War Underwater: Indian ASW

[illuminatidinesh]

1)The Ilyushin Il-38 (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport.

The Il-38s of the Indian Navy have been sent back to Russia for upgrades. They will incorporate the new Sea Dragon avionic suite, incorporating a new radar, a Forward looking infrared (FLIR) turret under the nose and an electronic intelligence (ELINT) system housed in a box-like structure mounted on struts above the forward fuselage. Three aircraft have been delivered to the Indian Navy. The new version is designated Il-38 SD.

There are reports of efforts towards adding the capability to fire the Indo-Russian Brahmos cruise missile from this aircraft. Mockups have been displayed with air-launched Brahmos attached to underwing pylons on the Indian Navy aircraft.
India received three ex-Soviet Naval Aviation Il-38s in 1977, with two more arriving in 1983. Indian modifications included fitting pylons to the fuselage side to carry the Sea Eagle Anti-ship missile.

2)The Tupolev Tu-142 (Russian: Туполев Ту-142; NATO reporting name: Bear F/J) is a maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft derived from the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber.

In 1981 the Indian Navy began considering a long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft for its Naval Air Arm. The Soviet Union initially offered to refurbish some of its own Tu-142s for India, rather than construct new aircraft.[33] The Indian Navy was at first hesitant about the large Tu-142, which was heavy and thus would require runways to be reinforced and lengthened at potential operating bases.[33] Consequently, the service requested three Ilyushin Il-38s – then being phased out of service with the Soviet Navy – be refurbished for Indian operations. This request fell through, and so in December 1984 an agreement to purchase eight Tu-142s was signed.[33]

For the twelve-month period stating from May 1987, the Indian Navy sent 40 pilots and observers, 16 technical officers and 128 sailors to Riga for training.[33] On 30 March 1988, the first three Tu-142s arrived at the Indian naval air station of INS Hansa, Goa, after a flight from Simferopol in the Crimean peninsula. On 13 April two more aircraft arrived, prior to the commisioning of INAS 312, the operator of Indian Tu-142s; by the end of October the fleet of eight Tu-142s was delivered.[33] In May 1992, the squadron was relocated to its current operating base at INS Rajali on the Indian east coast. The Tu-142s are expected to be replaced by twelve smaller Boeing P-8I.
Armament: The Tu-142M can carry 12 torpedoes, FAB 250 freefall bombs and depth charges. It has a DK-12 rear gun system with two 23mm AM-23 cannons. In the late 1990s, it was announced that the Sea Eagle AShM would be integrated with the aircraft.
Sensors: The Tu-142M is fitted with the Korshun-K automatic search & sighting system and MMS-106 Ladoga magnetometer which are intended for detecting low-noise, nuclear-powered submarines. Also installed are the NPK-142M upgraded navigation and piloting system, the Strela-142M on-board communication system, the Nerchinsk hydrological defense system, the Sayany on-board defense system and an automatic encoded radio communication system. The aircraft also has a search & attack radar (NATO: Wet Eye) and numerous active & passive sonobuoys, some of which include RGB-15, RGB-25, RGB-55A and RGB-75 buoys.
Defense News reported in March 2004 that the Indian Navy had requested new avionics and electronic warfare suites for the Tu-142, for the detection and interception of surface vessels and submarines within a range of 150 kilometres, as well as the capability to detect mines and carry out long-range and long-endurance surveillance. The upgrade is also expected to enable the aircraft to be linked to the Indian satellite navigation system and be fitted with an observation system that will work in night and day. The primary ambition of the upgrade is to conduct maritime patrol missions and forge a linkage between India's nuclear command center and its futuristic nuclear submarine. The upgrade will further enable the aircraft to carry air-launched versions of the Klub and BrahMos ASCMs.

In the same March 2004 report, Defense News reported that the Indian Navy had approached Rosoboronexport in November 2003 to upgrade their fleet of Tu-142s for a cost no more than USD $555.5 million. However the proposal put forward by Rosoboronexport to upgrade these aircraft with the Morskoy Zmei (Sea Dragon) multi-mission avionics and electronic warfare suite was rejected. The primary reasons were reportedly system performance issues and an exorbitant price tag, listed at USD $888.9 million by Rosoboronexport. In January 2004, a team of Indian Naval Aviation pilots visited Russia to evaluate a Sea Dragon-equipped Tu-142 aircraft. However the Sea Dragon suite failed to meet essential parameters and its detection capabilities were found inadequate. In February 2004, the Indian Navy approached Rosoboronexport again to have Israeli firms collaborate with Russian firms to customise a MMA and EW suite. However that proposal was rejected by Rosoboronexport, on the basis that the upgrade would have to be wholly Russian and must include the Sea Dragon suite.

Again from the same March 2004 report, Defense News reported that the Indian Navy then turned directly towards Israeli firms for the upgrade and that the Ministry of Defence would issue two individual RFPs (Requests For Proposals) to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems to tailor a MMA and EW suite for the Tu-142 fleet. The RFPs are expected to be issued by the MoD in April 2004 and proposals are expected to be due within three months. This upgrade is expected to wholly revamp the Tu-142 into a modern maritime recon and electronic warfare aircraft. It is assumed that this has already taken place. By early 2004, the IN had reportedly completed with the refit of a Tu-142M (IN 315) with the Elta EL/M-2022A (V3) radar. The radar replaced the Leninets Korschun system and a comprehensive ELINT and COMINT package, with nose and fuselage mounted V/UHF antennae and an underfuselage P-band antenna farm, was also incorporated. This upgrade is similar to the upgrade package of the IN's Do-228s and features additional SATCOM, ELINT and EW equipment. It would be interesting to compare the capabilities of the Russian warfare suite with its Israeli counterpart, as the IL-38s are to be upgraded with the Sea Dragon suite.

Interfax-AVN reported in September 2004, that the Taganrog Aviation Company (Tavia) was implementing a contract for the repair of a Tu-142ME aircraft of the Indian Navy. Tavia's Director General, Nikolai Savitskikh, stated, "Another Indian plane of this type is currently under repairs at the aircraft plant. According to the schedule, the enterprise must annually repair one Indian Tu-142ME." He also stated that the enterprise was only repairing the Indian aircraft, not upgrading them. "Eight Tu-142MEs were supplied to India in 1987-1988. They are repaired in turns, all of them have been repaired once and are now up for the second repairs," the Director General said. He also added that repairs of both Russian and Indian Tu-142 planes provide for most of the company's workload.

 

[Jason bourne]

ADD P-8I will join indian navy from 2013 .....

 

[illuminatidinesh]

3) Kamov Ka-31

The Kamov Ka-31 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia and India, China in the naval airborne early warning role.

As with all Kamov helicopters except the Ka-60/-62 family, the Ka-31 has co-axially mounted contra-rotating main rotors. The airframe of the Ka-31 is based on the Kamov Ka-27. One visually distinctive feature of the Ka-31 is the large antenna of the early warning radar, which is either rotating or folded and stowed under the fuselage. The second is the reduction of the bulky electro-optical sensory suite beneath the cockpit. The landing gear retracts in order to prevent interference with the radar.
The Indian Navy ordered four Ka-31 radars in 1999, and a further five in 2001. Full-scale volume production of the helicopter started in 2002. The first batch of four entered service with the Indian Navy in April 2003. The second batch were delivered in 2005.

With the Indian Navy becoming a one carrier navy, it not only operated the helicopters from aircraft carriers and destroyers, but also from its shore-based naval air stations. The operation with the Indian Navy revealed a major drawback of the aircraft, its limited endurance/range, the chief element of a Taskforce/Battlegroup. So, HAL was commissioned to experiment and possibly adapt a helicopter-to-helicopter refuelling system. Also, in the Indian service, the aircraft received Abris GPS system featuring a 12-channel receiver and option to employ Differential GPS references, designed by the Kronstad itself.

The later batches featured navigational equipment for digital terrain maps, ground-proximity warning, obstacle approach warning, auto-navigation of pre-programmed routes, flight stabilization and auto homing onto and landing at the parent carrier/base and information concerning the helicopter's tactical situation.

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---------- Post added at 07:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 PM ----------

ADD P-8I will join indian navy from 2013 .....

Bro still making the thread.... Wait bad connection. I would be delighted if u contribute.

 

[illuminatidinesh]

Breguet Alizé

The Alizé was a low-wing monoplane of conventional configuration. It had a CSF radar system with a retractable antenna dome in its belly. The cockpit accommodated a crew of three, including pilot, radar operator, and sensor operator. The pilot was seated in front on the left, the navigator in front on the right, and the sensor operator sat sideways behind them. The landing gear was of tricycle configuration, with the main gear retracting backwards into nacelles in the wings. The main gear had dual wheels, and the front part of the nacelles accommodated sonobuoys. The Alizé had a yoke-style arresting hook.

The internal weapons bay could accommodate a homing torpedo or depth charges, and underwing stores pylons could carry bombs, depth charges, rockets, or missiles. Typical underwing stores included 68 mm (2.68 in) rocket pods or AS.12 wire-guided antiship missiles.
The Indian Navy operated the Alizé from shore bases and from the light carrier Vikrant. The Alizé was used for reconnaissance and patrol during India's 1961 invasion of Portuguese controlled Goa, and was also used for ASW patrol during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, during which one Alizé was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force F-104 Starfighter. It was also instrumental in taking out many gunboats unopposed during the war. The Alizé dwindled in numbers in the Indian Navy during the 1980s, was relegated to shore-based patrol in 1987, and was finally phased out in 1991, replaced in its duties by ASW helicopters.

 

[illuminatidinesh]

The Sea King helicopter is manufactured by AgustaWestland in the UK. Development started in the late 1950s under licence from Sikorsky. Westland initially developed the S-61 as an anti-submarine warfare helicopter (or helicopter anti-submarine, HAS) for the UK Royal Navy. Sea King is also operational as a search-and-rescue (SAR) and airborne early warning (AEW) helicopter.
The ASW helicopter is equipped with two type 4 marine markers, two mk2 smoke floats and mini-sonobuoys supplied by Ultra Electronics. BAE Systems type 2069 sonar with an AQS-902G-DS acoustic signal processor provides the capability to carry out dipping sonar operations to a depth of 700ft.

The magnetic anomaly detector is the AN/ASQ-504(V) AIMS supplied by CAE Electronics. The Thales Defence Super Searcher radar is installed on the mk6 fleet of Sea Kings built for the UK Fleet Air Arm. The helicopter is also equipped with the joint tactical information distribution system (JTIDS) terminal IDS-2000 from Rockwell Collins.

The helicopter's navigation systems include the Thales Defence Doppler 71 navigation radar, Honeywell AN/APN-171 radar altimeter and mk31 automatic flight control system from Smiths Newmark.

 

[illuminatidinesh]

The Ka-27 and Ka-28 are naval anti-submarine helicopters and the Ka-29 is a naval combat and transport helicopter, designed and manufactured by the Kamov Design Bureau in Russia. The helicopters are known in the West by the Nato reporting name Helix. Over 60 Ka-27/28s and 15 Ka-29s are in service with Russia, and the helicopters have been exported to Cuba, India, Syria, Vietnam and the former Yugoslavia.
A further variant, the Ka-31, has been developed for airborne early warning (AEW). Nine Ka-31 helicopters (four in 1999 and five in 2001) have been ordered by Indian Navy, for deployment on the INS Viraat aircraft carrier and Talwar frigates. The production of Ka-31 helicopter began in 2002. First four helicopters were delivered to Indian Navy in April 2003. The remaining five Ka-31 were delivered in 2005.

 

[illuminatidinesh]

Kamorta class Corvettes are the Indian Navy's next-generation anti submarine warfare platform, built under Project 28. They are being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The first corvette is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2012. All the four corvettes are planned to be handed over to the Indian Navy by the year 2014

Overview
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata has orders to build four Project 28 Kamorta class ASW Corvettes for the Indian Navy at a cost of approximately Rs. 1,700 crore each.

The ships have with more than 80 percent indigenous content and are capable of fighting under NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) environment.

INS Kamorta, the first of the class, was launched on April, 19, 2010, and INS Kadmatt, the second ship of the class, on October 25, 2011.

INS Kamorta is expected to be commissioned in the Indian Navy in June 2012 and and INS Kadmatt in March 2013.

The keel of the third corvette, INS Kiltan, was laid in August 2010.

The fourth ship of the class will be called INS Kavaratti.

Weapon Suite

BEL Revati 3-D S-band radar developed by DRDO
EL/M-2221 STGR fire-control radar illuminator for the Barak-1
BEL-built Shikari (THALES’ Flycatcher) fire-director of the main gun
ELBIT Systems-built Deseaver decoy dispensers
Barak-1 anti-missile defence system
6x3M54 Klub-N missile system in vertical launchers
OTOBreda’s 76/62 main gun
Larsen & Toubro-built twin triple-tube torpedo launchers
Sea King Helicopter