This is Part 3 IDF analysis in defence of Part 1 and 2 earlier on India’s aircraft carrier plans. The capabilities of the 22 Sea Guardian Drones/UAVs will be in next posting.
The two earlier posts were more to delay the order for India’s third 65,000 ton aircraft carrier media calls Vishal to get more ships and submarines and Helicopters ( Sikorsky surprisingly canceled) called ‘Long Grey Line of Ships’, and direly needed naval infrastructure and not rule a third carrier in the long run when naval budget is adequate. Delhi dialogue conversations confirmed this.
This is also for healthier Naval Capital and Revenue Budgets to see approved ships get built and are listed below. An aircraft eats the revenue budget and absorbs best man power. An army fights well on its stomach and Navies are as efficient as their infrastructure support and India needs to build Naval infrastructure a young Lt Cdr will explain better ! He berths three ships to four along side each other in the just two big legacy Dockyards. It led to an explosion in a round about way in Mumbai next to Taj.
See list below and IDF will leave ACNS(Plans) to juggle and order all below by 2019. Andaman needs to be beefed up too and Naval aircraft fly from there as Navy is the insurance against China’s Navy.
MAJOR BUDGET (REALISTIC APPX COSTS) – MAJOR NAVY PLANS 2016-22 FOR WAR SHIPS
COMMITTED BY MOD IN CRORES BALL PARK WITH
ESCALATION TOTALS ARE APPX RS 144.000 cr
Small craft VARSHA &
1 Karwar Phase 11 & ELF
2 Station Rs 10,000
3 Type 15 B (MSDL) Rs 18,000
7 Type 17 A (MSDL 4 GRSE 3) Rs 30,000
6 Scorpenes (MSDL 6 ) Rs 36,000
1 Aircraft Carrier (Vikrant CSL) Rs 18,000
Aircraft and Helicopters
2 Type 28 ASW Corvettes Balance Rs 2,500
8 LCUs (GRSE) ETC Rs 3,000
5 SURVEY CATAMARANS and
TRAINING SHIP Suspended
(Alcock Ashdown & ABG)
2 SSBN at SBC (V) Rs 20,000
16 Helicopters 6 FAC and yard craft Midgets
2 DSRV (Fisher # 292 mill) Rs 1200
Need Platforms for them
Could continue FUNDING from PMO All Weapons DRDO COSTS Included
Notes : The Phase II
Karwar Base and Dockyard Expansion and Varsha Submarine base at Rambelle South of Vishakapatnam will Cost Rs. 12,000cr and another Naval Academy is a must. Coast Guard budget will also rise.
SHIPS APPROVED BY DEFENCE ACQUASITION COUNCIL (DAC)
1. 6 SSN Submarines Rs 30,000
2. 6 Project 75 India Submarines Rs 36,000
3. 4 LPDs with helicopters Rs 20,000
4. 65,000 ton Aircraft Carrier Vishal Rs 30,000
5. 8 MCMV (Kangnam) Rs 30,000
6. 4 TANKERS (HSL-Hyuandai) Rs 8,000
Future Needs (& 142000 CR Bill) Rs1 42,000
IDF’s proposal was criticized more by IAF who will have to reduce 2 Squadrons to 40 which IDF anticipated ($ 8 bill), so Max Hastings comments in UK on $ 6 Bill Queen Elizabeth is posted as he calls Queen Elizabeth an embarrassment and he recommends scrapping of the second the Prince of Wales. Too harsh and too late.
His comment has led PM Theresa May to sanction 3 Type 26 frigates and shows the power of media to influence. If it is a good or logical STEP, the decision it is welcomed. If not, letters to the Editor will ridicule a bad suggestion as IAF does IDF.
This posting is the third in sequel on aircraft carriers which are peace time power projectors, but are also definitely risky and expensive non cost effective platforms for employment in war near the enemy as the risks are grave. U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on June 28, to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Is it cost effective IDF asks ? It’s a show of power.
Aircraft carriers and the screening ships become juicy targets in war in the 21st century for submarines, ships and planes to attack from sea platforms or land. Today weapons are long range homing ‘one shot capability missiles and torpedoes’ from ships, submarines and air platforms and are directed by space GPS and satellite commands. Hence China has an anti-axis strategy for USA’s eleven aircraft carriers and plans more submarines and only three carriers and Liaoning is called the training carrier. Shandong is on trials and will be based in south China Sea Command.
If this premise is accepted then in defence of IDF’s suggestion that India needs only two aircraft carriers for the time being, the $ 6 bill and effort of the shipbuilder can be better utilized.
It also needs noting the Russians fired KALIBAR Missiles from 1000 km away to targets in Syria from newer Krivacks called Gregorovich class warships with pin point accuracy to destroy camps near the airport. It angered USA last month. USA could do nothing except set up an aerial attack themselves on Assad’s forces in Syria claiming President Assad was using gas for attacks.
This long range missile action can be achieved too against large aircraft carriers which are big targets as the weapons are now called one shot killers. Trump worries about North Korea.
Many feathers got ruffled when IDF stated two carriers for the time being are sufficient for Indian Navy as Indian Navy’s acquisition of and operation of armed UAVs/ DRONES is on the cards after mastering THE OPERATIONS OF SEARCHER AND HERONS AND THE 22 SEA GUARDIANS it is acquiring .
Few realised that carriers in the 21st Century in war will be $ 10 bill sitting ducks with a full screen of ships around it as studied in Oxford in the Future of War. Hence India’s Navy is acquiring 22 SEA GUARDIAN UAVs (Equivalent of Predators which are armed) called Drones from General Atomics USA for $ 1.8 bill. which can fly from small airfields at 40,000 ft and may be controlled from Indian Maritime Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurgaon and other stations when there is connectivity and even USA’S bases which have connectivity and get the same picture if India allows. This is where BECA space co-operation like LEMOA kicks in.
The Indian Navy was one of the few navies in the world that fitted UAV control cabins on INS Vindhyagiri and Taragiri ( de commissioned since) and had connectivity from Orbit Technologies Israel supplied antenna to control and get pictures from Searcher and Heron in exercises flying from shore and coming over head 300 km away and for targeting long range missiles. Since India has become a member MTCR the range of the BrahMos and other missiles K4 and K 15 under water from Arihant’s successors can be increased. Armed UAVs/Drones are the future.
The sales of Sea Guardians was helped by the same US Indian American Mr Lal who steered Boeing’s sales of 10 C-17s plus one more ordered, 12 P8Is, 22 Apaches AND 16 Chinooks and now more Apaches for the Army. Sea Guardians can fly at 40,000 ft for over 30 hours from small airfields like U2 did from Charbatia and Peshawar in the 1960s and IAF knows the base for Bombardiers and Gilf Streams now.
As this post ends the Chumbi Valley stand off looks like a a walk back for all before G 20 meet and PLA (Navy ) has its Type 041 Yuan-class SSK in IOR since April and had even sought berthing facilities in Colombo when PM Modi was visiting Sri Lanka in May for Vesaka ! A Type 815G intelligence-gatheringship, Haiwingxing 852 of the South Sea Fleet, was spotted in Indian Ocean late last month, and this vessel will monitor the India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from next week. . India’s P-8Is and surface warships sighted Luyang III class destroyers, hydrographic research vessels and fleet replenishment tankers. The presence of a Type 041 Yuan-class SSK was also established by thesighting of Type 925 Chongmingdao 32 a submarine support vessel after an operational turnaround in Karachi since April. That is the long grey line of PLA Navy and Trident Blogspot has more details. Shan No Varuna.