RUSSIA'S OFFER OF IMPROVED AMUR CLASS SUBMARINES WITH BRAHMOS MUST BE CONSIDERED SERIOUSLY, what u say guys?
http://www.indiadefenceupdate.com/news130.html
The spot light is shining on Indian Navy's choice for its second critical multi billion dollar indigenous submarine building programme. The HDW scandal of the 80s had put a halt to India's submarine building in Mazagon Docks Ltd, for no fault of the Navy. An excellent submarine building establishment which had been built up at the East Yard of the Mazagon Docks Ltd by 1985, had to be disbanded after two HDW-IKL 1500 ton design subs, had been successfully commissioned. An innocuous telegram from India's Ambassador in Germany, inquiring if the 7.5% commission was to be paid for the 6th and 7th submarines as for the first four, set in motion a CBI witch hunt with political cover ups, and finally died a natural death only in 2006. But India's ambitions to build submarines in numbers were disrupted. In the interregnum the Navy acquired 10 double decked Kilo class boats, including two on barter payments from the erstwhile Soviet Union, between 1986 and 2000. The boats had to be routinely sent back to Russia for mid life refits and conversion to fire Klub missiles at great cost to the exchequer. An attempt has been made to refit the first Kilo class at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Vishakapatnam but expertise has been lacking. For such specialised refits a nation needs to possess its own submarine building facilities and the Navy's 30 year submarine building programme envisages just that.
THE SCORPENE SCANDAL
Wisely ten years ago, the Government sanctioned a two line 30 year submarine building plan in the form of joint ventures, and it was envisaged India would become an exporter of submarines. IN's submarine arm rightly clamoured for a submarine centric Navy, but was invariably over ruled by the stronger aircraft carrier lobby. Though two aircraft carriers have been ordered at an estimated cost of over $ 4.5 bill only one submarine line, the 6 Scorpene project was sanctioned in 2005 after much dilly dallying. The project with tube launched Exocet missiles is being executed by the French Armaris/DCNS and Spanish-Navantia combine at a cost of $ 3 bill in the congested yard at Mazagon Docks Ltd. The first Scorpene has already fallen back in its building schedule by one year, and may l roll out in 2013, as of now A legal charge of wrong doing in the deal by Transparency International which is headed by a former Navy Chief who should not be doubted and probably knows it all, still breathes in Delhi's High Court, keeping naval officers in the project in NHQ occupied in courts. The Navy desperately does not want to see another HDW debacle and should not. Another former Naval Chief, whose nephew was an arms dealer (and is surprisingly untraceable) who signed the contract has also not indicated what this is all about so that the matter can be closed. And of course the son of another Naval Chief who is one of India's best known arms dealer is involved as he was representing HDW it is clear from the media articles and was oppsiong the Scorpene deal. Some other officers have been cashiered in what is the famous War Room Leak and former Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee a sharp operator probably knows it all too.
Concurrently the Navy has begun the bids for the second line, and Spain's Navantia S-80A, HDW's 214, Russia's Amur class, DCNS French Super Scorpene and an Italian offer are on the files for selection. All bidders have confirmed they will be able to install a plug of 4/8 under water vertically launched missiles of the BrahMos variety. Incidentally Turkey has swiftly completed a similar exercise and as per their Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul, Turkish Navy has settled for the Kiel-based Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH(HDW), and its British partner, Marine Force International, over France's DCNS and Spain's Navantia SA. Negotiations are being finalised for the euro 2.5 billion ($4US billion) deal for 6 boats. The vessels would be built in the Golcuk naval shipyard, near Istanbul, and the first submarine would be delivered in 2015. This deal should give insights to Indian planners on the time schedule and costs for delivery, but it needs airing that India has silently acquired much unreported indigenous submarine building skills in its classified ATV nuclear submarine project, which needs to be harnessed and unleashed. It is time the veil of secrecy is lifted.
As of writing the Indian Navy has a depleting conventional operational submarine fleet. As a thumb rule at any given time only 60% of a submarine fleet is operational for war patrols. From its pre eminent strength of 21 underwater killer submarines, which included the nuclear Charlie class boat INS Chakra in 1988, India today has only 10 aging Kilo class and 4 HDW diesel boats some reaching end of their war patrol operational life, at a time when the Navy aspires for 'Blue Water capability'. China is witnessing the dramatic rise of the PLA(Navy)'s large submarine fleet, reported earlier on this site, which Indian planners need to heed. India's nuclear doctrine also includes the caveat of "no first use " and calls for a Triad in which India's Navy is expected to provide for India's nuclear deterrence from the sea, which in fact is true deterrence. India's Sukhanya class OPVs are being modified to fire the 300 km Dhanush which DRDO claims is nuclear capable, but it would be a folly to arm surface ships with nuclear war heads in this day and age for deterrence, as they would be targeted, tracked and criticised.
INDIA'S NUCLEAR SUBMARINE AMBITIONS ARE RUSSIA SUPPORTED
India's Navy will acquire the 9,000 ton Akula nuclear Project 971 boat christened INS Chakra with out VLS capability next year. The boat's reactor had gone critical in June this year and trials have begun at the Amur yard and Indian Navy has trained its key crew and appointed an Inspector General Vice Admiral to oversee nuclear submarine safety at NHQ. Concurrently a large ATV team of DRDO and BARC/Kalpakam research scientists, some 100 naval officers and many more technicians directly under the Prime Minister's Office direction, with Russian help and enriched uranium so supplied, have been struggling for the last 15 years and have installed an indigenous hybrid 90MW Pressure Water Reactor (PWR) built with Russian and other help for the nuclear submarine at the Ship Building Centre (SBC) at Vishakapatnam called the Advanced Technology Vehicle. The project is still kept under semi wraps and it is estimated over $ 1 bill have been spent, but its target dates are now being pushed for launch. There is every indication the hull will be married and launched latest by early next year as many challenges to weld the sections have been overcome. Even in Germany when HDW was building India's submarine one section could not be welded. Hence when this maiden venture succeeds and India's ATV Captain reports from sea he is under way on nuclear power it will truly be an achievement, the nation can be proud of. DRDO is confident they will be able to arm the boat with indigenous 700km under water launched, nuclear capable missiles. Import of missiles with ranges longer than 300km is prohibited under the Missile Technology Control Regime, and India strictly follows the edict.
The Government has to appreciate that the Russians who have supplied the BrahMos missiles have been quick to have grasped India's needs, for its second line of submarines, to make it a win- win situation. Today two front line units of the Indian Navy are BrahMos ready and the future navy's large platforms including INS Vikramaditya( Gorshkov), the Type 15As and all the Kashins will have the supersonic BrahMos capability. This is where the Russian Amur submarine should score in India's selection for the second line. It is not western in origin, which tap can be shut off as was during the sanctions in the past, the Amur has commonalities with India's ATV which is being built with Russian help on the East Coast, and has many Indian suppliers. KSB Pumps, Larsen and Tubro Ltd, Walchand Industries , Bharat Electricals Ltd, Godrej Tatas, Jindal and such are therefore poised to become suppliers for the Amur project. The Russians have carried out tests to launch the BrahMos in an equivalent mock up of a submarine and had earlier offered the elongated hump backed Amur 1650 ton submarine to the Indian Navy. The Amur building programme has been on offer for over five years and discussions to build the boats in India at Hazira by Larsen and Tubro had also been conducted as the second line of construction after the Scorpene deal with Armaris was signed. Larsen is also setting up a shipyard on the East Coast nat Tuttapuli near Ennore and Indian Navy needs such new yards in numbers for its building programmes. The Amur can fill many bills.
There are various camps and foreign suppliers pushing for the second line of submarine building, now made famous by the Suresh Nanda and Naval War Room leak cases, but the final decision should be taken in the national interest, now so much the flavour of our times with the 123 Nuclear deal. One camp argues that Indian Navy look at the Amur offer seriously for all its commonality and capabilities with the Kilo and ATV and long trusted ties with Russia, and others who claim that the western technology is better. These issues can be technologically weighted and proved. Some in the Navy who have designed the Type 75 Scorpene with patience and effort, would like to see their efforts fructify along western lines and are ready to vilify the Russian's 'up start offer', which is reportedly cheaper. The swords are out for the $ 3 bill plus second line of submarine construction for the Indian Navy, and of course with elections round the corner, sweeteners will also be on offer, but the second line of submarine building will be a critical decision for India's maritime ambitions.
