Navy's mixed week of glory and agony
Indian Navy had an interesting last couple of weeks. Some milestones were achieved, some were disastrous. Firstly India unveiled its own, completely indigenously built and produced, Vikrant class aircraft carrier. It is a massive milestone considering the fact that only five countries in this world is capable of achieving this feat. With that SAIL reached its own personal milestone, of producing armament class steel. The Vikrant (Courageous) Class warship, the first of its series of aircraft carriers that is being built by India, will be a major boost to the offshore power projection capabilities of the sea force. With the growing economic clout, and with a massive sphere of influence from Strait of Hormuz in the west to Strait of Malacca in the east, India would be called in to defend its interest in the near foreseeable future. India will also be the second country, atleast presently in the World, and definitely in Asia to have more than two carrier battle groups. That would give the country massive advantage over military peers and other Great powers.
On the other hand, the nuclear reactor in INS Arihant, the indigenously built Nuclear submarine went critical, or in more common term, active. That is another milestone, as not more than four countries in this world are capable of achieving this feat. INS Arihant (slayer of enemies) will carry nuclear missiles with MIRV capabilities, and being a nuclear submarine, can stay under water for months undetected. That will give India a major boost in its second strike capability and act as deterrence against any potential peer adversary.
The aircraft carrier and the nuclear submarine, puts India in a group of elite countries, capable of projecting power, defending interests, and acting as a great power, which was almost unthinkable a couple of decades back. It also signals a major boost in Indian home grown military and defence technological sectors, and along with missile defence and intercontinental ballistic missile programs, signifies a major leap forward.
However, that is not all. The tragedy onboard INS Sindhurakshak, a diesel submarine, and one of the foremost in India’s underwater fleet signifies that production is not enough. The INS Sindhurakshak sank after a major onboard fire and explosion, and even though the sabotage angle is not ruled out, it still shows incompetence at best and negligence at worst. Safeguarding and maintaining are equally important if India needs to maintain this momentum as a rising naval power, and needs to take security responsibility in the Indian Ocean region, which she claims to think as her strategic backyard and sphere of influence.
The shift in strategic thinking over the last decade and the reprioritization of threat quotient is evident as India moved on and started to think beyond Pakistan as our primary adversary. But, as the saying goes, it is necessary to change the mindset too. The tragedy of Sindhurakshak and the glory of Arihant and Vikrant are symbolic of the chaotic nature our security complex runs. That is clearly not enough.
- Sumantra Maitra is an international relations scholar. You can find him in Twitter @dailyworldwatch.
Indian Navy had an interesting last couple of weeks. Some milestones were achieved, some were disastrous. Firstly India unveiled its own, completely indigenously built and produced, Vikrant class aircraft carrier. It is a massive milestone considering the fact that only five countries in this...
Indian Navy had an interesting last couple of weeks. Some milestones were achieved, some were disastrous. Firstly India unveiled its own, completely indigenously built and produced, Vikrant class aircraft carrier. It is a massive milestone considering the fact that only five countries in this world is capable of achieving this feat. With that SAIL reached its own personal milestone, of producing armament class steel. The Vikrant (Courageous) Class warship, the first of its series of aircraft carriers that is being built by India, will be a major boost to the offshore power projection capabilities of the sea force. With the growing economic clout, and with a massive sphere of influence from Strait of Hormuz in the west to Strait of Malacca in the east, India would be called in to defend its interest in the near foreseeable future. India will also be the second country, atleast presently in the World, and definitely in Asia to have more than two carrier battle groups. That would give the country massive advantage over military peers and other Great powers.
On the other hand, the nuclear reactor in INS Arihant, the indigenously built Nuclear submarine went critical, or in more common term, active. That is another milestone, as not more than four countries in this world are capable of achieving this feat. INS Arihant (slayer of enemies) will carry nuclear missiles with MIRV capabilities, and being a nuclear submarine, can stay under water for months undetected. That will give India a major boost in its second strike capability and act as deterrence against any potential peer adversary.
The aircraft carrier and the nuclear submarine, puts India in a group of elite countries, capable of projecting power, defending interests, and acting as a great power, which was almost unthinkable a couple of decades back. It also signals a major boost in Indian home grown military and defence technological sectors, and along with missile defence and intercontinental ballistic missile programs, signifies a major leap forward.
However, that is not all. The tragedy onboard INS Sindhurakshak, a diesel submarine, and one of the foremost in India’s underwater fleet signifies that production is not enough. The INS Sindhurakshak sank after a major onboard fire and explosion, and even though the sabotage angle is not ruled out, it still shows incompetence at best and negligence at worst. Safeguarding and maintaining are equally important if India needs to maintain this momentum as a rising naval power, and needs to take security responsibility in the Indian Ocean region, which she claims to think as her strategic backyard and sphere of influence.
The shift in strategic thinking over the last decade and the reprioritization of threat quotient is evident as India moved on and started to think beyond Pakistan as our primary adversary. But, as the saying goes, it is necessary to change the mindset too. The tragedy of Sindhurakshak and the glory of Arihant and Vikrant are symbolic of the chaotic nature our security complex runs. That is clearly not enough.
- Sumantra Maitra is an international relations scholar. You can find him in Twitter @dailyworldwatch.
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