Military & Aerospace

Indian Navy: challenges beyond the horizon
Star Rating Loader Please wait...
Issue Vol 23.1 Jan-Mar2008 | Date : 06 Feb , 2012

The resultant free flow of capital, the increase in global movement of labour, and the offshoring of industrial production have bound countries together in a variety of ways”“economic, social and cultural. It would be impossible under these conditions for a country to inflict severe or lasting damage to another with which it has close economic ties without itself suffering in the process.

The spread of satellite television brought distant wars to the homes of viewers, and the developed countries are finding it increasingly difficult to justify the loss of human life. The political cost of casualties in war has increased to the point where risk avoidance has become an important factor that impinges on war tactics in Western countries.

  • These factors permit the following conclusions:
  • Wars of the future are likely to brief and focused on economic objectives.
  • They will be more in the nature of specific operations against unequal and weak states with poorly developed and insular economic and political systems.
  • They will not be waged with equally industrialised or advanced countries.
  • They will be increasingly subject to world opinion and approval.
  • Risk avoidance will result in the use of long range weapons and aerial bombardment with precision weapons.

The Revolution in Military Affairs

The factors discussed above will have a profound effect on the framework and rules by which wars will be fought. They will determine under what circumstances nations, even powerful ones, will resort to military action against other states, and with the passage of time, will increasingly circumscribe the kind of targets that will be acceptable for attack. In contrast, the third factor, i.e. technology, will have its greatest impact on the means and methods in which future wars will be fought, and on the weapon systems and platforms of military and naval forces.

Milan_2008_Malaysian_NavalIn the mid-1990s it was realised that the rapid growth of information technology and digital communications made possible the transmission of huge amounts of battle theatre data in real time. This happened at a time when the demise of the Soviet Union suddenly knocked out the core of the US Navy’s strategy, which was centred on tracking, outmaneuvering and pre-empting the Russian forces at sea. The US Navy was quick to recognise the need to shift its strategy to one based on joint operations with other forces, on and over land. This shift was only possible because of the emergence of technology to back it up.

The new concept of operations is based on data being uploaded on to a network which can be accessed by all combatant commanders, and the scenario perceived by individual units can be integrated in real time to give all commanders a total perspective on the overall operational scenario.

Notwithstanding these areas of uncertainty, it seems inevitable that net-based war or network-centric warfare is the way naval warfare is headed, and our planners and designers will have to factor this into their template for the Navy of the future.

It has thus become possible for a unit to bring to bear its fire power on a target, even if it does not even have it on its radar or other sensors. Western military scholars define a revolution in military affairs as a rapid change in the warfare paradigm brought about by technology or new concepts, which are usually accompanied by new organisational structures.

Unlike earlier such revolutions in naval warfare in the past such as the advent of steam, the invention of the submarine, the invention of the radar, the development of the aircraft carrier and nuclear power, the current RMA is different in that it is likely to affect not only one service and its combat methods, but will have its impact on all armed forces and their operational doctrines.

The Future Navy

Specifically for the Navy, the current RMA will impinge on one of its basic traditional characteristics – the isolation of the naval commander at sea and the corresponding degree of freedom he had to make operational and tactical decisions. The published opinion is that the new scenario will enable rapid dissemination of operational information and decentralise decision-making, but there is another aspect which may have the opposite effect; the operational commander’s superior too will have the total picture and will in a sense be alongside the fleet commander, which will considerably curtail his initiative!

Milan_2008_Mayanmar_NavalNotwithstanding these areas of uncertainty, it seems inevitable that net-based war or network-centric warfare is the way naval warfare is headed, and our planners and designers will have to factor this into their template for the Navy of the future. The US and NATO have recognised this and have embarked seriously on a programme of “transformation” of their Navies to make them conform to the new roles and warfighting trends. New organisations have been set up with the specific task of conceptualizing and implementing the process of transformation and many decisions have already been taken to make the force structure of the future navy correspond to its predicted role and missions.

It goes without saying that the strategic imperatives of all countries vary, and notwithstanding recent writings and pro-nouncements about shared strategic interests and natural strategic partners, those of the US and Western powers are bound to be at divergence with several aspects of our own strategic perceptions. It is necessary for the current trends to be seen through the prism of national self-interest, and to make plans for the future structure of the Navy accordingly. One fact does seem evident – there is a need for transforming the Navy to one that will meet our requirements of the future.

1 2 3
Rate this Article
Star Rating Loader Please wait...
The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

More by the same author

Post your Comment

2000characters left