The
Indian Government had ordered eight aircraft with an option for four more soon
after the 26/11 attack on Mumbai in 2008 by Pakistani terrorists who infiltrated
into the country’s financial capital by sea. Built on the civilian Boeing 737
platform, delivery of all the eight aircraft was recently completed on time and
promised costs. Reliable sources told India
Strategic (www.indiastrategic.in) that discussions for four additional aircraft
have begun with Boeing, and deliveries would begin soon after the contract is
signed. The Indian Navy has been operating Soviet-vintage IL-38 and Tu-142
maritime surveillance aircraft, and although the IL- 38s have been upgraded for
limited life extension, the Tu-142s are largely being replaced with the Boeing
P-8Is. The Navy’s new Indian Maritime Security Strategy (IMSS 2015), released
by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in October, supersedes the doctrines released
in 2004 and 2009, and substantially increases the Navy’s responsibility in countering
both coastal and high seas threats. The area of interest has been expanded deeper
south in the Indian Ocean and farther west up to the Mediterranean to ensure safe
passage for shipping. Aircraft are the fastest to reach target areas, and
the Boeing P-8I is easier and cheaper to operate in terms of technology and fuel,
carries more load than any of the Soviet origin aircraft with the Navy, and has
sensors and weapons to detect submarines and other threats 360 degrees. That is
why the Navy has decided to exercise the options clause for four more. Navy
Chief Admiral Robin Dhowan had told India
Strategic (www.indiastrategic.in) in an earlier interview that besides the
12 P-8Is, the Navy will be looking for nine Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance
(MRMR) aircraft – of the same modern capability as that of P-8I – and 12 Dornier
228 Short Range Maritime Reconnaissance (SRMR) aircraft. The tender for MRMR is
yet to be issued. An older 1980s version of Dornier is being made by HAL
and a new generation and more powerful version by the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd
(TASL), but the latter is only for exports. All the aircraft are to have
some level of Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities, and according to Admiral Dhowan,
capability is the key towards any selection. Boeing delivered the last
of the eight ordered aircraft in October, and on November 13, Mr Parrikar dedicated
the aircraft to the nation after flying in one of them at INS Rajali, Arakkonam,
India’s premier naval air station in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu,
which is under the command of Commander Venkateshwaran Ranganathan. An
engineer by profession, the Defence Minister described the aircraft as a force-multiplier
in dominating the future battle space and give the Navy the necessary reach and
flexibility in swiftly responding to threats in “our area of interest.” He also
complimented the Naval A Squadron 312A, which flies them, for achieving several
operational milestones even during the induction trials, like participation in
the search effort for the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370, and the first successful
trial of Harpoon Block II anti-shipping missile made by US company Raytheon. Raytheon
has also given the multimission aircraft highly sophisticated Advanced Electronically
Scanned Array (AESA) APY-10 radar. The P-8I has 360-degree surveillance capability
for Electronic Signals Intelligence (ELINT), thanks to radars from Raytheon and
Telephonics, while its weapons include depth charges, torpedoes and missiles.
The P-8I Neptune for the Indian Navy is nearly the same as the P-8 Poseidon for
the US Navy, except for some changes like India’s own data link made by BEL which
the Navy uses for all its ships and stations. | 
