Naval aviation is an important part of the naval strategy of India
and Pakistan. The Pakistan navy took the lead in the sub-continent in terms of
introducing the Atlantique long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Sea
King helicopters fitted with anti-ship missiles. It also acquired the US
supplied P3C Orion with Harpoon missiles.
Although the Indian naval leadership had acknowledged the role of
and the need for long-range maritime patrol (LRMP) aircraft as force
multipliers, these platforms were late entrants in the Indian naval force
structure. The current Indian LRMP inventory comprises of the Russian origin
Tupolev-142 and Ilyushin-38, which have been upgraded; and a few Dornier
aircraft. There have been attempts to fit missiles on some of these platforms
with mixed results.
In 2009, India signed a contract worth US$ 3.9 billion with Boeing
to supply 8 P-8 Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA). The first P-8I (I for the
Indian variant) was handed over to the Indian navy in December 2012 and is currently
undergoing trials and crew training. The balance seven aircraft will be
delivered in 2013 (two) and 2015 (seven). India is the first international
customer for the P-8, and the acquisition of the platform is a good example of
the growing Indo-US naval cooperation.
The on-board equipment of the P-8I is similar to that of the P-8A
of the US navy, but a number of equipment and sub-assemblies developed by
Indian Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) and private companies have been
fitted. The P-8I has a range of over 1200 nautical miles, is capable of
in-flight refuelling, and can remain on task at a station for 4 hours. Its
weapon suite includes the Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile, Mk-54 torpedoes,
and depth charges.
The Harpoon missile is not new to the Indian sub-continent and
therefore merits attention. In 2005, the US transferred nine P3C Orion aircraft
and 60 Harpoon (40 air-launched and 20 ship launched) missiles to Pakistan. The
total package - including a ‘close-in-weapon system’ was worth US$ 970 million.
There were concerns among Indian naval planners, as the US had defended the
sale of the hardware citing Pakistan’s legitimate self-defence capability.
In May 2011, two Pakistan navy P3C Orion aircraft were destroyed in
a terrorist attack on PNS Mehran naval airbase in Karachi. During the 21st
meeting of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group (DCG) in December 2012,
Pakistan had requested the US for replacements of the P3C Orion aircraft to
make up for the losses and it was noted, “The provision of three or four more
such aircraft would also help increase the counterterrorism capacity of
Pakistani navy.”
The P-8I aircraft is designed for a number of roles and missions
including surveillance, reconnaissance, detection, and prosecution of surface
and subsurface targets at sea, imaging targets in the littorals, and search and
rescue. The Arabian Sea is likely to be high on Indian navy’s deployment
priorities where it must contend with the Pakistan navy.
The Pakistan navy has acquired Augusta 90 B submarines fitted with
AIP system and there are plans to equip these platforms with Harpoon Block II
missiles. Interestingly, the Pakistan naval leadership has noted that these
submarines can be modified to deliver nuclear weapons. There have been
speculations that Israel may have developed technological capability to
miniaturise a nuclear warhead to be fitted on a Harpoon missile. Apparently,
the US navy had spotted missiles being tested by an Israeli submarine in the
Indian Ocean. It is quite unlikely that Pakistan has the technological knowhow
to develop a miniaturised nuclear warhead of such sophistication unless it can
obtain assistance from China, which has supported its nuclear weapons
programme.
At another level, it is interesting that the Indian navy did not
explore the possibility of equipping the P-8I with the Brahmos missile. There
could have been at least two reasons: first, the Brahmos is a joint project of
the Indian and Russian companies called Brahmos Aerospace, and there may be
contractual limitations precluding its fitment on US origin platforms. Second,
India has been attempting to diversify its military acquisitions to avoid
overdependence on a single source; and in that context, the US naval hardware
is a good alternative.
Finally, the P-8I is a significant addition to the Indian navy's
armoury. It is a force multiplier and can significantly augment the maritime
air surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat capabilities of the Indian navy.
It would have to be cleverly deployed keeping in mind that the Pakistan navy is
also equipped with Harpoon missiles and has a good knowledge of the missile’s
technical parameters and exploitation doctrine. However, the P-8I is a
technologically advanced platform as compared to the P3C Orion, and can offer
technological edge over the Pakistan navy.
see more http://www.ipcs.org/article/india/p-3c-vs-p-8i-india-pakistan-and-the-naval-3889.html
Vijay Sakhuja
Director (Research), Indian Council of World
Affairs, New Delhi
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