sudhir007
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Modernization of the Indian Submarine Fleet
The world still keeps its eyes on India as one of the Asian countries that is slowly but certainly developing into a powerful player in the international community. India has been very active over the years to make sure its military development keeps pace with its economic and political evolution. For this reason the Indian fleet may play an important role in how international relations will be shaped during the next decade. While India is improving the capabilities of its surface fleet, it has not neglected its submarine fleet and seems to have clear goals and approaches them in a pragmatic way.
Summary
The Indian navy currently maintains a submarine fleet made out of Russian and German submarines which are less technologically advanced than those of its neighbors. India has started the production of new diesel-electric submarines of the French Scorpene model. India will be building these submarines itself with the assistance of the French company DCNS. This way India will be able to transfer the necessary technology and know-how to Indian shipyards so that in the future India will be able to produce completely indigenously developed submarines. This new submarine fleet, combined with the nuclear powered SSBN and SSN submarines India is building, will put Indias submarine fleet at a competitive level to operate in the Indian ocean and perhaps even as far as the South Chinese Sea if such activity would be called for.
These days the Indian submarine fleet is made up of ten Russian Kilo submarines and four German Type 209 submarines. An older obsolete submarine of the Russian Foxtrot class was taken out of service on the 1st of December. Although this fleet of submarines is perfectly capable of executing all the tasks that are desired from it, they are slightly outdated when compared to the new models that Indias neighbors are building or buying. In order to keep up with these countries and in order to have a competitive submarine fleet the modernization of the submarine fleet is an important topic to the Indian navy.
India has already invested in the production of new submarines. Apart from the plans to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines the stress is now mostly on the construction of new diesel-electric submarines as replacement of the above mentioned submarines currently in the Indian navy. The intent of this program includes the construction of twelve modern French Scorpene class submarines in two phases, each consisting of six submarines. This construction program is being conducted in cooperation with the French company DCNS. The advantage of this cooperation is the transfer of modern technology to the Indian navy and especially the shipyards. India, as a rising power now feels a larger need to build its essential ships by itself. India has, however, no experience in the construction of submarines since in the past it has always purchased these from other countries. Through the cooperation with DCNS India is able to gain the necessary experience to build submarines on a very short notice.
One of the technologies that have reached the Indian navy through the cooperation with DCNS is that of Air Independent Propulsion. This technology allows diesel-electric submarines to remain submerged for up to three weeks. The technology is currently applied in the fifth and sixth submarine of the first series of Scorpene submarines that are being built in India. The second series of six submarines will all receive the technology and eventually it will also be installed in the first four submarines of the first series when they are scheduled for maintenance. Modern Scorpene submarines combined with the Air Independent Propulsion will give India a decent diesel-electric submarine fleet that can match that of other fleets.
One could still wonder, of course, why India puts all this work in a new submarine fleet while it still has fourteen decent operational submarines. First, there are the different neighboring countries that are currently supplying their navies with modern submarines. There are Malaysia and Indonesia which already possess modern Scorpene submarines. India, as the dominant player in the Indian Ocean can not afford to fall behind if it wishes to hang on to this position. A second reason is that China continues to improve its submarine fleet that already exists mainly out of modern diesel-electric submarines. India, as a rival to China has no choice but to counter that evolution and to make sure it has a capable submarine fleet once China decides to deploy ships into the Indian Ocean. A third reason is that as a rising power with a modern navy India needs a capacity to build its own submarines, a capacity that it until now did not possess. This was also the reason for large purchases from other countries. Through the cooperation with the French company DCNS India guarantees to be able to execute this task at the current technological levels within a limited timeframe and with the ability for corrections by the French.
Apart from the diesel-electric submarines India also continues to expand its fleet of nuclear powered submarines. India now possesses its own SSBN submarine, the INS Arihant. The intent is to eventually have six of these SSBN submarines in service. Even though these SSBN submarines are mainly aimed to be used as a deterrent against Pakistan, the possibility exists for India to deploy them as far as the South Chinese Sea if the need therefore would ever arise. India also continues to build its fleet of nuclear powered attack submarines, the SSNs. During 2011 the Indian navy will receive the Russian Akula II class SSN Nerpa. This submarine will be used to provide training and experience to Indian crews until Indias very own SSN submarines enter service.
Since India is capable of building her own SSBN and will soon be able to bring its very own SSNs into production, it would be able to bridge the gap that currently exists due to Chinas Type 091 Han class. These vessels were Chinas first attempt at building SSN submarines, as a consequence the technology used was outdated and the submarines were very noisy compared to modern western SSN submarines. It could be assumed that Indias first class of SSN submarines will perform just as poorly as the Han class. As China hasnt started work on a new version of the Han class India will be able to reach the same level as China when it comes to SSN submarines. This would even open an opportunity for India to field a better SSN sooner than China, making Indias submarine fleet more up to date and capable than Chinas in the future.
The world still keeps its eyes on India as one of the Asian countries that is slowly but certainly developing into a powerful player in the international community. India has been very active over the years to make sure its military development keeps pace with its economic and political evolution. For this reason the Indian fleet may play an important role in how international relations will be shaped during the next decade. While India is improving the capabilities of its surface fleet, it has not neglected its submarine fleet and seems to have clear goals and approaches them in a pragmatic way.
Summary
The Indian navy currently maintains a submarine fleet made out of Russian and German submarines which are less technologically advanced than those of its neighbors. India has started the production of new diesel-electric submarines of the French Scorpene model. India will be building these submarines itself with the assistance of the French company DCNS. This way India will be able to transfer the necessary technology and know-how to Indian shipyards so that in the future India will be able to produce completely indigenously developed submarines. This new submarine fleet, combined with the nuclear powered SSBN and SSN submarines India is building, will put Indias submarine fleet at a competitive level to operate in the Indian ocean and perhaps even as far as the South Chinese Sea if such activity would be called for.
These days the Indian submarine fleet is made up of ten Russian Kilo submarines and four German Type 209 submarines. An older obsolete submarine of the Russian Foxtrot class was taken out of service on the 1st of December. Although this fleet of submarines is perfectly capable of executing all the tasks that are desired from it, they are slightly outdated when compared to the new models that Indias neighbors are building or buying. In order to keep up with these countries and in order to have a competitive submarine fleet the modernization of the submarine fleet is an important topic to the Indian navy.
India has already invested in the production of new submarines. Apart from the plans to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines the stress is now mostly on the construction of new diesel-electric submarines as replacement of the above mentioned submarines currently in the Indian navy. The intent of this program includes the construction of twelve modern French Scorpene class submarines in two phases, each consisting of six submarines. This construction program is being conducted in cooperation with the French company DCNS. The advantage of this cooperation is the transfer of modern technology to the Indian navy and especially the shipyards. India, as a rising power now feels a larger need to build its essential ships by itself. India has, however, no experience in the construction of submarines since in the past it has always purchased these from other countries. Through the cooperation with DCNS India is able to gain the necessary experience to build submarines on a very short notice.
One of the technologies that have reached the Indian navy through the cooperation with DCNS is that of Air Independent Propulsion. This technology allows diesel-electric submarines to remain submerged for up to three weeks. The technology is currently applied in the fifth and sixth submarine of the first series of Scorpene submarines that are being built in India. The second series of six submarines will all receive the technology and eventually it will also be installed in the first four submarines of the first series when they are scheduled for maintenance. Modern Scorpene submarines combined with the Air Independent Propulsion will give India a decent diesel-electric submarine fleet that can match that of other fleets.
One could still wonder, of course, why India puts all this work in a new submarine fleet while it still has fourteen decent operational submarines. First, there are the different neighboring countries that are currently supplying their navies with modern submarines. There are Malaysia and Indonesia which already possess modern Scorpene submarines. India, as the dominant player in the Indian Ocean can not afford to fall behind if it wishes to hang on to this position. A second reason is that China continues to improve its submarine fleet that already exists mainly out of modern diesel-electric submarines. India, as a rival to China has no choice but to counter that evolution and to make sure it has a capable submarine fleet once China decides to deploy ships into the Indian Ocean. A third reason is that as a rising power with a modern navy India needs a capacity to build its own submarines, a capacity that it until now did not possess. This was also the reason for large purchases from other countries. Through the cooperation with the French company DCNS India guarantees to be able to execute this task at the current technological levels within a limited timeframe and with the ability for corrections by the French.
Apart from the diesel-electric submarines India also continues to expand its fleet of nuclear powered submarines. India now possesses its own SSBN submarine, the INS Arihant. The intent is to eventually have six of these SSBN submarines in service. Even though these SSBN submarines are mainly aimed to be used as a deterrent against Pakistan, the possibility exists for India to deploy them as far as the South Chinese Sea if the need therefore would ever arise. India also continues to build its fleet of nuclear powered attack submarines, the SSNs. During 2011 the Indian navy will receive the Russian Akula II class SSN Nerpa. This submarine will be used to provide training and experience to Indian crews until Indias very own SSN submarines enter service.
Since India is capable of building her own SSBN and will soon be able to bring its very own SSNs into production, it would be able to bridge the gap that currently exists due to Chinas Type 091 Han class. These vessels were Chinas first attempt at building SSN submarines, as a consequence the technology used was outdated and the submarines were very noisy compared to modern western SSN submarines. It could be assumed that Indias first class of SSN submarines will perform just as poorly as the Han class. As China hasnt started work on a new version of the Han class India will be able to reach the same level as China when it comes to SSN submarines. This would even open an opportunity for India to field a better SSN sooner than China, making Indias submarine fleet more up to date and capable than Chinas in the future.
