber warfare capabilities.

No Go

n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

ond Island chain. china is also using the conventional method of using maritime patrol aircraft and submarines to shadow naval forces in international waters.

Taiwan crisis, the chinese have focused on developing A2/AD capabilities to destroy us naval fleet or any hostile navy within the second island chain which extends from the Japanese island of honshu, through the marianas and down to the western tip of new Guinea. china has acquired from russia anti-carrier weapons technology which would disable or destroy the us carriers if they came close enough for their aircraft to be within range. In case they operate from a distance to avoid chinese attacks then the effectiveness of their air power will be impaired. This implies acquiring the state-ofthe-art submarines, anti-ship cruise missiles (Ascm) and strike aircraft. china’s missile development especially in the field of anti-ship ballistic missile (AsBm) and surface-to-surface ballistic missile is a cause of concern to the us and its allies. The problem is further compounded due to the Intermediate range nuclear Forces (InF) Treaty of 1987 which prohibits its signatories i.e. the us and russia from producing or deploying ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km. As china is not a party to this treaty, it has no such restriction and is exploiting this loophole to its advantage. The us allies in the region do not have such a capability. china’s problem of developing these missiles are not simple as it needs a superior Isr system to detect and target us ships. For this, china has developed and deployed over-the-horizon backscatter (oTh-B) radars, land-based over-the-horizon surface wave (oTh-sw) radars, electro-optical satellites and radar satellites. It is reported that china is working on many types of satellites for imagery, electronic and signal intelligence, navigation, communications, and meteor. some examples are Yaogan 1 to 5, the haiyang1B, and the cBers-2 and -2B. It has also acquired/acquiring satellites capable of visible, infrared, multi-spectral, and synthetic aperture radar imaging. The combination of space and terrestrial based systems will make it increasingly risky for aircraft carriers to operate within the sec-

china has a large variety of Dongfeng series of missiles which can be land, sea and air launched and can be equipped with nuclear warheads. DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile is one example and its improvements continue. The air-based maritime platform is the h-6K naval aircraft which can carry about six Ascms. It can carry the russian Kh-31A mod 2, Acsm which has a speed of mach 2+, is a sea-skimming active radar missile and has a range just over 50 nm (about 90 km). The h-6K can also be armed with the Kh-31Pm/PmK missile, a 100 nm (about180 km) range anti-radiation missile with a multi-band passive seeker designed specifically to attack the us radar systems like the us navy’s sPY-1 radar, the e-2 hawkeye carrier Aew radar, the us Air Force’s AwAcs, and the Army’s Patriot fire control radar. Thus the h-6K is just tailor made for the second Island chain. supporting the h-6Ks in the maritime strike role are land-based strike fighters, like the russianbuilt su-30mKK2. Thus the combination of fighter and bomber attacks would be lethal for us aircraft carriers.

Submarines china’s submarine force is a key component of the PLAn’s A2/AD force as they believe that stealth warships and modern submarines represent the future sea battle platforms. The earlier submarines held by china were diesel-electric with limited capability. At best they could challenge the us carriers within the second Island chain. however, china is striving hard to improve their submarine based anti-surface warfare in order to react quickly to any carrier strike Group operating in the western Pacific region. They have acquired many Kilo class submarines from russia which are equipped with advance wake-homing and wire-guided torpedoes which are very lethal for surface ships. Later version of Kilo class and song class submarines are reported to be equipped with Klub Ascm, also known as the ss-n-27B sizzler which is specifically designed to penetrate us Aegis ballistic missile defence system. The Yuan class ssG, which may be the first chinese diesel-electric submarine equipped with an auxiliary air-independent propulsion plant. western analysts suggest that china has more than 30 advanced submarines and dozens of older submarines, and the strength is still growing.

Likely Chinese strategy china’s strategy would be to deny us the

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 s t r at e G y use of its bases like Kadena (okinawa), as early as possible. This could be achieved by a combined attack of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and strike aircraft on aircraft on the ground, fuel and munitions dumps, etc. simultaneously, chinese AsBms and Ascms would attack us surface combatants located in the south Pacific. chinese Air Defence aircraft and sAm batteries would provide air superiority over its area of interest.

The chinese aim appears to be to develop such an A2/AD capability which would raise the us cost of power-projection to prohibitive levels, thereby preventing it to interfere. china then becomes the sole power in its area of influence.

Iran and Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf is an extension of the Indian ocean, located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Persian Gulf is 600 miles (960 km) long and between 40 miles (64 km) and 210 miles (336 km) wide. The strait of hormuz is a bottleneck, which is only 33 miles (54 km) at its narrowest point.

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world’s largest single source of crude oil and related industries. Al-safaniya, the world’s largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf. Large gas finds have also been made with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. The Persian Gulf was a focus of the 1980-88 IraqIran war and again during Persian Gulf war of 1991 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. A major portion of the world’s oil transits through the strait of hormuz to the open seas. Iran’s coastline runs nearly the entire length of the Gulf’s northern edge and has over 10 large and 60 small ports and harbours. The area is also dotted with many fishing villages which can offer excellent places for hiding small ships.

Iran’s A2/AD Strategy The relations between the us and Iran have been historically strained since the downfall of the shah and there seems no hope in the near future for its improvement. The situation also gets more complicated as

Iran is predominantly shia while most of the Arab states are sunni. It is also the original star of the Axis of evil along with north Korea and Iraq. President obama’s cosmetic gestures to improve the relations have not borne any fruit and the recent threats of sanctions have also not helped. meanwhile, Iran is single-minded in its pursuit of acquiring A2/AD and nuclear ballistic missile capability at any cost.

The Iranian navy has a very strong presence in the Persian Gulf with its naval bases strung all along the coast including a large naval air station and operational headquarters at Bandar Abbas. The Iranian navy is reinforced by the Islamic revolutionary Guard corps navy (IrGcn) which has constructed outposts on islands close to the strait. The IrGc has also built an elaborate network of tunnels and underground missile bunkers on these islands.

Iran continues striving to improve its A2/AD capability with the support of china, north Korea and russia. This capability includes ballistic and cruise missiles, mobile Ascms, both ship as well as land based, submarines, high-speed boats which can operate along the coast and advanced anti-ship mines. The scenario in the immediate future does not seem very threatening for the us as Iran has a long way to go before it can be taken seriously. But seeing Iran’s doggedness in the pursuit of improving its A2/AD capability to target shipping in the Persian Gulf and endanger oil and natural production in the region, immediate prophylactic action by all the affected countries led by the us is required.

Iran cannot be compared to china but it has a geographical advantage over china which will allow it to achieve its aim of A2/AD with lesser resources. whereas china has to handle a much larger area up to the second Island chain which may be over a 1,000 miles (1,600 km), Iran has to handle much lesser area of the Persian Gulf which is just 600 by 210 miles (960 by 335 km) at its maximum dimension. The strait of hormuz also is a formidable bottleneck. Iran’s strategy is to use multiple resources from

land, sea and air. The use of anti-ship mines will slow down and disrupt movement of ships with little room to manoeuver thus making them easy targets for torpedoes, Ascms, small craft on suicide attacks with ballistic missiles threatening the forward us bases. with the further development of wmD

by Iran, there is likelihood of these being dove-tailed into their military planning.

Iran’s A2/AD strategy could be on the following lines:

Use of small craft and mines Iranian navy and IrGsn have high mine-laying capability and more are being acquired.

Iran also plans to augment its limited number of specialised mine vessels with small craft, submarines, helicopters and even commercial vessels if required. The only way is to attack Iran’s mine laying resources before they become effective. Iran has a small surface fleet and it will find it impossible to operate against us navy’s formidable power. Thus its only hope for survival is to attack first. some improvisation has been carried out by embarking small craft with missiles makes them a formidable weapon platforms especially in the small area of the Persian Gulf. There are reports that IrGcn operates Iran’s entire fleet of missile craft which include chinese-built Thondor (hudong)-class fast attack craft equipped with I-band search and navigation radars, and armed with the c-801 and c802 anti-ship cruise missiles. supporting these are small patrol boats equipped with heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank-guided weapons and manportable sAms or just small arms. These small boats are difficult to detect except in very calm waters. The possibility of suicide attacks also cannot be ruled out.

ASCM Iran’s Ascm inventory includes a mix of old western and russian missiles, and missiles of chinese origin like the silkworm series.

It is reported that Bandar Abbas is fortified by hundreds of Ascms. Another chinese example is the sardine and its upgrade the

saccade (cs-802). The sardine is the equivalent of French exocet. During the Israeli attack on Lebanon, hezbollah used a version of saccade, probably with Iranian help to attack the Israeli sa’ar 5-class hanit. The noor (light) is Iran’s indigenously produced improved version of the c-802. These missiles are capable of being launched from a variety of platforms including aircraft and trucks. when mounted on trucks, they can easily be used from the coast to launch anti-shipping attacks. The naval platforms are either of chinese or French origin. Iran has an air-launched version of the c-801, installed on up to six old us-built F-4e aircraft. In the recent war games, Iran fired noor and another Ascm called nasr (victory). It was also reported that Iran also fired an unnamed missile which has a range of 300 km. These missiles were fired

by IrGcn. Iran continues to improve its Ascm weaponry.

Submarines Iran has also tried to improve its submarine capability and it has added three soviet era kilo submarines (Type 877 eKm) from russia. each submarine can operate up to six weeks and carries 18 torpedoes/24 mines.

These submarines are likely to be located outside the Persian Gulf, and once in the open sea, they can be used optimally for their capability. These submarines can easily threaten any ship leaving the Persian Gulf or provide a perimeter A2/AD perimeter defence as Iran did in 1987 by laying mines in the Gulf of oman. These submarines are supported by Yono-class midget and nahang-class coastal submarines. They are likely to be used in the shallow waters in the strait of hormuz.

It is clear that Iran is striving hard to improve its military power and A2/AD capability to become the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and if not in the middle east.

Armed with such a capability, Iran then can successfully coerce its neighbours and force concessions from major powers as it could easily threaten global economy’s access to energy.

Sonar Technologies by DRDO he Naval cluster of Laboratories of DRDO consisting of Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) & Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) are primarily dedicated to R&D activities in the field of Naval technologies especially, underwater technologies. They have a very strong relationship with Indian Navy and through constant interaction at all levels, provide continuous scientific and technological support ranging from routine analysis/advanced failure analysis of materials to development of complex systems such as underwater SONAR Systems and underwater weapons.

The indigenous capability in designing sensors for underwater surveillance being a strategic requirement for Indian Navy, DRDO had commenced development of SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) systems almost four decades ago at NPOL. As a result of the meticulous development work ranging from transducer technologies, digital signal processing to oceanographic models, this complex technology has not only been made available in India but also several Sonar systems developed for surface ship and underwater vessels have been inducted

by Indian Navy in their platforms.

After the successful development of APSOH Sonar systems at NPOL, the lab has developed HUMSA & HUMSA (NG) Sonars that have been productionised and fitted on naval ships. Similarly, after successful development of Sonar System Panchendriya, the lab developed USHUS Sonar for underwater vessels which have been productionised and fitted in the naval vessels.

Though the majority of the Sonars have the hull-mounted and bow mounted transducers, the Variable Depth Sonars and Towed Array Sonars (VDS & TAS) help in detection of targets and torpedoes in the acoustic channel below the layers to offset the adverse effects of bathymetric profile of the ocean as well as self-noise of the platform to improve detection/ surveillance substantially. The technology for Towed Array Sonars has been developed at NPOL to global standards. The lab has also developed Sonobuoy for airborne application (TADPOLE) and delivered to Indian Navy. Currently Development of a helicopter based dunking Sonar System is being pursued at the lab. In a dunking Sonar, the transducers and associated electronics are dipped into the sea from

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Sonobuoy system

a helicopter for detection of sub-surface targets. Due to stringent requirement of weight and platform safety, optimisation in design of winches and towed bodies are being pursued vigorously at NPOL along with development and characterization of advanced materials for sonar systems in various areas like composite materials nanomaterials, baffles, encapsulants, etc. that are important for improved reliability and

enhanced life of transducers and interconnect materials.

India’s pre-eminent geographical position in the IOR not only provides the nation with opportunities for sea borne trade but also seaborne security challenges. The 7,600 km long coastline with 12 major ports and 184 minor ports requires comprehensive security from underwater threats. Coastal Surveillance Systems are essential to counter the asymmetric threats posed by hostile submarines, boats and divers. Systems based on Sonar technology such as Seabed Arrays and Diver Deterrence System are being developed and for integrating into a suitable coastal surveillance system. Seabed arrays are passive Sonars, which can be deployed on the seabed for surveillance of designated underwater space on a continuous basis near strategic assets to assess the threat from submarines and submersibles. The system consists of multiple linear hydrophone arrays with a data acquisition system. The data can be transferred to a processing station at the coast. Multiplearrays deployed with appropriate spatial separation will facilitate the passive range estimation of the target. A seabed system with capability to detect multiple targets without any left/right ambiguity and end fire anomaly has been developed at NPOL and proven for performance. The Diver deterrence system envisages detection of divers intruding our vital installation through underwater route.

DRDO has been working very closely with PSUs, private sector industries, and academic institutions for the design, development, production and induction of Sonar systems. With the increasing requirement for Sonar systems for the new platforms being acquired by the Indian Navy, the industry have evinced keen interest in absorbing the complex sonar technologies. Moreover, the Sonar systems have undergone evolutionary changes from unitary systems to composite systems where fusion of data from multiple sensors makes Sonar displays highly user-friendly. Riding on the revolutionary changes offered by the computation and communication technologies, and the indigenously developed models for prediction and interpretation of Sonar performance in Indian waters, user has gained more confidence in exploitation of these sonar systems. The large number of unique testing facilities established under DRDO for evaluation of Sonars have been gainfully utilised by both navy and industry.

dIlPloMaCy

Strengthening

Naval Ties

India may sign cIsmoA to enable import of equipment. It appears that long-term Indo-us strategic partnership will develop gradually, depending on mutual trust and convergence of concerns PhotograPhS: US Navy

The Indian ship Rajput class destroyer INS Rana follows behind the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during Malabar exercise 2008

n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

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he creDIT For The Indo-us military collaboration goes to the narasimha rao government in 1992 when an Indo-us Army executive steering committee was set up. This was followed by setting up of similar committees for the navy and the Air Force. A joint naval exercise was also conducted way back in 1992. The Indo-us military cooperation Agreement was signed in 1995 which enabled Indian defence forces officers to go to the us for training, staff exchanges and joint exercises. The ties were further strengthened when India endorsed President Bush’s national missile Defence programme and the unconditional support to the global war on terror postseptember 11, 2001. removal of sanctions against India in september 2001 further gave a push to the Indo-us defence ties. The us-India Defence Policy Group had shortlisted some areas of cooperation which included joint operations to protect the sea lines of communication in the Indian ocean and maintain strategic stability in the Asia Pacific region. Indian navy will play a major role in such a scenario.

India and the us signed a historic document called the new Framework for usIndia Defence relationship (nFDr) on June 28, 2005, which will be applicable for 10 years and includes the following: l cooperate in fighting terrorism l curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction l strengthening their respective militaries l enhancing defence related research and development l collaboration in multinational operations The nFDr was a forward step in the strategic partnership between the two countries and conveyed to the world that India has arrived on the world stage. The us’ compulsions to strengthen defence ties

Commissioning ceremony of INS Jalashwa at Naval Station Norfolk. The amphibious transport ship, formerly known as USS Trenton, was transferred from the US Navy to the Indian Navy

Indo-US Framework for Maritime Security Cooperation Salient aspects l

l

l

l

l

India and the us committed themselves to comprehensive cooperation in ensuring a secure maritime domain, to work together with other regional partners, protect the free flow of commerce and to counter threats that could undermine maritime security. support existing multilateral efforts to enhance maritime security, including initiatives undertaken by the International maritime organisation and other relevant un programmes.

India and the us will jointly address maritime threats, including piracy and armed robbery at sea; threats to safety of ships, crew and property, as well as safety of navigation; transnational organised crimes in all dimensions; illicit trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials; environmental degradation; and natural disasters. hold regular maritime security policy and implementation discussions in the Defense Policy Group, the naval executive steering Group, and military cooperation Group. enhancement of their cooperative capabilities in the maritime domain through technology cooperation and defence trade, as well as an appropriate agreement on logistic support.

with India could be for the following reasons: Indian Ocean: India’s strategic location in the Indian ocean is of great importance as it dominates the sea lines of communication from west Asia to east Asia. The us already has very close allies in Asia like Japan, south Korea and saudi Arabia, but its hands will be further strengthened with India coming on board. This also provides the us other options if due to some reasons their traditional allies back out. India with its democracy, large english-speaking population, growing economic might and very large and battle proven defence forces, will prove a very valuable ally. china is the second largest user of oil and the third largest importer of it, most of which passes through the Indian ocean. Thus India’s location in the Indian ocean makes it a very attractive ally for the us. The us may also be looking for naval and air bases for repair and replenishment but at present India may not be too inclined for this.

Naval cooperation: The us needs cooperation in the Indian ocean to provide its navy with secure and neutral bases to support operations. Indian navy is a blue water force which can provide the necessary infrastructure and force levels for such a support. It has already proven this during operation enduring Freedom when Indian naval ships escorted merchant vessels from the north Arabian sea to the straits of malacca, providing active support to the us navy. It also carried out rescue operations in the region during tsunami. Indian navy is capable of supporting all us naval missions including escorting and responding to regional crisis. The us feels that there is an immediate future to the Indo-us military relations in naval cooperation. Towards this end, an India-usA Framework for maritime security cooperation was signed in 2006, which covers bilateral cooperation between the navies in a very comprehensive manner.

Other areas: Indian defence forces operate in all types of terrain including desert, urban, jungle and high altitude. It has thus created excellent training facilities which the us may like to use individually or jointly. It already has commando training facilities and jungle warfare training centre.

Joint training is being regularly carried out by the army, navy and the air force of both the countries. The aim of joint training is to improve interoperability so that it will come handy during joint missions.

Interoperability: This spells out a vision for the future where both countries could share their strategic and operational doctrines to handle new challenges. The aim in promoting defence ties is to develop joint capabilities and confidence to confront security issues like protection of energy supplies and sea lines, conduct peacekeeping exercises and combat terrorism. Joint training will lead to developing confidence building and firming up of interoperability procedures, communications and doctrines.

Training: The India-usA Framework for maritime security cooperation, amongst other aspects suggests that both navies should periodically ‘exercise’ at sea/in harbour, so as to build interoperability as also share best practices. Towards meeting this end, the malabar series of joint exercises was started in 1992, and till date, 14 such exercises have been held including the one

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dIPloMaCy

Looking Forward to Obama Visit The us has special interest in the Indian ocean region. And with china getting more and more assertive in the region, the us would be inclined to have India as an ally apart from its traditional partners like Japan and south Korea PhotograPh: US government

n LT GENERAL (RETD) NARESH CHAND

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rePArATIons Are on For President Barack obama’s visit to India in november. Besides senior us officials visiting India, many Indian officials including external Affairs minister m.s.

Krishna and Foreign secretary nirupama rao, chief of naval staff Admiral nirmal Verma and Defence minister A.K. Antony have also visited the us. Indian navy has been at the forefront of formulating the Indo-us defence ties. In order to boost further military ties, Admiral Verma went on a visit to the us from september 16-26. his visit was in response to chief of the us naval operations Admiral Gary roughead’s visit to India in April this year and the recent visit of the us Pacific commander robert F willard. Admiral Verma started with a trip to hawaii, the headquarters of the us Pacific command and oversees the entire Asia-Pacific region, where he had talks with Admiral robert willard. The cns then visited washington, seattle and norfolk, including some of the naval establishments and bases before returning to India on september 26. In washington he met top Pentagon officials.

The us has special interest in the Indian ocean region.

And with china getting more and more assertive in the region, the us would be inclined to have India as an ally apart from its traditional partners like Japan and south Korea. Indian navy would be especially attractive because of its blue water capability and ambition to be a regional power, and thereby the convergence of interest of both the countries.

The relations started with the conduct of the first joint naval exercises in 1992 called malabar exercise. The malabar series has continued ever since with the 14th exercise held this year. These exercises have contributed immensely in the strengthening of ties, better understanding of each other’s navies and inculcating interoperability. Indo-usA Framework for maritime security cooperation’ was signed

in 2006, which covers bilateral cooperation between the navies in a very comprehensive manner. This document has further strengthened and formalised the naval ties.

India would also be looking towards the us for supply of hardware to modernise its navy. The ice was broken with the first naval procurement of Ins Jalashwa (ex-uss Trenton), an amphibious transport dock along with six uh 3h sea King helicopters. In 2006, the Indian navy had expressed an interest in Boeing’s maritime Patrol Aircraft P8-I as a replacement for its existing fleet of Tu-142m aircraft. An agreement was signed in January 2009 for eight aircraft with the first to be delivered in 48 months at an appropriate cost of $2.1 billion (`10,000 crore). The assembly of the first aircraft is due to begin in the last quarter of this year after the Indian navy completed the final design review in July. Incidentally, India is the first overseas buyer. Admiral Verma is visiting seattle to see the progress on P8-I. There were reports that India is interested in another four aircraft at an additional cost of $1 billion (`5,000 crore). There are other minor issues like spares which should fructify in the normal manner.

The Indian ministry of Defence (moD) is tight-lipped about the result of the visit, but it can be inferred that discussions on a wide range of issues including joint operations against terrorism, anti-piracy operations which are already on, cyber warfare, network-centric operations, and coastal security including homeland security, disaster relief and joint training must have been held. India would also be looking for naval uAVs, submarine communications, sensors and undersea remotely operated vehicles.

There are two impediments which come in the way of smooth Indo-us naval ties and which India is at present reluctant to sign i.e. the Logistic support Agreement and the communication Interoperability and security memorandum of Agreement.

Logistic Support Agreement (LSA): The LsA for India enables Indian and us ships and aircraft access to each others’ facilities for refuelling and refurbishment through a barter system or an equal value exchange basis.

Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA): This agreement is a must for all countries that purchase sophisticated command and control equipment from the us as it allows interoperability with the us equipment. It would permit us cryptologic information to be provided along with the c-130Js and the same would be applicable for the high-tech us equipment likely to be on board P-8I multi-mission maritime aircraft.

Discussions on these issues could have been done with Admiral Verma but the final call is with the Government of India. These issues would have also come up during the visit of Defence minister A.K. Antony, but the outcome is not known. however, for smoother defence ties, a way has to be found around these agreements if India is sensitive to signing these documents as it does not want to be seen as a formal ally of the us. The us had managed to push through the end-use monitoring Agreement during the visit of secretary of state hillary clinton last year.

PhotograPh: PIB

Defence Minister on

US Visit

Antony held detailed discussions with his us counterpart and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, including the progressively increasing trade in military-technical equipment, service to service exchanges, joint military exercises and collaboration in defence technologies

n SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

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eFence mInIsTer A.K. Antony was on a visit to the us from september 26 to 28, most likely to set the defence related agenda for President obama’s visit during november. Antony was accompanied by Defence secretary Pradeep Kumar, Defence minister’s adviser sundaram Krishna, eastern Army commander Lt General Bikram singh, Andaman and nicobar tri-services command Admiral D.K. Joshi and IAF’s Director General (Air/operations) Air marshal A.K. Gogoi. The important issues on the agenda included supply of American arms to Pakistan as a portion of them is being diverted against India, seeking an early solution to export control restrictions, moving from a buyer-seller relationship to that of transfer

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of technology and co-production, etc.

Antony held detailed discussions with his us counterpart and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, including the progressively increasing trade in military-technical equipment, service to service exchanges, joint military exercises and collaboration in defence technologies.

Antony also had separate meetings with the secretary of state hillary clinton and national security Advisor General James Jones. Antony said that such high level interactions had successfully served to develop deeper mutual understanding on defence and security issues and played an important role in the process of unlocking the full potential of defence cooperation between India and the us.

The importance of Indo-us defence ties was highlighted by the fact that the us Defence secretary robert Gates and chair-

man of the us Joint chiefs of staff Admiral mike mullen held a joint conference in the Pentagon. Gates said that he wants to strengthen and expand America’s militaryto-military ties with India. he elaborated, “we are looking to expand this relationship in ways that are mutually beneficial.

They have a big competition going on for a new modern fighter. we will probably have some conversations about that.” on India’s concerns about restrictions on export of high-technology items, Gates acknowledged that this was high on the agenda and he would like to see those restrictions removed. mullen said that the military-to-military relationship with India is exceptionally strong and growing. "The Indian ocean is an incredibly important body of water. we recognise the importance of keeping that relationship as strong as it is and also make it grow," he said.

held in 2010. malabar series of exercises have contributed immensely towards all facets of operations like anti-submarine warfare; maritime interdiction operations; visit, board, search and seizure; submarine operations; anti-piracy operations; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The exercises are primarily aimed at deriving mutual benefit from each other’s experiences. The interoperability achieved over the years as a result of such exercises has proved to be operationally beneficial and particularly in the disaster relief operations during the 2004 tsunami and ongoing anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The other exercises, like the recently concluded exercise spitting cobra, covers aspects of explosive ordnance disposal through demolition exercises, helicopter operations and hostage threat simulations. seven such exercises have been held in these series.

Naval equipment acquisitions: so far Indian navy has been depending upon all its major acquisitions from soviet union and now the russian Federation. But this is a key area where India would like to diversify its source of supply from a technically advanced country like the us. India’s wish list would cover key technologies, major platforms and weapon systems which would provide force capability enhancement to safeguard its economic and security interests. The us would like to have a powerful ally in the Indian ocean region to counter china’s growing power and safeguard its security concerns including the ones in the west Pacific region. This process was started with the purchase of Ins Jalashwa (ex-uss Trenton) an amphibious transport dock along with six uh 3h sea King helicopters. The next big item is multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, which is being customised for the Indian navy and is based on the highly successful Boeing-737 commercial airliner. The navy

INDUSTRY/OEM

Submarine

Forces

The Sagem components for intelligence, attack and navigation

O

N THE SURFACE OR above, at the bottom of the seas, or in the air, Sagem, a company of the Safran Group, is involved in several critical technologies necessary for the efficiency of a naval combat system of a submarine. This is the feeling we can retain after visiting its new research & development centre, the “François Hussenot” facility in the south-suburbs of Paris, The company is focused on the development of high performing solutions in navigation systems, optronics, intelligence, self-protection and UAVs systems. The Sagem familly of products and systems covers all the spectrum of naval scenarios, from homeland security, protection of shores, search and rescue, guerrilla warfare, to high intensity engagements and deterrence missions in the harshest environments.

This involvement of the company in the military naval sector is particularly high on submarines programmes, for which Sagem develops and produces the optronics and surveillance masts and its navigation systems. The Sagem family of submarines mast includes Series 30 Search Mast System, Series 20 Attack Periscope System and Series 10 Compact Submarine Radar mast.

In all cases, the Sagem “Series” submarines masts are integrated to the combat system of the ship. Their modularity allows several configurations of sensors, along with the integration of electronic support measures sensors. The innovation here is notably the technology of non-penetrating masts, compactness, multisensor capabilities, and a user-friendly MMI running on from multifunction workstations in the operation & navigation centre of the ship. The other advantage of the concept of non-penetrating masts, as illustrated with Series 20 and Series 30, relies on an easy integration and easy installation in the submarine, either for a totally new design, a modernisation programme or a new programme. The intel-

had in November 2006 expressed an interest in the aircraft as a replacement for its existing fleet of TU-142M aircraft that are nearing the end of their service life. The high point of P-8I is that it will be simultaneously introduced in service with the Indian as well as the US Navy. At least eight P8-I were contracted for $2.1 billion (`10,000 crore) and it is now understood that an order for additional four aircraft is on the anvil. Finally, with Indian Navy growing, there may be a requirement of 30 aicraft by 2020. It is understood that a large number of items like helicopter spares, undersea remotely operating vehicles and submarine combat systems, have been asked for and are in various stages of clearance.

Naval UAVs, network-centric operating systems, sensors and submarine communications are other areas where the US Navy retains a global edge which can be of great use to the Indian Navy. Major US companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, etc are already in India and pushing their products.

PhotograPh: Daniel Linares/Sagem

Series 30 Optronics Mast for submarines

logistics support agreement (LSA), the communication inter-operability agreement (CISMOA) and the basic change and cooperation agreement for geo-spatial cooperation.

Logistic Support Agreement: The LSA for India is designed to give Indian and US ships and aircraft access to each others’ facilities for refuelling and refurbishment through a barter system or an equal value

exchange basis. It is based on acquisition and cross-servicing agreements the US has inked with many other countries.

Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA): This agreement is a must for all countries that purchase sophisticated command and control equipment from the US, and allows interoperability with the US

PhotograPh: Boeing

Impediments in the relationship There are three key pacts the US has been pushing India to sign in order to meet the constitutional requirements of the US so that the relationship becomes mutually binding and smooth. But there are reservations at the Indian end. The pacts are the

Multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, is being customised for the Indian Navy is based on the highly successful Boeing-737

ligence process is also enhanced by image processing software and services developed

by Sagem. The other dimension of this contribution to the efficiency of a combat system is the reliance on the navigation system. Currently, an application of lasergyro technology, the Sagem Sigma 40 XP, a version of Sigma 40 navigation system developed to satisfy the needs of submarines, has been adopted in France to modernise its fleet of nuclear attack submarines. On the international market, Sigma 40 XP has been adopted for several modernisation programs of submarines, notably the Australian Collins submarines, the U209 of Denmark. In addition, Sigma 40 XP is part of new programmes, such as the Indian Scorpene submarines. At last, this year, the optronic, intelligence and combat masts of Sagem have been ordered to equip the new four DCNS submarines of Brasil.

How can we explain the credibility of the Sagem solutions? It is mainly a legacy of the R&D works conducted years after years, since the 1960s, to build-up the French deterrence, especially the development of the SSBN submarines of the Triomphant family and the nuclear attacks submarines. This colossal background enables the company to propose high performance solutions. This strategy is at the core of the company policy. New high technology programmes, like the Scorpene and Andrasta SSK of DCNS are also other opportunities for Sagem to improve the performances and services of its systems.

These new solutions for masts and navigation are designed for new-generation programmes of submarines or ships in need of modernization. Shaping the future, in these critical components of a submarine combat system, the company has been selected to develop and produce the abovethe-surface detection systems of the future Barracuda French nuclear attack submarines.

equipment. It would permit top level US cryptologic information to be provided along with the C-130Js that India has bought and the same is applicable for the high-tech US equipment likely to be on board P-8I multi-mission maritime aircraft.

Basic Change and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geospatial cooperation: The agreement calls for basic exchange cooperation in the geospatial area which will provide India with the highest technology possible in terms of navigational capability and targeting.

The US had managed to push through the End-Use Monitoring Agreement during the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year. But India seems not very keen to seal the above pacts. The US feels that India should at least sign the CISMOA and the BECA, as it will remove sanctions, or else it will not be possible to transfer high-tech avionics to India. On the other hand, India feels that export restrictions against DRDO, ISRO and BEL, should be removed on their own merit and should not be linked with the above pacts. As far as LSA is concerned, it is too premature at this stage. However, to start with, India may sign CISMOA to enable import of equipment. It appears that long-term IndoUS strategic partnership will develop gradually, depending on mutual trust and convergence of concerns.

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PIraCy

PhotograPh: US Navy

Rescued persons are transported in a security boat to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor. They were rescued by sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill after their small boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden.

Ransom on the

High Seas

From 22 in 2006 to 217 in 2009, the number of incidents of attacks on ships by somali pirates has doubled with each passing year. The scourge of piracy can only be addressed with collaborative efforts by the shipping industry, security agencies and the international maritime organisations n COMMANDER SHISHIR UPADHYAYA

www.spsnavalforces.net

P

IrAcY In The GuLF of Aden is the manifestation of a greater problem being faced by somalia, which does not have a central and effective government since the overthrow of the authoritarian regime of mohamed siad Barre in January 1991. The un mission withdrew in 1995 leaving somalia a classic failed state with factional violence, lawlessness, poverty and famine.

Today, somalia carries the dubious distinction of being the longest-running instance of a failed state in the post-colonial history.

The lack of security ashore has spilled into the maritime domain where there is lack of regional maritime capacity and no credible indigenous maritime forces. As a result, the decade following the collapse of the somali Government saw extensive poaching activities by Asian and european fishing fleets in the somali exclusive economic zone (eeZ).

There were also reports of toxic waste being dumped in the somali waters, which subsequently washed ashore. According to a lesser-known study by the uno, somalia was losing $ 300 million (`1,330 crore) annually due to poaching in its eeZ. All this led to the emergence of self-styled armed protection groups such as the somali national Volunteer coast Guard and the Puntland coast Guard, aimed at combating poaching and dumping of toxic waste.

The self-styled coast guard groups took

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it upon them to attack illegal poachers. soon, they moved on to attacking private yachts transiting the somali eeZ. however, the somali pirates made global headlines for the first time when on november 5, 2005, they attempted to hijack the American cruise liner seabourn spirit approximately 75 nautical miles off the coast of somalia.

This unsuccessful attack triggered a wave of piracy attacks along the somali coast. subsequently, somali pirates made headlines in India when in February 2006, they hijacked an Indian dhow named Bhakti sagar (registered in Porbandar) whilst on passage to Kisamayu. Twenty-five Indian crew members were held hostage till a large undisclosed amount was paid as ransom by the owners.

According to ImB reports, in 2006, there were 22 incidents of attacks on ships by somali pirates. The number has since increased rapidly. From 51 in 2007 to 111 in 2008 and 217 in 2009, the number has doubled with each passing year. For the first time since 2006, the ImB has reported that the total number of attacks on ships reported globally declined significantly during the first quarter of 2010 to 67 from 102 in the same period last year. During this period, somali pirates were responsible for 35 out of the 67 attacks (a drop from 42 attacks in the first quarter of 2008) reported globally. Twenty-four ships were boarded and 11 others hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. The drop in the number of piracy incidents; though a welcome development, should not

be considered as a sign of success of the naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden. while the number of attacks has reduced, the range of attacks by somali pirates has increased significantly in recent months. on march 23, 2010, a Turkish-owned vessel, mV Frigia, a bulk carrier with a 21-member crew was hijacked at 1,350 nautical miles from mogadishu, somalia. At the time of its capture, the ship was closer to India than somalia.

Security Initiatives in the Gulf of Aden The various ongoing security initiatives aimed at combating piracy are enumerated in the following paragraphs.

CTF 151: The coalition Task Force 151 under the us Fifth Fleet headquarters in manama, Bahrain, was established in January 2009 with a clear mandate to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. It comprises countries engaged in the coalition maritime Force (cmF) in the north Arabian sea region and includes Germany, uK, Turkey, Pakistan and others.

International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC): The us navy central command (cenTcom) established the IrTc, a 560 nm long security corridor formerly known as the maritime security Patrol Area (msPA) in the Gulf of Aden on August 22, 2008. This area is currently patrolled by the coalition forces, north Atlantic Treaty organisation (nATo) and european union (eu).

Operation Ocean Shield by NATO: A standing nATo maritime Group (snmG) has

been deployed in the region to allow world Food organisation fulfill its mission of providing humanitarian aid to somalia under the un world Food Programme. The operation has been code-named ‘ocean shield’.

The snmG comprises of about seven ships from Italy, Germany, Greece, Turkey, uK, usA and spain.

EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR); Operation Atlanta: A convoy escort system codenamed operation Atlanta is being maintained by six ships of the 27 nation european union. About three to five maritime patrol aircraft are also employed for surveillance in the region. The eu has now decided to extend the ongoing operation Atlanta up to December 2010.

Independent Anti-piracy Patrols: several counties have deployed their navies on independent patrols for safety of their merchant ships. These include china, russia, India, Iran, Japan, south Korea, etc.

Djibouti Code of Conduct: The Djibouti code of conduct inspired by the 2004 regional cooperation Agreement on combating Piracy and Armed robbery against ships (recAAP) in Asia, concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian ocean and Gulf of Aden came into force from January 29, 2009. on the occasion of the meeting in Djibouti, nine countries in the region signed the code of conduct which included Djibouti, ethiopia, Kenya, somalia (TFG), Yemen, madagascar, maldives, seychelles

PIraCy and Tanzania. The code of conduct is open for signature by 21 countries in the region.

The signatories of the Djibouti code of conduct have agreed to the establishment of piracy information exchange centres at Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen, and a regional training centre in Djibouti.

Role of the Indian Navy Following the hijacking on september 15, 2008, of mV stolt Valor (Japanese owned chemical Tanker sailing under the hong Kong flag) in the Designated safety corridor, the Government of India decided to deploy Indian naval ships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden region. The Indian navy has been deployed in the International maritime Transit corridor off the horn of Africa and the coast of somalia since october 2008, making it the navy’s longest continuous outof-area deployment ever.

In June 2010, the Indian navy crossed a milestone in out-of-area operations when it safely escorted its thousandth ship; the mV Bornza, through the Gulf of Aden. As on september 17, 2010, the Indian naval ships had safely escorted 1,200 merchant vessels–including both Indian and foreign flagged ships-from over 50 different nations and prevented 18 pirate attacks. In september this year, Ins Delhi put down three pirate attacks in four days. The anti-piracy patrols are in addition to the regular eeZ patrols conducted by the navy in the waters off the maldives and the seychelles.

Factor Impacting Naval Patrols The ImB report for the first quarter of 2010 indicates a significant drop in piracy incidents off somali. This can be attributed to the fact that naval patrols have succeeded in destroying several of the ‘mother boats’ used by the somali pirates and also captured a large quantity of arms and equipment used by the pirates. however, the fact that the range of attacks by somali pirates has increased in recent weeks and the number of attacks continues to remain at an unacceptable high level despite naval patrols is a cause for concern. The main factors that hamper warship efforts at countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden are as follows: Lack of investments in ship security: Lack of propensity of the shipping sector to invest in security stems from the fact that most ships involve multiple stakeholders.

Thus, there is a tendency of passing the buck. several usA and British Private security companies (Psc) offer security solutions for ships transiting the Gulf of Aden. however, these services are expensive; a three- man armed detail typically costs about $21,000 (`9.45 lakh) per day. The

Yemini navy also provides security in association with a uK Psc for $55,000 (`24.75 lakh) per trip through the Gulf of Aden. consequently, a majority of the shipping companies are reluctant to invest in expensive security solutions. Analyses of various incidents reveal several attempts of hijacking been successfully thwarted due to timely alarm being raised by the target ship.

Lack of such system reduces the effectiveness of naval patrols. Perhaps, a certain basic security system could be considered as a mandatory suite for ships.

Lack of regulations dealing with armed protection of merchant ships: The extant Imo and ImB regulations do not encourage armed protection of ships since it is expected to lead to increased violence at sea. It is likely that confrontation between armed guards and pirates could lead to secondary/collateral damage. At present, the authorisation to carry firearms onboard ships is a decision of the flag state. however, this would be subject to the laws of the country being visited when in port or in territorial waters. In the absence of clearly defined rules of engagement, the use of firearms can pose a serious challenge.

Following the capture of the us flagged vessel m.V. maersk Albama, the us government has advised all us flagged vessels to carry armed security. The mV maersk Albama successfully fired and defended itself from pirates when attacked for the second time in november 2009. It is believed that a few of the flag of convenience states are also actively considering following suit, since under Article 94 of the united nations convention on the Law of the sea, the flag states are responsible for security of the ship.

The use of private security for transportation systems on land is not a new practice. consider the example for moving cash (say a few million dollars) from a bank to another location in the city. Today, the use of an armoured vehicle with a GPs tracking system and well-trained and armed guards is the norm rather than an exception. In stark comparison, a typical merchant ship loaded with billions of dollars worth of cargo would be manned by a skeleton crew of 10-15 unarmed people. security for shipping hitherto was not considered important since the high seas were once upon a time desolate areas. This is no longer true as the somali pirates equipped with medium sized trawlers (mother boats), a global positioning system (GPs) and radio sets have demonstrated. The hijacking of the Turkish owned vessel, mV Frigia, in march 2010 with 21 crew members at 1,350 nautical miles from mogadishu, somalia, is a recent example. At the time of its capture,

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which first made headlines in 2005, is now a wellestablished industry the ship was closer to India than somalia.

Inadequacy of extant international laws for prosecution of pirates: The most difficult challenge faced by warships on antipiracy is that of prosecution of pirates arrested at sea. Pirates once detained become ‘persons under control’. International law requires that the pirates be tried by the courts of the flag state of the warship, which apprehended the pirates or carried out the seizure.

This poses a serious logistics challenge of transporting the captured pirates to the flag state to stand trial. In 2006, these difficulties caused the us to provide temporary custody for somali pirates on board usn warships for months at a time. even in 2009, it was reported that over 60 per cent of the pirates captured during operation Atlanta were released for want of proper detention and trial facilities. Thus the lack of proper judicial mechanism is hugely counterproductive to the efforts of the warships in the region.

Apprehended pirates go scot free only to return to piracy, with more experience.

Trends in Piracy Ransom: According to reports, the ransom collected by somali pirates in 2009 exceeds $48.4 million (`214 crore). evidently, a large part of this amount has been ploughed back into business to procure better equipment and weapons. The somali pirates are now equipped with GPs, automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and high speed boats. The increased range and audacity of attacks clearly indicates improved tactics and better equipment in the hands of the pirates. The average ransoms demanded by somali pirates have increased from $1,00,000 (`45 lakh) to $2,00,000 (`90 lakh) in 2005 to $3-5 million (`13- 22 crore) this year.

Insurance: The rise in ransom demands has been accompanied by an increase in insurance premiums. The insurance surcharge for ships transiting the Gulf of Aden currently stands at $25/Teu (twenty foot equivalent unit used in container transportation) or $5/tonne. Accordingly, the shipping companies have increased their freight charges to include the insurance surcharge and also additional risk pay for crew. The shipping corporation of India has recently introduced a piracy risk sur-

charge of $40/Teu on all shipments thorough the Gulf of Aden. This increased freight is passed on to the exporter by the shipping agent. eventually, the sum is passed on to the final consumers. over 24,000 ships transit the Gulf of Aden annually. In 2009, 47 ships were hijacked and released on payment of ransom.

The ransom is paid by the insurance companies through their agents in cash and the sum is generally undisclosed. considering an average of $4 million (`18 crore) ransom for each ship hijacked; the total ransom paid would be about $188 million (`834 crore). clearly, the total ransom paid is much lower than the insurance surcharge (at $25/Teu or $5/ tonne) paid by the shipping companies. Thus, the system of ransom has emerged as a lucrative business model with both insurance companies and the pirates making a neat sum at the expense of the end consumer.

Terrorism: The gravest risk of piracy is the threat of terrorist groups linking up with the somali pirates. There is a clear danger of the Al shabbab (a somali origin terror outfit) and/or the Al Qaeda operating out of Yemen linking up with somali pirates. while there is no evidence to suggest any linkages between pirates and terrorist groups, the possibility cannot be ruled out in the near future.

Need for collaborative efforts Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which first made headlines in 2005, is now a well-established industry. The fact that the system of ransom is turning out to be a lucrative business for pirates and insurance companies, sets a dangerous precedence. clearly, in such a scenario, the interest of the crew is not being addressed. The additional insurance surcharge is passed on to the end consumer of the goods with no dues to the ship-owners. warship patrols in the Gulf of Aden have reached a record number with a majority of the G20 navies operating in the region. Yet, piracy continues to flourish, albeit at reduced intensity. warships cannot be omnipresent and therefore there is a need for ships to invest in security. however, this calls for a new regulation to be drafted. The scourge of piracy can only be addressed with collaborative efforts on part of the three main stakeholders i.e. the shipping industry, the security agencies and the international maritime organisations such as the Imo and ITwF. India as the largest provider of skilled manpower to the maritime sector could play an important role ensuring participation by all the stakeholders.

The author is serving in the Indian Navy and is at present a Research Fellow in the National Maritime Foundations

INS Kalpeni Commissioned into the Indian Navy

PhotograPh: Indian Navy

T

he latest fast attack craft of the Indian navy, Ins Kalpeni was commissioned into the Indian navy recently by Jasti chelameswar, chief Justice, high court of Kerala at naval Base Kochi.

The ship propelled by three powerful water jets can achieve speed in excess of 35 knots. Ins Kalpeni would operate under the Flag officer commanding in chief southern naval command and based at Kochi. The ship would bolster the capabilities of southern naval command in coastal surveillance and search and destruction of fast moving targets. The ship commanded by Lieutenant commander subhal nathan has a crew of three officers and 38 sailors onboard.

The formal and solemn ceremony commenced with the Inspection of a Guard of honour by the chief Justice. Thereafter the commanding officer of Ins Kalpeni introduced the crew of the ship to the chief guest. The commissioning warrant signed by the chief of naval staff was read out by

PhotograPh: Indian Navy

The National Flag and the Naval Ensign being hoisted on board INS Kalpeni the first time

the commanding officer then. The formal ceremony was completed when the naval ensign and the national flag was hoisted onboard the ship for the first time along with the traditional breaking of the commissioning pennant. This ceremony was carried out with the parading of the colour guard and to the accompaniment of the national anthem.

Ins Kalpeni, an improved version of the Bangaram class fast attack craft, is conceived, designed and built indigenously.

The commissioning of the ship is another milestone in the continuing saga of indigenisation in the field of warship design and construction. Ins Kalpeni is the seventh of a batch of 10 ships being built at Garden reach shipyard, Kolkata. The main armament of the ship is 30mm crn 91 Gun with an optronic Pedestal sight as its Director.

In addition the ship has been fitted with 11 machine guns of various types and shoulder launched IGLA surface to air missiles to neutralise aerial threats.

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FIrst/teCkNoW

Small and Economical The use of morphing flight surfaces has enabled the development of an unmanned plane that can operate in extreme weather conditions

PhotograPh: Eureka E!

T

he eureKA e! 3931 AsArP project has developed a small and cheapto-build unmanned aerial vehicle (uAV) intended to cut the cost of maritime search-and-rescue missions and reduce risks to material and human lives.

The seaplane uses shape-changing technology to improve flight stability, enabling the plane to fly in severe weather conditions. The resulting craft has an endurance of 4.5 hours with a payload of up to 40 kg. It is equipped with state-ofthe-art avionics and onboard cameras and it is linked wirelessly to the com-

mand centre from where the pilot can control the uAV. A prototype is currently undergoing final trials in cyprus and the design is already attracting interest from governmental and civil rescue and surveillance organisations.

According to the company, effort has been made to ensure maximum stability by use of special aerofoil profile optimised for high lift at low speeds. The entire configuration contributes to stability in severe weather.

The trial aircraft weighed 50 kg with no fuel and 270 to 275 kg mission ready,

when fully fuelled and equipped. It was flown initially with a conventional remote control operating joystick and throttle.

The uAV base station has now been modified with two screens to exploit the plane’s avionics—one screen shows the instruments and the other the image from the on-board camera. The control base unit is self-supporting with an electric generator to provide power and dualcomputer system communicating with the on-board computer. The AsArP uAV can take off from and land on the sea as well as land.

TECKNOW

The Sea Breacher

For related video log on to www.spsnavalforces.net

A unique dolphin-inspired submersible watercraft

PhotograPh: Seabreacher.com

I

nnerspace Productions, a watercraft design and fabrication company based in california, has developed custom-built seabreachers, a unique dolphin-inspired submersible watercraft that can jump, dive and roll like real dolphins. The seabreacher has a cruising speed of 40 mph (64 kph) and underwater speeds of 20mph (32 kph)—all within the safety and security of a dry, sealed cockpit.

According to Innerspace, the seabreacher X is the latest and most advanced submersible watercraft that has been built till date and is based on the dolphin-inspired seabreacher J. however, it has a more aggressive sharkstyle body. The X model also steps up the performance envelope with a 260 hp supercharged engine, propelling the vessel to a top speed of 50 mph (80 kph) on the surface and 25mph (40 kph) below.

The seabreacher X can sustain high speed dives and then breach the surface, launching the entire vessel clearly out of the water. some of its high tech features include a snorkel mounted video camera which transmits live video to LcD screens for the pilot and passengers during dives, GPs navigation, etc. some characteristics of this submarine are:

Engine/drive: roTAX 1500cc, 4 stroke engine; 260 hp supercharged, intercooled; high output, low emission; axial flow jet pump; fully vectored thrust (up/ down, left/right); forward, neutral, reverse; closed cooling system, reliable in fresh or salt water.

Features: redesigned shark style body; mouthshaped viewports for enhanced underwater visibility: double snorkel intakes for engine’s increased air requirements; high performance, low profile wings and elevators; powder-coated stainless steel and aluminium hardware; custom exhaust outlet; fully upholstered interior, customised; front and rear LcD screens, displaying live video from snorkel-mounted camera; onboard stereo system with ipod dock; removable lifting eyes for launching from a yacht mounted davit.

Safety measures: Positively buoyant, self-righting hull design; 1/2 inch, impact-resistant, acrylic canopy; inflatable aircraft seal keeps cockpit and engine bay water tight; three automatic bilge pumps; collapsible nose section; hand-laid composite, monologue structure; Break-away wing tips; all marine approved engine components and hardware; onboard fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detector.

Multi-dimensional

Exercise

IBsAmAr is a manifestation of the transformed global geopolitical and security landscape since the end of cold war n REAR ADMIRAL (RETD) SUSHIL RAMSAY

PhotograPh: PIB

www.spsnavalforces.net

T

he seconD rounD oF India-Brazilsouth Africa maritime exercise (IBsAmAr) 2010 was held from september 13 to 27, 2010, off the south African coast from simon’s Town to Durban. The multi-dimensional exercise was structured to include the best practices in various aspects of naval operations focusing on the likely scenarios participating nations may encounter. The Indian navy fielded Indian navy ships mysore, Tabar, Ganga and Aditya; south African (sA) navy nominated ships Amatola, spioenkop, Drakensburg, charlotte maxeke, Queen modjadji-I and Galeshewe, while the lone Brazilian naval ship niteroi joined the other participating units. The integral air element was provided by Lynx and sea King helicopters.

The Initial Planning conference (IPc) for IBsAmAr 2010 was held from october 12 to 16, 2009, at mumbai, under the aegis of western naval command. The final session

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of IPc was held in August in south Africa.

IBsAmAr series of joint exercises are held under the instrument of trilateral governmental cooperation initiative between the three-member states and steered by one of the 16 Joint working Groups for Defence.

The inaugural round of IBsAmAr was held in south Africa from may 7 to 14, 2008.

Gurpreet s. Khurana defines IBsAmAr as a manifestation of the transformed global geopolitical and security landscape since the end of cold war. “The first IBsAmAr was conducted off south Africa’s

south-western coast, adjoining the cape of Good hope. For the exercise, Indian and Brazilian naval units were required not only to transit a substantial distance to the exercise area (over 4,000 and 3,000 nautical miles respectively), but also to endure the exercise-duration. This is a seminal development on two counts. Firstly, it signals the increasing reach and sustainability of navies of developing countries. secondly, it is indicative of an increasing realisation among policy makers of the imperative need of safeguarding their geographically expanding interests and meeting their international obligations,” he said. missions defined for the very first round of trilateral IBsAmAr 2008 were maritime security issues such as safety of shipping traffic, anti-piracy, search and rescue, and casualty evacuation in the region. Although suez canal has for several decades provided the shortest route for Persian Gulf oil to transit to europe, technology advances in marine engineering has offered greater incentive to a larger number of vessels of higher tonnage

to transit at much higher economical speeds to circumnavigating Africa. This development has resulted in nearly 30 per cent of the Persian Gulf oil bound for europe and America to be routed around the cape of Good hope and thus the threefold increase in traffic density on this route.

Gurpreet Khurana further articulates, “For India, IBsAmAr was an effective instrument to showcase its foreign policy. It served to dispel the apprehensions of India’s growing strategic relationship with the united states and its allies, which arose in some quarters following the high-level malabar and TrILATeX naval exercises of 2007.” IBsAmAr followed the Indian ocean naval symposium (Ions) launched in February 2008, which was also devoid of the us participation. As an Indian initiative, Ions has itself contributed to India’s image as a stabilising factor. Together with Ions, IBsAmAr reinforces the point that India’s geopolitical engagement is multi-vectored and not directed against any country, including china.



News in Brief ICG INTERCEPTOR BOAT COMMISSIONED

tonomous systems. The laboratory will capitalise on the broad multidisciplinary character of nrL, bringing together scientists and engineers with disparate training and backgrounds to attack common goals at the intersection of their respective fields in autonomous systems.

ITALIAN NAVy TRIALS FOR AW139

At a ceremony held at Veraval, Indian coast Guard (IcG) Interceptor Boat, c-148 was commissioned by Vice Admiral Anil chopra, Director General IcG. It is the sixth in the series of 11 boats, designed and built indigenously by ABG shipyard, surat.

NAVy TO ACqUIRE FLOATING DOCK The Indian navy plans to acquire its second floating dock, at an estimated cost of rs 300 crore, which will be stationed at the strategically significant Andaman and nicobar Islands. The Floating Dock navy-1 (FDn1) is currently put into optimum use and with the number of warships stationed on the coast set to increase significantly in the next decade; the need was felt for the second one.

ADDITIONAL P8-I The Indian navy is likely to order four additional Boeing’s P8-I maritime reconnaissance aircraft at an approximate cost of $1 billion (about `4,500 crore). It may be recollected that India has already ordered eight P8-I at a cost of $2.1 billion (about `10,000 crore). At present, for this role, India has eight Tu-142m which have reached the end of their life and five IL-38.

India has also decided to go for additional four LPDs at a cost of approximately $3 billion plus (`13,500 crore). These LPDs will be on the same lines as Ins Jalashwa which was acquired from the us in 2007.

SySTEMS RESEARCH LABORATORy The naval research Laboratory (nrL) has established the Autonomous systems research Laboratory (AsrL) to support highly innovative, interdisciplinary research in au-

The Italian navy ships—sirio, orione and Bettica—have been designated for the evaluation trials of the Agustawestalnd Aw139 helicopter. The first ship on which the trials were carried out was sirio which included deck landings, take-offs, deck lashing and possible interference between the ship’s onboard radio and radar systems with the helicopter’s avionics.

25-29 october Euronaval Paris-Le-Bourget exhibition center, France www.euronaval.fr/en 2-3 november Coastal Surveillance 2010 Amara sanctuary hotel, singapore www.coastalsurveillancemda.com 9-11 november MAST Palazzo dei congressi, rome, Italy www.mastconfex.com 15-17 november Maritime Homeland Security Summit renaissance seattle hotel, seattle, wA, usA www.maritimehssummit.com

Assistant group Editor r. Chandrakanth

vessels for both the Army and the navy.

Vigilant is the second vessel in the class.

The first, the future us Army vessel usAV spearhead (JhsV 1), is scheduled for delivery to the Army in 2012. The JhsV programme merges the previous Army theatre support vessel and the navy high speed connector to decrease costs by taking advantage of the inherent commonality between the existing programmes.

NAVANTIA COMMISSIONS LHD “JUAN CARLOS I” TO THE SPANISH NAVy

raytheon Integrated Defense systems has been awarded a $14,696,495 firm-fixedprice contract for seven airborne mine neutralisation low rate initial production systems and associated engineering services. The airborne mine neutralisation system will explosively neutralise bottom and moored mines using an expendable mine neutralise device. The system will be deployed from the mh-60 helicopter as part of the Littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission module.

BAE SySTEMS AN/Sqq-32(V)4 BAe systems’ Information and electronic systems Integration has been awarded a $14,599,366 firm-fixed-price contract for four high frequency wide band An/sQQ32(v)4 systems and associated engineering services and support that will detect and classify bottom and moored sea mines. The An/sQQ-32(v)4 will be deployed from carriers for self-protection. high frequency wide band An/sQQ-32(v)4 will replace the in-service An/sQQ-32(v)3 detection sonar and will improve detection performance and target resolution in high clutter environments including littoral zones and confined straits.

ATLAS PRODUCES 2000TH SEAFOx

The 2000th seaFox mine disposal unmanned underwater vehicles (uuV) will be joining the German navy, which was also the recipient of the first seaFox 10 years ago. At present, about 10 of these uuVs leave the production facility in Bremen every week. with the seaFox, Atlas elektronik blazed a new trail in mine countermeasures more than a decade ago, deploying uuV’s for the first time. The reusable seaFox I (Intelligence) is used to identify the sea mine, whereas the expendable seaFox c (combat) with its integrated warhead serves as intelligent ammunition for mine neutralisation. To complement the seaFox I and c, a training version has also been developed and marketed.

US NAVy’S FIRST JHSV Fabrication of the future usns Vigilant (JhsV 2), the first joint high speed vessel (JhsV) to be operated by the navy, began on september 13 at the Austal usA shipyard.

The JhsV will be used for fast intra-theatre transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment. The navy’s strategic and theatre sealift programme is procuring the

Senior Editorial Adviser r. adm (retd) S.K. ramsay Senior Technical Group Editor Lt general (retd) Naresh Chand Contributing Editors Lt general (retd) V.K. Kapoor air Marshal (retd) V.K. Bhatia Copy Editor Sucheta Das Mohapatra Assistant Correspondent abhay Singh thapa Assistant Photo Editor abhishek Singh Contributors India admiral (retd) arun Prakash Vice adm (retd) r.N. ganesh Vice adm (retd) P.J. Jacob r. adm (retd) raja Menon Cmde rajeev Sawhney Europe alan Peaford, Doug richardson, andrew Brookes (UK)

MINE NEUTRALISATION SySTEM

>> SHOW CALENDAR 21-22 october 49th Congress of Naval Architecture and the Maritime Industry hotel carlton, Bilbao, spain www.ingenierosnavales.com/ SESIONES2010/index2_i.asp

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal

USA & Canada Lon Nordeen (USa) anil r. Pustam (West Indies) West Asia/Africa h.r. heitman (S. africa)

navantia commissioned the LhD “Juan carlos I” to the spanish navy at the Ferrol Arsenal on september 30. This amphibious ship, the biggest ever built by navantia, and the biggest ship of the spanish navy. other authorities have attended the ceremony, as the minister of Defence, carmen chacón and the President of navantia, Aurelio martínez.

The LhD Juan carlos I has been designed to carry out amphibious missions, force deployment, humanitarian assistance and act as an auxiliary aircraft carrier. The ship also has a large hospital capacity, which in addition to her cargo capacity make her ideal for deployment in disaster areas. with a length overall of 230.82 metres (flight deck 202.3 m.), 32 m. beam and full load displacement of more than 27,500 tonnes, this will be the biggest ship ever made available to the spanish navy. she will also be the first of such a size with podded electrical propulsion. highly automated, the crew will consist of just 247 persons.

RAyTHEON APPOINTS BILL BLAIR VICE PRESIDENT & SENIOR ExECUTIVE, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, INDIA raytheon company has appointed Bill Blair vice president and senior executive for raytheon’s business development efforts in India, effective immediately.

In this capacity, Blair will be responsible for managing raytheon’s strategic relationships with customers and trading partners to ensure the continuation of the company’s long standing relationship with India. As the company’s senior executive in India, Blair will serve as the primary interface with raytheon’s customers. In addition, Blair will serve as the senior voice of the customer within raytheon to ensure that the company identifies key pursuits and fulfills its commitment to India.

RAyTHEON MISSILE SySTEMS NAMES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR FOR INDIA raytheon company’s missile systems business has named Peter wray as its new Business Development director for India. In this position, wray will continue to develop and implement the rms business strategy for India, and build on the company’s growing partnership with the Indian armed forces and industry. wray has been employed by raytheon since 1987.

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