Coupled with bureaucratic sloth and political myopia, India’s naval capability is on the wane. The much delayed Scorpene class is expected to enter service shortly and all six ships of the class will probably be available by 2030, but the successor Project 75I is still to get off the ground.
Year 2016 would appear to have been good for the Indian Navy (IN), with the commissioning of INS Chennai, Arihant, Kadmatt, Tarmugli and Tihayu. Kalvari and Kiltan are expected to follow before the end of this year. Taken together, these inductions paint a picture of an expanding Indian Navy, continuously strengthening its capabilities to defend India’s maritime interests. But is this picture real or illusory? Indian analysts and leaders, including some of the highest eminence, have often quoted Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan as having said, “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean (IO) dominates Asia. The ocean is the key to the seven seas. In the 21st century, the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters.” But no record can be found of where or when Mahan used these words. A study by the US Naval War College, the institution he headed for over four years, describes the quote as ‘of doubtful provenance’. As the IN celebrates its Navy Week, the task of this veteran maritime analyst is to examine whether the picture of a growing IN is real, to enable the reader to discern between political rhetoric and actual action, between ad hoc decisions and well thought out strategy.
Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av Geopolitics.
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Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av Geopolitics.
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Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA
PRIME MOVER
The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.