High-Tech Naval Base to counter Chinese Expanding Navy by Col (Dr) P K
Vasudeva in IDR
The strategic
ambitions of China in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea have received a giant
boost with its assuming charge of the Gwadar Port from Pakistan after taking
charge of port operations from Port of Singapore Authority, which has been
managing operations for the last five years. The port is strategically located
at the mouth of the Gulf of Hormuz and just 90 km from the Iranian
border.
The Indian Navy is
developing a new top-secret naval base for its nuclear submarines, code-named
Project Varsha located within a radius of approximately 200 kilometers (124.27
statute miles) from Visakhapatnam.
It is a matter of
grave concern for India as China´s presence in the Indian Ocean poses a serious
threat to Indian maritime operations. Defence Minister A K Antony also expressed
his concerns while inaugurating aero show in Bangalore
recently.
It is a matter of
great satisfaction that slowly but steadily, India’s new futuristic naval base
is beginning to take concrete shape on the eastern seaboard. The strategic base,
with an eye firmly on China, will eventually even have underground pens or
bunkers to protect nuclear submarines both from spy satellites and enemy air
attacks.
Sources said a
flurry of discussions, presentations and meetings have been held in the PMO and
Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the last couple of months to firm up “expansion
plans” for a base located near Rambilli called “Project Varsha” on the Andhra
coast — just about 50 km from the Eastern Naval Command headquarters at
Visakhapatnam — over the coming decade.
The Indian Navy is
developing a new top-secret naval base for its nuclear submarines, code-named
Project Varsha located within a radius of approximately 200 kilometers (124.27
statute miles) from Visakhapatnam. Previous news reports suggested that
Gangavaram had been the initial site for the new base.1
The new base is
designed to support all 8-12 Arihant -class submarines to be built for the
Indian Navy, and it will include state-of-the-art nuclear engineering support
facilities and extensive crew accommodation. The Indian Navy is seeking foreign
technical assistance pertaining to nuclear safety features for the base. While
designed principally as a nuclear submarine support facility, the new base can
accommodate other naval vessels because of the Indian Navy’s expansion. This
facility has been compared to the top-secret Hainan nuclear submarine base for
the Chinese PLA Navy. This east coast base expansion program by the Indian Navy
is in direct response to Chinese naval expansion into the
region.
In addition to
Project Varsha, in late 2009, the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), located at
Visakhapatnam, was transferred from the Ministry of Shipping to the Ministry of
Defence in order to support the Arihant -class nuclear submarine construction
program.
Project Varsha’s
ambitious scale in the years ahead will rival the expansive “Project Seabird”
under which the Karwar naval base has come up in coastal Karnataka to give India
both strategic depth and operational flexibility on the western seaboard against
Pakistan. While Karwar will decongest the over-crowded Mumbai port, the new base
will do the same for Vizag on the east.
India’s highest
decision making body on defence matters, the Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS), has cleared the Indian Navy’s plans to embark on a $2-billion major
expansion of the strategic Karwar naval base in the southern state of Karnataka
where a host of warships, submarines and the refurbished carrier INS
Vikramaditya will be berthed.
Naval assets to protect
India’s long coastline and keep watch over the crucial trade corridors in the
Indian Ocean are essential to Indian interests.
At its meeting held
here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the plans got the
necessary nod, senior Indian Navy officers said here.
The expansion of
Karwar naval base will be carried out under Project Seabird Phase 2A, which will
entail construction of facilities to berth India’s key aircraft carriers
including the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier and its follow-on.
The proposal for the
expansion strategic naval base at Karwar involves construction of a wide range
of new facilities and augmentation of certain existing facilities. Under Project
Seabird Phase 2, the Karwar naval station will get an airbase, armament depot,
dockyard complex and missile silos, apart from additional jetties, berthing and
anchorage facilities.
The Indian Navy
indicated that after the completion of Project Seabird Phase 2A by 2017-18,
around 30 major warships will be based at Karwar. To begin with, Indian Navy
will deploy the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya), Scorpene
submarines and a number of surface ships at the base. In addition, a Naval Air
Station will be established there for deploying fixed and rotary wing ship-based
military aircraft. The eventual aim is to base 50 major warships at Karwar after
Phase-2B is completed.
The Project Seabird
has been a victim of various delays and cost-overruns since it was conceived in
1985. The first Phase of the expansion was completed at a cost of roughly
$584.25 million in 2005-06 enabling the Navy to base more than 15 warships at
Karwar. Despite a slow start, India has managed to pull the project through with
the main intention of decongesting naval dockyards at Mumbai.
The Karwar naval
base is India’s third major naval base after Mumbai and Visakhapatnam on the
east coast. Unlike Mumbai or Vizag base, Karwar is the only naval base in India
exclusively available to Indian Navy. The expansion of the naval base will turn
Karwar into the largest Defence zone, not only in India, but also in Asia.
Considered as India’s third largest naval base, the Karwar Naval Base has also
been considered the perfect place to initiate submarine operations due to its
depth of water.
The Navy plans to
operate at least three SSBNs and six SSNs in the long run for effective nuclear
deterrence.
The Karwar base will
aid the navy’s blue-water operations in the Indian Ocean region and provide
Indian Navy with the much-needed operational flexibility and strategic
advantage. Besides, the naval base will protect the country’s Arabian Sea
maritime routes. The base is also valuable for its location and its ability to
move beyond the fundamental capacity and security limitations of India’s other
two naval base.
Karwar can currently
base 11 major warships and 10 yard-craft after completion of its Phase-I at a
cost of Rs 2,629 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had last year
approved Rs 13,000 crore for its expansion under Phase-IIA to ensure it can
berth 32 major warships and submarines by 2018-19.2
Karwar will be the
home base for aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, the 44,570-tonne Admiral
Gorshkov being refitted in Russia for $2.33 billion, as well as the six French
Scorpene submarines being built at Mazagon Docks for Rs 23,562
crore.
Though it is still
very early for Project Varsha to come up, some bill it as an answer to China’s
massive underground nuclear submarine base at Yalong on the southernmost tip of
Hainan Island, which houses its new Shang-class SSNs (nuclear-powered attack
submarines) and the Jin-class SSBNs (nuclear- powered submarines with long-range
nuclear missiles).
Although land
acquisitions and incremental development work on the base under the secretive
project kicked off a few years ago, it is set to take off in a major way with
the construction of tunnels, jetties, depots, workshops and accommodation.
“Further land acquisitions for the sprawling base to be spread over 20 sq km are
now underway, with long-term budget allocations also being planned,” said a
defence source.3
With the completion of
these projects in the next three to five years India will have an edge over the
Chinese Navy…
The endeavour
dovetails into the overall policy to bolster force-levels on the eastern
seaboard, with new warships, aircraft and spy drones as well as
forward-operating (FOP) and operational turnaround (OTR) bases, to counter
China’s expanding footprint in the entire Indian Ocean Region
(IOR).
Naval assets to
protect India’s long coastline and keep watch over the crucial trade corridors
in the Indian Ocean are essential to Indian interests. The strategic value of
force projection beyond the Andaman Islands is seen in terms of deterrence as
well given the aggressive military Chinese expansion.
India’s own SSBN
programme is also poised to turn the corner soon with sea trials of the
6,000-tonne INS Arihant slated to begin off Visakhapatnam. INS Arihant and its
three “follow-on” SSBNs, which will complete India’s elusive nuclear weapon
triad since they will be armed with the `K’ series of submarine-launched
ballistic missiles, as well as other frontline warships will be housed at the
new base.4
The Navy plans to
operate at least three SSBNs and six SSNs in the long run for effective nuclear
deterrence. Moreover, after inducting the 8,140-tonne INS Chakra submarine on a
10-year lease from Russia last year, India is now negotiating the lease of
another such nuclear-powered Akula-II class submarine, as was reported
earlier.
With the completion
of these projects in the next three to five years India will have an edge over
the Chinese Navy, which is a welcome step.
End
Notes
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Friday, April 5, 2013
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