Minesweeper Build Up by Indian Navy To Protect Its Assets

The Indian Navy has repeatedly sounded alarm over delays in the acquisition of mine counter measure vessels as its fleet is down to just six ageing Karwar-class of minesweepers.

If, at any point in time in the future, India has a conflict situation at the seas, it is hoping that it wouldn't lose its warships and submarines even before they venture out to the seas from its naval bases. It is more of a worry than hope. But the point remains that Indian Navy suffers deficiencies in this category of naval preparedness for quite some time now and only now some counter-measures, the pun intended, are being taken.

As part of that effort, India is building up its capabilities to counter mines that would be laid by its enemies around the mouths of its harbours and naval bases, to catch Indian warships and submarine unawares, when they sail out to fight a maritime battle at the seas.

Underwater mines are cheap and can be planted closer to Indian waters with relative ease. Once deployed, these mines could cause huge damage and loss of warships to India, choking up the mouth of any harbour. Minesweeper of 1,000-tonnage are used to clear the harbour approaches and departure routes, sea lanes and offshore assets for shipping traffic. These minesweepers are equipped with high-definition sonars, acoustic and magnetic sweeps, and these can easily detect marooned and drifting mines, and engage them using remote-controlled systems like small underwater vehicles that detonate the mines from a safe distance.

While Pakistan Navy has three French-origin Munsif (Tripartite) class of minesweepers, China's People's Liberation Army Navy operates three mine countermeasure classes and a single mine layer class, such as the 10 vessels of the Type 081, two of the Type 082II and 17 of the Type 082 vessels. The US currently has just about 11 mine counter measure vessels in service, as it hardly needs minesweepers in its fleet in view of the dominating presence of its warship fleet that keep away enemy vessels close its coast or harbour.