Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

INS Kadmatt ( Image credits- Indian navy) Source- The Indian Navy INS Kadmatt, the second indigenous stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) is scheduled to be commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan, the Chief of the Naval Staff at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on Thursday, 07 January 16. A unique feature of the ship is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating our national objective of ‘Make in India’. About 90% of the ship is indigenous. The ship has been indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata.Directorate of Naval Design (DND) is the Navy’s Design Organisation undertaking indigenous design of all surface combatants.  Kadmatt is the latest indigenous ship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and INS Kamorta wherein a plethora of weapons and

Ship building in ancient Calicut coast ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons /  BRAUN AND HOGENBERG) When we talk about the Indian navy, what nobody realities is the fact that India has a rich and varied maritime tradition dating back to the Indus civilization. Like the Chinese, India was a major trading hub and had extensive links with ancient Egypt and other civilization. As we celebrate the navy week, it is time to take a look at the history and the evolution of the Indian navy: Early years: India has a rich maritime history dating back 5,000 years.The world's first tidal dock is believed to have been built at Lothal around 2300 BCE during the Indus Valley Civilization, near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast. The Rig Vedas written around 1700 BCE, credits Varuna with knowledge of the ocean routes and describes naval expeditions. There is reference to the side wings of a vessel called Plava, which give stability to the ship under storm conditions

Indian navy flotilla ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Indian navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Darshana M. Baruah On October 26, 2015, the Indian Navy released its latest maritime strategy, titled “Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy.” This edition is a revised and updated version of the previous outlined strategy “Freedom to Use the Seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy,” published in 2007. The title itself is indicative of the changing tone of the Indian navy’s interests and intentions from the 2007 strategy. The previous strategy did not take into consideration the changing geopolitical environment and its strategic implications on India’s maritime interests. The 2015 maritime security strategy addresses this gap by complementing the evolving security dynamics in the Indian Ocean region and reflecting a bold Indian navy with a renewed outlook on India’s maritime security needs. The security architecture in maritime Asia along with the

INS Kolkata ( Image credits- Indian navy) As Indian navy undertakes rapid modernisation and transformation, it is time to look at some of the ships and their capabilities which will play the leading role or the Indian navy for decades to come. Each week we feature a class of ships that is entering series with the Indian navy or are planned for the future. We begin with the Kolkata class destroyer which is comparable to the best in the world. A stealthy boat by design, Kolkata along with the upcoming Visakhapatinam class will play a vital role for the Indian navy for the next three decades.  The Kolkata class: The Kolkata class (Project 15A) are a class of stealth guided missile destroyers constructed for the Indian Navy. The class comprises three ships – Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai, all of which are being built by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in India, and are the largest destroyers to be operated by the Indian Navy. Due to delays in their construction, and a problem found d

INS Chakra SSN ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Indian navy) Source- Russia & India Report Author- Rakesh Krishna Simha Russia and India – either through design or happenstance – are set to engage the western navies in an interesting game of undersea hide and seek. Chasing nuclear submarines is how major navies earn their keep. The Russian and US fleets track each other’s subs on a 24/7 basis by listening to the acoustic signatures – a combination of noise emissions – that are unique to each type of submarine. For several decades the Americans held the advantage as they claimed to have quieter submarines. The Russians closed the gap by the mid-1980s and today their submarines have got the inside track on the US Navy. The net result is this undersea contest has become more intense now and the stakes are a lot higher too. Unlike surface ships and aircraft, submarines do not have markings or IFF (Identify Friend/Foe) codes that can out them. The only way

OSA class missile boat (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Military) Source- Russia & India Interest Author- Rakesh Krishnan Simha Admiral Sergei Gorshkov was arguably the greatest naval strategist of the 20th century. In his book, ‘The Sea Power of the State’, the man who transformed the Russian Navy into a global force, wrote: “Naval warfare aimed directly against land targets will play an ever greater part in any future major conflict.” On the night of October 5, four Russian missile boats with a displacement of a mere 1000 tons each started raining down cruise missiles down the throats of ISIS and US-backed terror groups. Flying at treetop level over a distance of 2600 km through Iran and Iraq, and avoiding populated areas, the missiles slammed into terrorist hideouts without warning. The precision strikes left the US and its allies shocked, rattled and envious. Many observers couldn’t begin to fathom how these tiny ships could be so devastat

Akula class SSN Vepr ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Ilya Kurganov) Source- Russia & India Report An agreement on leasing another Russian nuclear-powered submarine to India is to be signed at the Russian-Indian summit in December, a source at India’s Defense Ministry told TASS. The possibility of leasing a second submarine from Russia will be studied when India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar will visit Moscow next week," the source said. "Parrikar will hold talks on this strategic project with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu. After the ten-year contract is signed another two or three years will be required for upgrading the submarine in keeping with India’s requirements," he said. Over the past 45 years Russia and India have established reliable, time-tested strategic ties in the field of defence. India’s armed forces are equipped with Soviet and Russian military hardware 70%, the source said, adding that Russia had always provided its best

INS Vikramaditya ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Indian Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Abhijit Singh India’s maritime diplomacy is most often associated with its naval outreach to East Asia. With an increase in naval ship visits to South East Asia in recent years, and attendant media speculation over New Delhi’s supposed Pacific ambitions, the impression has been created that East Asia remains the ultimate destination of the Indian Navy’s diplomatic endeavours. By contrast, New Delhi’s nautical diplomacy in the Indian Ocean has seemed relatively modest. Despite its considerable contribution to sea-lanes security and counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, in the popular imagination, the Indian Navy’s security efforts in the Indian Ocean region have remained confined to the level of constabulary and benign presence. Developments in the past few months, however, have shown that India’s attention remains squarely focused on the Indian Ocean. S