Indian Defense
Australia May Have Opened The Door For India; Like Rafale, A Submarine Deal Is Critical
by Lt Gen Dr Prakash Menon (Retd)
Fear, it seems, is the reigning global emotion and is reflected in innumerable speeches at the seventy-sixth United Nations General Assembly session. The dangers posed to humanity by climate change, extremism, and human and women’s rights violations were seated in the front row of the hall of fear. Cooperation was a popular antidote. The problem is that global geopolitics is currently afflicted by a surge in confrontations, especially between the United States and China — the big powers.
Power balancing is the name of the game and both are in search of partners. Middle powers in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific cannot possibly escape the shadows cast by the global and regional struggle for domination. India’s geographic endowments make it a prisoner of forces at play in both geographies. The Eurasian geopolitical struggle is for India, a primarily continental one, while the Indo-Pacific struggle is maritime. Striking a balance between the two is one of the central challenges of India’s national security strategy.
India’s balancing act must be cognisant of its core fundamental interest — socio-economic progress. Economic progress with equitable growth is the sine qua non. Trade routes across India’s continental borders seem to hold very little promise of utilisation. In the West, Pakistan, and now Afghanistan, is expected to continue blocking access to Central and West Asia. To the North, China cannot be trusted to provide access that is trouble-free. To the East, the military coup and China’s activities in Myanmar act as a drag that delays Myanmar’s realisation of becoming a land bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia.
India And South Asian Relations
The best avenue for economic progress for India is mostly the maritime realm and the ability to use it for trade, while internal governance policies provide the ballast for equitable growth. In the continental space of South Asia, India must focus on improving political, socio-cultural and economic ties with Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Improving transportation with these countries must be prioritised and efforts that are already underway must be accelerated.
India’s long-term vision must encompass the establishment of stable relations with China and Pakistan, however distant the prospect might look in contemporary geopolitics. Admittedly, India’s relations with both will be shackled by the larger China-US struggle. But New Delhi’s policy of strategic autonomy must be protected from being pulled in by one or the other in order to serve their purposes and at the cost of our interests. Preserving the interests of our maritime domain must guide our strategic approach. In terms of continental space, for the next decade or so, India’s land border with China and Pakistan must be viewed more as an issue of territorial integrity and not as an avenue that can be opened for trade. This framework will remain a key challenge to India’s foreign policy.
The national security strategy must be based on the policy of strategic defence in the continental space that is coupled with strategic offence in maritime space. Politically and militarily, cooperation in continental space can be expected to be limited to defence modernisation, intelligence sharing and diplomatic support. Cooperation in the maritime space may be expected in the Western Pacific, East Asia and South China seas but may be limited in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) due to differing priorities of interests of the powers concerned – US, Japan, Australia and the nations of Southeast Asia. India’s maritime capability development must therefore be tailored within such reality.
The China Challenge
From an Indian perspective, China, which is its major trading partner and also the primary and potential adversary, has its major sensitivities on their eastern seaboard. Taiwan and the South China sea are its major areas of concern and its strategic anxieties derive from attempts to reduce the potential of the US and its allies, throttling its trade. The frantic expansion of its maritime capabilities, coupled with building transportation corridors across the continental space of Eurasia, has been a strategic choice and is in progress through the Belt and Road Initiative. However, it cannot escape from its dependency on the maritime domain as the shipborne container revolution cannot be replaced by transportation by road, rail or even by pipelines, due to vulnerabilities across the Tibet, Xinjiang and Central Asian regions. Geography is not on China’s side.
In the IOR, China can overcome, to some extent, the limitations posed by distance, if it develops suitable and operable bases. But its power projection roles will be limited by the number of its aircraft carriers. The creation of military bases in Djibouti and Gwadar, Pakistan are in advanced stages and are accompanied by several dual-use ports that can provide administrative support but not military logistics in terms of ammunition, ship repair, etc.
China’s impressive sub-surface naval capability based on submarines is understandably its answer to protecting its trade routes in the IOR. China presently has six nuclear-powered SSNs and forty-seven modern conventional submarines. By 2030, it plans to expand the SSNs to fourteen while conventional submarines remain the same.
The Indian Ocean Region Strategy
If India aspires to build a capability for a strategic offensive in the IOR, it must enhance its submarine building capability. Preferably, it must have an affordable mix of nuclear-powered and Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) platforms. However, India’s submarine building capability has been marred by a host of unresolved issues. An opportunity may have opened up for India with Australia ditching its submarine building commitment with France.
France is already building six Kalvari-class submarines at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai, a project that has been delayed due to inefficiencies on the Indian side. India should explore the possibility of leveraging France’s loss of order to Australia and expediting its tardy progress in the next generation of submarine-building. It is a strategic opportunity that India must not miss out on and calls for political intervention to break the inertia of our submarine acquisition and production process.
Driven by technology, naval power is finding greater depth underwater. India’s balance of naval capability must shift towards greater sub-surface capability without sacrificing the surface elements for constabulary and power-projection roles. It can only be done if the Indian military priorities in the continental space are properly aligned to political objectives. It must accord importance to India’s national interests – greater maritime trade and the safety of its routes.
Fear born from political hostility and mutual distrust is leading countries to seek greater safety through enhancement of operational effectiveness in the sub-surface waters of the Indo-Pacific. Embracing the offensive capability of submarines has emerged as the preferred doctrine in this contest. The Indian Navy had identified its need several decades ago, but the acquisition remained stymied. India can no longer wait. Australia may have unknowingly opened the French door for us. Like the Rafale, the submarine deal must be rescued from the sluggish pace of India’s civil–military bureaucracy. The Prime Minister’s Office must act and work out a government-to-government deal.
Indian Defense
INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’
The solid-fuelled K-4 missile is being developed by DRDO to arm the country’s nuclear-powered submarines in the shape of INS Arihant and its under-development sister vessels. INS Arihant, which became fully operational in November 2018 to complete India’s nuclear triad, is currently armed with the much shorter K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.
“The K-4 is now virtually ready for its serial production to kick-off. The two tests have demonstrated its capability to emerge straight from underwater and undertake its parabolic trajectory,” said a source.
India has the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile now in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons. But INS Arihant gives the country’s deterrence posture much more credibility because nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles are considered the most secure, survivable and potent platforms for retaliatory strikes.
Once the K-4 missiles are inducted, they will help India narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have over 5,000-km range SLBMs. The K-4 missiles are to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000-6,000 km range class.
The 6,000-ton INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, in turn, is to be followed by INS Arighat, which was launched in 2017. The next generation of nuclear submarines, currently called S-4 and S-4*, will be much larger in size.
Indian Defense
After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%
India has received clearance to upgrade 84 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, which will result in 78% indigenization after the upgrade
In a significant step towards bolstering its military might with indigenously developed technology, India is poised to witness its Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets evolve into a domestic platform. Speaking at a recent lecture.
The upgrade program is being led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with the Indian Air Force and other partners. The upgrade is expected to cost US$7.5 billion.
This initiative is a part of a larger effort by the Indian Air Force to modernize its ageing fleet. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari asserted the critical role of an offensive air force as demonstrated in current global conflicts and emphasized India’s move towards an indigenized arsenal. To this end, the IAF has been proactive, from upgrading its Mirage 2000 to enhancing its MiG-29 fleet.
In summary, the IAF’s commitment to updating their combat forces with the latest technology, including shifting to fifth-generation fighter jets, ensures operational preparedness and a strong deterrence capability. The gradual indigenization of its air fleet marks a pivotal shift in India’s defence landscape, reducing dependency on foreign imports and fostering technological sovereignty.
Indian Defense
Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace
According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia is a top contender for an export order for Akash SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
The Akash export version will also be slightly different from the one inducted by the armed forces. The 100-km range air-to-air Astra missiles, now entering production after successful trials from Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, also have “good export potential”, said sources.
Akash is a “tried, tested and successfully inducted systems”. Indian armed forces have ordered Akash systems worth Rs 24,000 crore over the years, and MoD inked a contract in Mar 2023 of over Rs 9,100 crores for improved Akash Weapon System
BDL is a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence that was established in 1970. BDL manufactures surface-to-air missiles and delivers them to the Indian Army. BDL also offers its products for export.
Akash Weapon System
The AWS is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In order to meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology, Reduced Foot Print, 360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.
The project will give a boost to the Indian missile manufacturing industry in particular and the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem as a whole. The project has overall indigenous content of 82% which will be increased to 93% by 2026-27.
The induction of the improved AWS into the Indian Army will increase India’s self-reliance in Short Range Missile capability. This project will play a role in boosting the overall economy by avoiding outgo of precious foreign exchange to other countries, increasing employment avenues in India and encouraging Indian MSMEs through components manufacturing. Around 60% of the project cost will be awarded to the private industry, including MSMEs, in maintaining the supply chain of the weapon system, thereby creating large scale of direct and indirect employment.
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