The Indian and U.S. navies have completed a naval drill last month that focused on Anti
Submarine Warfare also apart from information sharing, and coordination between maritime
patrol aircraft and surface combatants.
The exercise was held on April 15 near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The exercise involved some of the most advanced Anti Submarine Warfare platform in the world
- the P-8 POSEIDON MARITIME PATROL AIRCRAFT FROM BOTH NAVIES & ARLEIGH BURKE-CLASS GUIDED-MISSILE
DESTROYER USS Spruance (DDG 111) from U.S Navy.
This comes at a time when both the U.S & India are concerned about increasing strength of
the Chinese Navy especially it's submarine force.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes Indo - U.S Anti Submarine Warfare exercise with
an eye on China.
Let's get started.
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China has been one of the fastest growing major economies in the world for the last
two decades.
Its economic strength has enabled it to pour in a large number of resources in both men
& material in its military.
The Chinese military has made huge strides in hardware both in terms of quality & quantity.
Chinese Navy has got a fair share of upgrades and has been moving from being a brown water
navy to a blue water navy.
Chinese submarine fleet boasts of nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines as well
as nuclear and conventional powered attack submarines
Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines provide China with second strike nuclear capability.
Viewers may note ballistic missile submarines are the most dependable leg of nuclear triad
whose other legs are land-based ICBM & nuclear bomb capable long-range bombers.
They can roam below the surface of the water, away from the eyes of military satellites
& recon aircraft making them hard to detect and track.
Nuclear and conventional powered attack submarines enable it to tackle enemy submarine & surface
ships as well as hit land targets from underneath the ocean surface.
While the Chinese subs are still significantly behind when it comes to acoustic & infrared
signature when compared to American counterparts, they are improving with time.
Chinese submarines have been spotted in the Indian Ocean though these have not bee frequent.
The relation between India & the U.S has been growing stronger & stronger.
The major breakthrough was achieved after the signing of India–United States Civil
Nuclear Agreement which is also known as the 123 Agreement.
Similar strategic interest and democratic values have fulled the two countries closer.
The common goal of standing against Chinese hegemony in the region has cemented the relationship
further.
India & U.S has agreed on two vital military agreements - LEMOA & COMCASA that have long
term strategic impact.
LEMOA or Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement simplifies logistic sharing.
The U.S. Navy plans to deploy 60 % of its surface ships in the Indo-Pacific in the near
future.
Instead of having to build facilities virtually from the ground up, as in Afghanistan and
Iraq, the U.S. now has the benefit of using the Indian facilities.
The U.S has a large number of bases around the world and this will be strategically very
helpful for India.
Here is an example to understand it better: Think of a situation where a U.S. vessels
need fuel and supplies from their Indian counterparts.
Instead of having to pay in cash for them, India will simply maintain a ledger balance
for the transactions, which is cleared in one go at the end of the fiscal year.
Similarly, if an Indian naval vessel suffers a maintenance problem while visiting the U.S.
for an exercise, the repairs are done at an American port.
COMCASA or Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement enables interoperation
between U.S. and Indian military.
Prior to the the agreement, the United States had to remove advanced communication equipment
from all military platforms sold to India such as the P-8I.
For example, the United States had to place less secure temporary systems on Indian units
so the two sides could communicate during bilateral exercises.
On a high level, it can be said that the Indo - U.S relationship has moved into being strategic ties.
The P-8 Poseidon is developed by Boeing & is modified from the 737-800ERX.
The P-8 is equipped with radar, optical and sonar sensors to detect submarines.
It is able to drop and monitor sonobuoys which are basically expendable sonar systems.
P 8 are armed with anti-ship missiles like the AGM-84 Harpoon and torpedoes like the
Mark 54 torpedo apart from equipping them with sea mines and several types of free fall
bombs.
P-8A is the American variant and the U.S has received delivery of more than 90 of these
with approximately additional 30 on order.
P-8I is the customized Indian variant and India has 8 of these with plans to acquire
16 more.
Interesting, the Indian variant has Telephonics APS-143 OceanEye aft radar system and a very
advanced magnetic anomaly detector that are not present on the American variant.
Arleigh Burke-class warships were designed as multi-mission destroyers capable of Anti
Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW).
With an overall length of 509 feet (155 m) and displacement of about 9,200 tons, Arleigh
Burke-class destroyer is among the largest destroyer built in the United States & U.S
Navy has 66 Arleigh Burke-class warships in active service.
For Anti Submarine Warfare the class has AN/SQS-53C sonar array & AN/SQR-19 tactical towed array
sonar.
It has RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC anti-submarine missile and 2 Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes
for Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes.
The warship of this class also carries up to 2 MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters
which has its own ASW capabilities that include the ability to launch different types of torpedoes.
This is the first bilateral anti-submarine warfare exercise after COMCASA was signed.
Deployment of P-8 Poseidon & Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Spruance for the exercise indicates
that India & U.S are taking the threat of Chinese submarines seriously and rightly so.
With India & U.S joining hands, China may have reassess it high handed strategy in the region.
It is already embroiled in a dispute over the South China Sea and opening a new front
in the Indian Ocean could stretch its forces.