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Therefore, the complexities of naval choices
and weaponry for these three dimensional platforms
which includes computer-aided fire control systems
for directing the delivery of fire on to ships,
and on to aerial targets and subsurface targets
makes choices of weapons challenging. A naval
strategy meshed to the national and sister services’
military strategy is crucial with a doctrine in
place to enable appropriate choices. The age of
missiles has also arrived. Even ASW torpedoes
are being first launched as missiles for longer
ranges, before entering the water.
The Indian Navy was one of the first Navies in
the world to ingeniously employ the 40 km ranged
P-15 Styx (SS-N-15) missiles on OSA class missile
boats fitted with the Rangout X band radars in
the 1971 Indo-Pak war to sink, PNS Khyber, Muhafiz
and MV Vega on the 4th December night off Karachi.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) OCU Hunters under Wing
Commander Don Conquest flying from Jamnagar had
earlier set the Karachi-Kiamari Burmah Shell oil
tanks on fire in the morning the same. This displays
tri-service capabilities. By December 7, Pakistani
fire-fighters had reportedly dowsed the fires.
On December 8/9 night, the Osa INS Vinash under
Lt Commander Vijay Jerath attacked and set the
Kiamari oil tanks on fire again with a single
Styx missile and sank MV Harmattan, MV Gulf Star
and damaged tanker PNS Dacca. The Indian Navy
heralded the advent of missile warfare at sea
and the concept of fire support to the land forces
from the seas. Rear Admiral Raja Menon based his
book, Maritime Strategy and Continental Wars (Frank
Cass 1998) on this and elaborated this concept,
just before India and Pakistan went nuclear. This
has necessarily changed India’s and Indian Navy’s
wish list for conventional and nuclear weaponry.
The Indian Navy has scripted and issued unclassified
Maritime Military Strategy and a Naval Doctrine
documents. Large navies including India’s have
had to look to multiple choices of conventional
and nuclear tipped weapons for deterrence, which
are also land attack capable. Navies have to ensure
commonality in inventory in the three naval dimensions
and for interservice needs as far as feasible,
keeping economy in view. India’s choice of the
Brahmos (PJ-10) missile a joint venture with Russia
and now for all the three services, and the DRDO-Navy-Industry
conversion of the Prithvi missile into the 300
km nuclear Dhanush missile and fitment on two
OPVs of the INS Subhadra (P-51) class with gyrostabilised
Larsen and Toubro Ltd universal launchers are
good examples of weapon commonality. A proliferation
of diverse inventory can lead to extra training
and infructuous costs. The navy is an expensive
force but essential for a maritime nation with
1.3 billion people aspiring for a place in the
world’s pecking order.
Historical Pointers for
India’s Naval Development
It is appropriate to quote Pandit Nehru, who
had stated, “To be secure on Land, we must be
Supreme at Sea”. This quote informs Indians that
India is primarily a ‘Maritime Nation’. A strong
weapon-laden Navy will be an important element
for the nation’s security. In 1694 the British
politician and writer George Savile, known as
Lord Halifax had stated, “The first article of
an Englishman’s political creed must be that he
believeth in the sea”. Indians have to hark to
this. Britain was an island nation but rose to
colonise much of the world where “The Sun Never
set on the Empire”. Britain’s’ naval weaponry
on platforms and strategy vanquished all opponents.
On India gaining independence in 1947, the Indian
Navy’s weaponry consisted of the British 10 pounder,
the 4-inch and 4.7-inch guns on sloops for surface
action, with Pom Poms and 40/60 mm guns for AA
protection and straight running torpedoes, depth
charges and hedge hogs for Anti Submarine Warfare
(ASW). The cruisers INS Delhi (1948-78) of the
Battle of the River Plate fame, and INS Mysore
(1957- 85) brought with them powerful multiple
6-inch double and triple gun turrets with 65 pound
rounds firing to ranges of 16 miles. The guns
were hydraulically manoeuvred and visually controlled
for targeting and for bracketing, to demolish
the target with a barrage of fire. Naval gunfire
support (NGFS) ashore was practiced. All this
changed when radars become more accurate and powerful.
Guns could be linked to the radars bringing in
accurate and better night fighting capabilities.
There was no need to use illumination rounds to
illuminate targets.
The three Type 15 Brahmaputra Class and the two
Type 12 INS Trishul and INS Talwar arrived late
1950s from UK with the 4.5-inch MK1 faster firing
guns with analog computers in the FPS-5 system
for accuracy and to calculate wind and temperature
corrections. The three type 14 ASW Khukri class
arrived with advanced Type 144/48 sonars and long
range Limbo anti submarine mortars akin to the
Army’s heavy mortars with stabilisation to counter
roll and pitch. INS Vikrant arrived in 1961 with
Sea-Hawks armed with 150-rounds 30mm Aden cannons,
rockets and light bombs, and Alizes with rockets
and depth charges for ASW, and with advanced ARRAR,
electronic warfare system, that was used by the
Army and IAF in the 1971 war.
This range of weaponry continued till INS Nilgiri
and the long line of Leanders joined in the 1970s
with better radar controlled 4.5-inch Mk 2 guns,
and Sea-Cat AA Missiles like the Army’s Tiger
Cat. There were advances in gunnery, and in ASW
weapons. The speedier digital computer controlled
autonomous anti-submarine A 244S ILAS torpedoes
from Whitehead Motofied Italy (now WASS) were
fitted in the later Leanders and are still in
service. The Soviet Union supplied the Petyas
in the 1960s with AK-76mm MK 176 guns and the
CET-65 torpedoes and superior air armament on
IL-38s.
The Navy’s weaponry became more lethal and more
easy to use but challenging to maintain in Naval
Armament Depots (NADs). The arrival of the Kashins
still in service led by INS Rajput in 1980 with
long 140km Styx (SS-N-2D Mk2) missiles – now being
replaced by Brahmos, twin 76mm/59 AK 726 guns
and the Volna AA system like the IAF’s Pechora
– now being replaced by Barak I AA system. The
Kashin carried the CET-65E anti-submarine passive/active
homing with AK 230 guns firing 50 rounds a minute.
The three ‘Durg’ (Nanuchka ) class from Soviet
Union arrived with sea skimming P-20 Styx (SS-N-2C)
in single-tube launchers, with active radar or
infra-red homing to 70 km at 0.9 Mach with 513
kg warheads. For anti- air, the Durgs had one
OSA-M (SA-N-4) SAM twinlauncher with homing to
15 km at Mach 2.5, with a service ceiling of 3048
meters and a 50 kg warhead, and 57mm guns with
90º elevation with 120 rds/min to a range of 8
km. The Russian AA systems and missiles changed
the Western Fleet’s surface and air action tactics
with range and accuracy.
The Modern Indian Navy
Gunnery. The Indian Navy has only a few
varieties of guns for surface, anti-air and anti-missile
operations. The Type 17 Shivalik, Brahmaputra
and Godavari class and warships built in India,
are fitted with the Italian Oto Melara 76mm/62
(3”) super rapid 85 rounds per minute with range
up to 16 km with 6 kg rounds. The gun is manufactured
and assembled and supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals
Ltd (BHEL). The Navy also has Russian single powerful
100mm AK 190 gun which fires 60 rounds of 15.6
kg per minute to a range of 21.5 km, on the Krivacks
.The long range guns are controlled by ship’s
Fregat radar and fire control radar. The AK-630/230
guns on ships described above are in service.
Missilery. The Styx missiles era has moved
on for the Indian Navy to 130km KH-35E 4 Quad
Uran (Zvezda SS-N-26) Switchblade on the three
Brahmaputra class and four Kora class corvettes.
The air-launched 3MF- 25E version can be launched
from MiG- 29Ks and Su-30 MKIs. The longer range
220 km Alpha Novator Club family of missiles SS-N-27
(3M-54-TE) are fitted in the three Type P17 Shivalik
and the three Krivacks of the Talwar Class from
Yantar and, also, on five out of nine remaining
Sindughosh class submarines as, INS Sindhurakshak
suffered explosions on August 14. The missiles
are both ship and land attack versions. The DRDO
has supplied the nuclear tipped 300km Dhanush
and the versatile Brahmos (PJ-10) 299km land and
ship attack missiles with IR and radar and GPS
guidance, with way point navigation. Brahmos is
being fitted progressively on the Kashins (three
converted), and are operational on Batch two Krivacks
from Yantar (INS Teg, Tarkash and Trikand) and
will be fitted on the three Type 15A Kolkutta
class, and all future warships. The Kolkutta is
set to be commissioned early next year. In due
course the nuclear submarine INS Arihant, awaiting
trials will be fitted out with twelve 750 Km Kalam-15/Bhasin-05
Sagarika missiles in a plug with nuclear war heads.
DRDO is working on a longer heavier range missile
for the succeeding nuclear submarines with a Anti-Air
and Anti- Missile Systems. For anti-air and
anti-missile action the 25 km twin Shtil SA-N-7
9 (M317E) system is fitted in the Talwar class
Krivacks and the Shivaliks. The Delhi class has
the Kashmir (Uragan) 25 km SAM-2 SA-7-N Gadfly
semi active radar and IR homing and the Kashtan
with twin 30mm Gatling gun firing 800 rounds/min
to 2 km with compact laser guided eight 8-kg missiles
from a launcher up to a range of 8km, from an
optronic director which is similar to the Tanguska,
being replaced. The INS Viraat, Godavari class,
the Type 15 Delhi class and Type 17 Shivaliks
and the Kashins have been progressively fitted
with the Israeli supplied Octuple IA/Rafael Barak
VLS AA missile with command line or optical guidance
with the AMDR radars, up to 8 km. The DRDO-IARafael
Barak LR SAM akin to the Barak 8 is being developed
and will be fitted in future ships beginning with
INS Kolkutta.
Underwater Weaponry. The INS Chakra and
Kilo Sindhughosh class submarines are fitted a
mix of six 21-inch Type 53-65 passive wake homing
anti-ship torpedoes with 305 kg war head to 19km
and TEST 76-96anti submarine active/passive homing
torpedoes to 15 km at 40 knots or to 20 km at
25 knots with 220 kg warhead .The torpedoes for
submarines remain as supplied by Russia but manufactured
in Kyrgyzstan originally. The four HDW 1500 Shishumar
submarines are fitted with fourteen 21 inch AEG
SUT wire-guided 21- inch torpedoes with active/passive
homing to 28 km at 33 knots. The submarines can
strap mines on deck for laying. The Scorpene torpedo
selection is awaited between the Italian WASS
Blackshark and German Atlas Electronik Seahake
The DRDO is developing a variety of torpedoes
including the heavy weight Varunashastra, a lightweight
and a helicopter launched. The ships have a variety
of ASW RBU-2000 and RBU -6000 rocket launchers.
Aerial Armament. The aging Sea Harriers
with 30mm guns have been converted to fire anti-ship
Derby missiles. The lethal armament on the MiG-29Ks
comprises the 57mm rockets, 150/250/500kg bombs,
and aerial launched 3MF-25E anti-ship missile
and a BVR missile. The Boeing P8i Maritime Reconnaissance
(MR) has the latest US supplied MK 54 torpedoes
for ASW and AGM-84L Harpoons for anti-ship warfare
with associated electronics, which can be launched
from the torpedo tube launcher.
- Commodore
(Retd) Ranjit B Rai is the author of ‘A Nation
and Its Navy at War’ (Lancers 1988) and Former
Director Intelligence and Naval Operations.
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