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A Navy of a large maritime nation, as India is,
has to be three dimensional, balanced with aircraft
carriers, warships, submarines and aircraft. The
combination of power and mobility is vital to
avoid war, while diplomacy and negotiations are
the better options to solve differences in this
age of proliferating nuclear weapons, especially
in the region around India which is challenged
with poverty, terrorism and border resolutions
left over from the British, and emotional break
downs of states even in the Middle East as most
were one nation in the last century. India has
a role to play.
India’s Navy is the smallest of the three
services with a strength of 63,000 which includes
6,000 officers and is still short of over 1,700
officers and 13,000 sailors as it has expanded
fast. Forty three ships are on order calling for
standby crews and supervision as the ships are
commissioned, and is under pressure to deliver
world-wide. The Navy discharges this responsibility
through a broad spectrum of cooperative and inclusive
endeavors with the other services, and encompasses
coordinated operations, bilateral and international
multi-lateral exercises, security assistance,
goodwill visits to show the Flag and Navy to Navy
dialogues. The Navy and Coast Guard are mandated
to preserve good order at sea and ensure security
of International Shipping Lanes in the IOR and
choke points in the interest of the global commons.
As soon as the new government with majority assumed
office on May 26, 2014, there was hectic activity
in Naval Headquarters. CNS Admiral DK Dhowan had
assumed office on April 17, 2014 after a turbulent
period in the Navy, when fourteen accidents some
minor, and some major with loss of lives had tarnished
the image of the fine service. Admiral DK Joshi
had earlier resigned citing ‘Moral Responsibility’
of command, though this writer feels the accidents
were a failure of ‘Collective Responsibility’.
Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba filled the vacant chair
of the Vice Chief, and a shuffle of the three
Commanders-in-Chief took place in early June.
The Navy was operationally on a high with the
commissioning of its Naval satellite GSAT 7 which
put it in the higher league in net-centric warfare,
and with the addition of the P-8i maritime state-of-the-art
Boeings 737 and MiG-29Ks arriving in numbers.
A bugle call to get down to regain ground of professionalism,
training and keeping safety in mind was trumpeted
from NHQ.
The spanking powerful 43,500-tonne aircraft carrier
INS Vikramaditya escorted from Russia in a nonstop
journey was received in Indian waters by aircraft
carrier INS Viraat and home berthed at INS Kadamba’s
jetty at Karwar where all facilities and accommodation
were being progressed, and the ship was still
to work up and embark the powerful MiG-29Ks of
the Panther squadron which were based at INS Hansa
at Goa. Creditably seven pilots qualified in deck
landings when the delayed monsoon broke in the
Arabian Sea.
Defence Minister Jaitley visited INS Viraat at
Mumbai on 7th June and commissioned two Fast Patrol
Boats built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and MOD
suddenly planned for Prime Minister Modi to dedicate
INS Vikramaditya to the nation on June 14. Modi’s
first military visit was to the Navy and so soon
after taking over, and this was a signal that
Modi and his government attach importance to the
Navy, which has seen neglect in the past. This
visit came as a morale booster for the Navy and
Western Navy fleet ships which worked up for the
occasion. Modi’s visit when he was flown
in to Vikramaditya on a rough monsoon day in Mid
June from Goa, was a success and the pilots displayed
MiG-29Ks high speed ‘touch and go’ landing
operations and other activities of the powerful
platform and a fire power demonstration, which
was covered in the last issue of India Strategic
issue.
International Engagements
For the first time, the Indian Navy’s INS
Sayhadri, a Type 17 Shivalik from the Eastern
Fleet, sailed from Vishakaptnam and actively took
part in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC-14) exercises;
the world’s largest maritime exercise involving
ships and representatives and military units from
twenty three nations which included forty seven
ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft
and 25,000 personnel. The long biennial RIMPAC
exercise was held from June 26 to August 1, in
and around the Hawaiian Islands, the home of USA’s
powerful Pacific Command that is handling USA’s
‘Pivot’. The varied nations’ ships,
submarines and aircraft operated together for
a swath of different training and liaison activities
in harbour to plan interoperability, and co-ordination
and ‘Bon Homme’. While the vast majority
of RIMPAC exercises at sea involving all aspects
of very advanced naval drills and multi-lateral
exercises are also executed in the Malabar series,
however, RIMPAC’s impact is obviously much
larger because of participation by mych greater
number of countries. The highlight this year was
the inclusion of amphibious operations. A large
contingent of three PLAN (PLA Navy) ships and
personnel also took part. The exposure for Indian
Navy was significant.
Concurrently Eastern fleet ships under Rear Admiral
Atul Kumar Jain comprising Indian designed Mazagon
Docks Ltd (MDL) built INS Shivalik (Captain Puruvir
Das) with Klub missiles ( which had earlier taken
part in multilateral exercises off Quindao with
the PLAN in April end, and even hosted its Chief,
Admiral Wu Sheng Li), the Kashin Ranvijay (Capt
MG Raju) with BrahMos missile capability, and
tanker Shakti sailed for an operational deployment
to the South China Sea and North West Pacific.
The ships were to participate in the Indo-Russian
bilateral naval exercise Indra-14, and, later,
the trilateral naval exercise Malabar-14 with
US Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence
Force (JMSDF) in the Sea of Japan.
After a port call at Vladivostok the, Russia-India
Indira-14 exercise in the ‘Peter the Great
Bay’ in the Sea of Japan from July 17 to
July 19 was a success and the exercise strengthened
the already strong friendly bonds between the
navies of the two countries. The Russian Navy
was represented by guided-missile cruiser ‘Varyag’,
destroyer ‘Bystry’, large landing craft
‘Peresvet’ along with supply vessels
and air assets of Russia with tactical manoeuvring,
defence against un-alerted raids, cross deck helicopter
operations, rendering assistance to a ship in
distress, replenishment at sea, joint management
of anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface warfare
and firings on surface and air targets. Taking
departure the three ships bade farewell and proceeded
to Sasebo in Japan for multilateral Malbar-14.
Malabar from July 24 to July 30 was a complex,
high-end war fighting exercise that has grown
in scope and complexity over the years and included
professional exchanges with a US carrier strike
group under Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, Commander,
US 7th Fleet. P-3C Orion maritime patrol and reconnaissance
and US-2 Shimaywa seaplane sorties, anti-piracy
operations and visit, board, search and seizure
(VBSS) operations were executed in the Sea of
Japan. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the US
7th Fleet and its allies, Japan and partner India,
maintain a consistent presence. “It’s
absolutely critical that we train together and
build our maritime partnership and understanding,"
said Captain Shan M. Byrne Commodore 15 Destroyer
Squadron, adding, "Exercises like Malabar
continue to help maintain and strengthen stability
and security in the Asian Pacific and Indian Ocean
region."
On their return passage, INS Ranvijay with Rear
Admiral Atul Kumat Jain entered the Sepanggar
port, where the Royal Malaysian Navy has its Scorpene
naval base and submarine training simulators on
a three-day goodwill visit aimed at strengthening
bilateral defence ties. "This is the first-ever
visit by an Indian naval warship to the port and
it is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and
enhancing inter-operability between the navies
of the two friendly nations," said a Navy
release. During its time at Sepanggar, various
activities involving the warship were conducted
including official calls and professional interaction
between personnel of both navies.
Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff visited
Canada August 5-8. The visit was on the invitation
of the Commander of Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)
Vice Admiral MAG Norman and reciprocates a visit
by RCN Chief to India in January 2013. Former
CNS Admiral Nirmal Verma is the High Commissioner
in Ottawa. Dhowan visited Esquimalt Naval Base
at Victoria which is the Headquarters of the Maritime
Forces Pacific of the Canadian Navy. At Ottawa,
Dhowan had bilateral meetings with senior hierarchy
of the Canadian Forces including Lt General GR
Thibault, the officiating Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS) and Lt General SA Beare, Commander Canadian
Joint Operations Command.
New Inductions
Admiral RK Dhowan inaugurated a new state-of-the-art
‘Very Low Frequency (VLF)’ transmitting
station’s high tower at INS Kattaboman, Tirunelvelli,
Tamil upgrading a 24 year old facility, that had
wide spread ground antennae. Larsen and Toubro
Ltd (L&T) Ltd and Continental Electronic Corp
of USA contributed. This new facility would provide
a boost to the Navy’s ability to communicate
with deployed ships and submarines on an uninterrupted
basis of broadcast throughout the year. India
has now joined a handful of nations in the world
that has this capability to pass orders by extra
low frequency with bit rate in code to submerged
submarines including nuclear submarines that will
be deployed to provide the sea-borne leg of India’s
nuclear deterrence triad. A Navy release states
It will protect Indian national interests, and
adds the Service has an elaborate communication
infrastructure, including modern satellite communication
facilities, to link and network its deployed units
with their home bases and command and control
centres. The new VLF station will strengthen this
infrastructure and provide the Navy additional
operational advantages. Interestingly, the facility
boasts of the highest masts structures in India,
as well as several other unique engineering feats.
Coming Events
In a red letter day one day after India’s
68th Independence Day PM Narendra Modi will commission
Navy’s first of three 7,400-tonne Type 17A
Brahmos-capable destroyer INS Kolkata at the Naval
Dockyard, Mumbai on August 16. On August 23 in
succession, Defence Minister Jaitley will commission
the INS Kamorta another 3, 000-tonne Indian designed,
first of three Project 28 Anti Submarine Warfare
(ASW) specialist ships built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders
and Engineers Ltd (GRSE Kolkata).
Conclusion
To sum up, the last three months have been exciting,
educative and very satisfying for the Indian Navy
and should as it harnesses itself on a path of
expansion, to enable it to fully meet India’s
maritime aspirations.
*Commodore (Retd) Ranjit
B Rai is former Director of Naval Operations and
Intelligence at NHQ and an author.
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