Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata (D 63) and tanker INS Shakti (A 57), Philippine Navy
patrol ship BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS 17) , Japan's helicopter-carrier Izumo (DDH 183) and destroyer
Murasame (DD 101) and America's USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) have sailed together
through South China Sea.
The commanding officer of USS William P. Lawrence , Cmdr.
Andrew J. Klug said, “Our team was really excited to take part
in this multi-lateral event.
Professional engagements with our allies, partners and friends in the region are opportunities
to build upon our existing, strong relationships, as well as learn from each other.”
The ships conducted naval maneuvers, communication interchange, personnel transfers as well as
held a leadership exchange aboard Izumo.
In this video Defense Updates, reports on how US, Japan, India, and THE PHILIPPINES
has challenged China in the South China Sea with a joint show of force?
Let's gets started.
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China claims almost all of the South China Sea and is trying to establish de facto control
of the waters.
It wants all ships & aircraft navigating in the area to identify itself to the Chinese
Navy.
Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have claims on these waters but
China has outmuscled them and set up military infrastructure in the many islands like the
Spratly Islands.
The South China Sea route is significant as about $5 trillion in trade and almost 50%
world’s oil shipment passes through it each year.
The waters are also thought to have 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas.
Countries like the US, Japan and India have no claims in the area and want ‘Freedom
of Navigation’ as per international maritime laws.
Viewers may note that the U.S conducts Freedom-of-Navigation regularly and has been urging others to conduct
joint exercises with the U.S.
We will now look into each warship from each country one by one.
INS Kolkata is the lead ship of Kolkata class.
Kolkata class is a follow-on model of the Delhi class and has 2,363 modifications which
include major upgrades in weaponry, sensors and helicopter systems
It has a displacement of 7,500 tons and length 163 m (535 ft).
INS Kolkata has a maximum speed of more than 30 knots & operating range of 8,000 nmi or
15,000 km.
Its primary sensor is the Israeli MF STAR, an advanced active phased array radar that
can track incoming missiles and aircraft at ranges beyond 250 km or 155 miles.
The MF-STAR is in the same class as the US Navy's Aegis combat system and AN/SPY-1D radar
antenna, which form the basis of the most advanced Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh
Burke-class destroyers.
Sonar systems include HUMSA NG hull-mounted sonar array and Nagin active towed array sonar.
The main gun fitted forward is a 130mm gun.
Four AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) are being provided for close-in air defense.
The anti-submarine warfare is provided by twin-tube torpedo launchers and RBU-6000 smerch-2
ASW rocket launchers.
The 16-cell universal vertical launcher module (UVLM) fitted on the ship can launch BrahMos
missiles which is one of the fastest anti-ship missiles in the world and has a range of more
than 450 KM.
There are two Vertical Launching Systems (VLS) for Barak 8 SAM (surface-to-air missile).
It has a maximum operational range of 43 miles or 70 km & can take down an incoming missile
as close as 500 m away from the ship.
The Kolkata Class has a flight deck and enclosed hangar to embark up to two medium-lift helicopters
such as HAL Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) and AgustaWestland Sea King
INS Shakti (A57) is a Deepak-class fleet tanker in service with the Indian Navy.
She is the second and final ship of her class and is one of the largest ships of the Indian
Navy.
INS Shakti has a length of 175 m (574 ft) overall, a beam of 25 m (82 ft) and a draught
of 9.1 m (30 ft).
The ship displaces about 27,550 tonnes when fully loaded.
INS Shakti can reach a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and an endurance of
10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi)
It can refuel 4 ships at a time, with a fueling speed of 1,500 tonnes per hour.
4 AK-630 Close-in weapons system are present for self-defense.
The ship can carry different types of helicopters.
BRP ANDRÉS BONIFACIO (PS-17) is an offshore patrol vessel of the Philippine Navy.
The vessel was early designated as a Frigate but later moved to serve as a patrol vessel.
It has a displacement of 3,250 tons and has a speed up to 28 knots.
The vessel is currently armed with Mk.75 gun.
Izumo is the lead ship of Izumo class.
Izumo class is official a helicopter carrier class, meant to carry rotary blade crafts
of different types though it is poised to carry F 35Bs in the future.
Izumo class displaces 27000 tons when fully loaded.
It has a speed of 30 knots or 56 km/h. Izumo can carry up to 970 personnel including
crew and troops.
The ship can carry up to 28 aircraft.
This can include Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters, or Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters.
Japan currently has about 102 SH-60 Seahawks ASW helicopters of different variants and
is expected to add another 80 new ASW helicopters.
SH-60 Seahawks can carry three Mark 46 or Mk-54 torpedoes, 4 to 8 AGM-114 Hellfire missile,
different types of machine gun & Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System
The Murasame-class destroyer is a class of destroyers, serving with the Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
The vessel has a displacement of 6,200 tons, length of 151 m (495 ft) and can reach speeds
of 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h) The warship is equipped with the Aegis Weapon
System (AWS).
Multiple radars are present which include OPS-24 active electronically scanned array
radar and OPS-28 surface search and target acquisition radar.
The warship also has advanced Electronic Warfare suit.
It has 16 cells Mk 48 VLS for Evolved Sea Sparrow SAM for air defense and 16 cells Mk
41VLS VL-ASROC for anti-submarine warfare.
Up to 2 Mitsubishi SH-60J/K can be accommodated.
USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) is Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer of U.S Navy.
Arleigh Burke-class warships were designed as multi-mission destroyers capable of Anti
Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW) and Ballistic
Missile Defense (BMD)
USS William P. Lawrence is among the largest destroyers built in the United States, having
an overall length of 509 feet (155 m) and displacement of about 9,200 tons.
It has a speed of 30+ knots (55+ km/h) and a range of 4,400 nmi (8,100 km)
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the United States Navy's
first class of destroyers built around the Aegis Combat System.
It enables USS William P. Lawrence to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles by expanding
the Aegis Combat System with the addition of the AN/SPY-1 radar and Standard missile
technologies.
It has in total 96 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) divided into two blocks of 32 & 64 cells.
These can be configured with different types of weapons like Tomahawk cruise missile for
Land attack, Standard Missile SM1 & SM2 for air defense, Standard Missile 3 for AEGIS
ballistic missile defense and SM-6 meant of anti-air warfare as well as Evolved Sea Sparrow
Missiles (ESSM) It can carry Harpoon Missile Launcher for
Anti Ship role as well as torpedo tubes are present launching Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes.
2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes are present launching Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes
2 MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters are also present for Anti Submarine Warfare.
Other than these, it is equipped with a long-range 5-inch naval gun.
There are multiple short-range weapon systems which include the Phalanx CIWS and M242 Bushmaster cannon.