Boeing P-8I aircraft for surveillance and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
Indian Navy Looking At More P-8i ‘Submarine
Killers’: Admiral Lanba
ON JANUARY 13, 2018
By:The Economic Times
The Indian Navy is considering the acquisition of more
Boeing P-8I aircraft for surveillance and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW),
according to Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.
In an interview to the magazine ‘India Strategic’,
Admiral Lanba said that air surveillance capability is an important subset of
naval operations and that while the proposal was on the table, he could not
disclose the required numbers.
His predecessors have spoken of a requirement of 30
Long-Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, under which the navy has
already inducted eight aircraft and placed an order for four more.
Because of the overall tardy process of routine
modernisation of the armed forces over the last 30 years, the Indian Navy has
not been able to renew its inventory of submarines but the acquisition of the
P-8I (I stands for India) has given it a very strong offensive capability to
detect and hunt hostile submarines.
In fact, in terms of contemporary weapon technologies,
the P-8I, often referred to as the “submarine killer”, is perhaps the most
advanced system that any of the three Indian services have acquired in recent
years. The aircraft was deployed in 2013 by the Indian Navy around the same
time the US Navy did.
The Defence Ministry has officially stated that the P-8I
is “capable of thrusting a punitive response and maintaining a watch over
India’s immediate and extended areas of interest”.
Asked about the growing number of hostile submarines in
the Indian Ocean, nearer home in fact, Admiral Lanba said: “As a professional
military force, we constantly evaluate the maritime security environment in our
areas of interest. We lay a lot of stress on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).
Accordingly, we are fully seized of the presence and likely intentions of all
extra-regional forces operating in the Indian Ocean. Our Navy is fully capable
and ever ready to meet any challenges that may arise in the maritime domain.”
Significantly, the agreement for the P-8Is was signed on January
1, 2009, within a couple of months of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which
exposed the vulnerability of the country’s maritime defences. The attack, in
fact, triggered the government to clear quite a few proposals for the armed
forces as well as to review what should be done to ensure security of Indian
waters, particularly the coastal belts on the country’s eastern and western
seaboards.
The Navy is now the nodal agency for coordinating
surveillance through satellites and aircraft and a network of police and small
boats has also been integrated into the system.
The Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) also operate a
number of HAL-made Dornier 228 aircraft, while some proposals for more LRMR and
Medium-Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) have been on the table for the last
few years.
Observed Admiral Lanba: “Every endeavour is being made to
collectively ensure that our maritime security, of which coastal security is an
important subset, is adequately strengthened.”
“A number of measures have been taken since 26/11 to
strengthen maritime, coastal and offshore security by the concerned agencies in
the country. These measures broadly include increasing capacity and
capabilities of maritime security forces, enhanced surveillance and domain
awareness of the maritime zones, increased regulation of maritime activities,
streamlining intelligence-sharing between different agencies and strengthening
overall maritime governance. There have been significant improvements in the
operational response to developing situations at and from the seas,” he added.
At the national level, coordination of coastal
security-related activities is being carried out by the National Committee for
Strengthening Coastal and Maritime Security (NCSCMS).
The Navy had ordered eight P-8I aircraft in 2009 for $2.1
billion along with a training package. Weapons and torpedoes were extra as
needed, and then, under the Options Clause, four more aircraft were ordered in
August 2016.
The standard delivery schedule begins within three years
of signing a contract and making the first payment. Boeing has said that it
delivered the first lot of eight aircraft “on time, on cost” and helped set up
their base at the INS Rajali Naval Air Station at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu.
Boeing had been awarded a three-year contract in June
last year for engineering and logistics support for the P-8I fleet. In January
2018, the Navy has been given approximately Rs 2,000 crore (almost $315
million) for a Training Solution along with a 10-year package for comprehensive
maintenance service.
The training facility at INS Rajali will be the third of
its kind after those in the US and Australia, and will train pilots, observers
and ordnance and technical personnel. Spread over 60,000 sq ft, the facility
would be completed by 2021.
A Training Simulator to be set up at the Naval Institute
of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT), Kochi, for ab-initio training of the
technical personnel is part of the package.
Pratyush Kumar, Boeing’s India President and Vice
President International, had observed after signing the three-year contract
last year: “Our team remains focused on executing our commitments to customers
on schedule and cost. With this contract, the Indian Navy can be assured of
achieving exceptional operational capability and readiness of the P-8I fleet.”
Boeing’s earlier contract was due to expire in October
2017.
The Indian variant has certain Indian components,
including communication software and IFF (Identify Friend or Foe), to align
with Indian naval and Air Force aircraft and net-centric systems.
It has 360-degree radar view, thanks to Raytheon’s
AN/APY-40 forward looking radar’s 240-degree coverage and the rest from
Telefonics aft-looking radar.
Built on the Boeing 737 frame, the P8-I is capable of
detecting and destroying hostile submarines deep under the water. It has 11
hard points for carrying Harpoon anti-shipping missiles and depth charges, and
five stations in the weapons bay for Raytheon-supplied Mk-54 torpedoes. Two
hard points upfront are for Search and Rescue equipment.
There are five operator stations, and windows for outside
views. All the systems are integrated with the onboard Mission Computer and
Display System for control and data distribution in high speeds with ultra-high
resolution. The APY 10 radar is developed keeping in mind not just the land but
waters of the vast oceans as well, be it day or night. It is capable of
tracking even small vessels in littoral and high seas environments.
The Indian variant also has the Magnetic Anomaly Detector
(MAD) which measures minute variations and disturbances in the earth’s magnetic
field caused by the underwater movement of steel-encased submarines.
India has already acquired a number of Harpoon Block II
missiles for use both by the Navy and IAF, which also conducts maritime
patrols.
Original post: defenceaviationpost.com
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