The impact of induction of the P3C Orion Aircraft on the Indian Navy’s Preparedness: An Assessment
by Commodore RS Vasan IN (Retd)
1. A lot of debate is taking place in the naval circles and amongst maritime analysts to understand the full impact of the induction of the P3C Orion in the sub continent. The deal worth over 1.3 billion US dollars has many more military sophisticated equipment. What however interests the maritime analysts is the inclusion of a major item in the form of eight Orion long range maritime aircraft which can be used for surveillance, Anti Sub marine warfare and Anti Surface warfare. Why is this raising the heckles in the Arabian Sea? To understand this and more there would be a need to look at the aircraft itself and then analyse the pattern of Naval Operations in the Arabian Sea.
2. A look at the P3C Orion. While the airframe and the design of the aircraft is quite old (almost four decades old), what is notable is the regular updates with which the aircraft has been rendered equal to the present day tasks. The US Navy itself has plans to use the aircraft for the next 15 years and expects to support the fleet elsewhere for another two decades plus. A total of over 480 Aircraft have been built to date since the first built some forty years ago.
Click on link for the full article http://www.saag.org/papers13/paper1235.html
by Commodore RS Vasan IN (Retd)
1. A lot of debate is taking place in the naval circles and amongst maritime analysts to understand the full impact of the induction of the P3C Orion in the sub continent. The deal worth over 1.3 billion US dollars has many more military sophisticated equipment. What however interests the maritime analysts is the inclusion of a major item in the form of eight Orion long range maritime aircraft which can be used for surveillance, Anti Sub marine warfare and Anti Surface warfare. Why is this raising the heckles in the Arabian Sea? To understand this and more there would be a need to look at the aircraft itself and then analyse the pattern of Naval Operations in the Arabian Sea.
2. A look at the P3C Orion. While the airframe and the design of the aircraft is quite old (almost four decades old), what is notable is the regular updates with which the aircraft has been rendered equal to the present day tasks. The US Navy itself has plans to use the aircraft for the next 15 years and expects to support the fleet elsewhere for another two decades plus. A total of over 480 Aircraft have been built to date since the first built some forty years ago.
Click on link for the full article http://www.saag.org/papers13/paper1235.html
