Singapore is a unique city-state of our times, which stands as a beacon for democracy, order and stability in this region. I am pleased to be here as a guest of the Republic of Singapore Navy, whose Chief, Admiral Ronnie Tay is present here.
Our two services share a close relationship of long standing, and over the years, we have developed mutual confidence and a great respect for each other’s professional abilities and attainments.
For navies, transformation encompasses not just the creation of capabilities by the use of technology, but also changes in organisational relationships, war fighting concepts and peacetime doctrines or standard operating procedures.
Navies have a deserved reputation for being extremely tradition-bound and conservative in their outlook. Historically, the “silent Service” has kept aloof from radical changes of all kinds; one exception being the Russian cruiser Aurora, which fired the opening shot of the October Revolution, in St. Petersburg. Navies treated with extreme caution even, technological change.
The steam engine, the torpedo, the airplane and many other innovations had to fight entrenched suspicion and scepticism to find their place in navies. Such conservatism led a senior Royal Navy officer at the turn of the century to condemn the submarine in these words: “…underhand and damned un-English. Treat all submarine crews as pirates and hang them!”
However, it must be admitted that a revolution that has been taken most seriously, by navies worldwide, is the one in Military Affairs or RMA. Of course, whether there is, in fact a revolution underway or not has also been a subject of debate. It has been suggested that military technology has actually been evolving over centuries, and examples of the crossbow, the horseman’s saddle and stirrup, gunpowder, tank, wireless, aeroplane and missiles are given as an example of this evolutionary continuum. So what is all the excitement about?
If we accept that “revolutions” are marked by non-linearity in the progression of events, then it has to be accepted that military affairs are indeed in the throes of a revolution. Since about the mid-1980s it has been apparent to discerning military observers that galloping advances in weapon, sensor, platform and information technology are indeed taking us on an exponential path. Having come to terms with RMA, militaries have started to internalize it, and that is how the term transformation has recently entered their lexicon.
Access to technology and the ability to absorb and exploit it will have a vital impact on the effectiveness of a Navy. A note of caution needs to be sounded at this juncture.
For navies, transformation encompasses not just the creation of capabilities by the use of technology, but also changes in organisational relationships, war fighting concepts and peacetime doctrines or standard operating procedures. Transformation is essentially based on a willingness to constantly challenge old thinking and introduce new concepts. This obviously means that the focus cannot be exclusively on technology and hardware, but must also embrace people.
Access to technology and the ability to absorb and exploit it will have a vital impact on the effectiveness of a Navy. A note of caution needs to be sounded at this juncture.
Transformation, as it is being talked about today, presumes the ready availability of cutting edge technology, and substantial funding as well as infrastructure to support the introduction of new concepts into service. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of navies are not only faced with a shortage of funds but also lack access to advanced technologies.
In this context, however there are two points to note. Firstly, we must remember that it is up to us to take as much or as little of transformation as we need. And secondly, we all have our strengths as well as weaknesses, but the synergy that results from cooperative engagement often renders disproportionate results. The need of our times is for neighbouring navies to work together to ensure maritime security for common benefit. Hence, in my opinion, while transformation is looked at, by individual navies they should also examine it in a wider frame of reference and see whether a possibility exists for collective transformation in which many of us can participate.
It will be my endeavour here to gently interweave cooperation with transformation. We have common maritime concerns, which should lead us to cooperate while attempting to transform our forces, and operations.
One of the lessons of the 2004 Tsunami was that navies must have the ability to access the coast easily from the sea, which is not always permitted by existing hulls. Developments have been undertaken to find unconventional hull forms that would combine shallow draft, higher speeds, better sea-keeping qualities, and improved survivability.
Before touching upon some of the transformational technologies required for tomorrow’s navies, it would be worthwhile examining some emerging strategic trends in the maritime arena, which I would term as drivers for maritime cooperation.
Firstly, globalization is cutting across national boundaries and leading to the evolution of linkages between cultures, economies and peoples. This growing economic integration is evident from increasing trade interdependence, and measures like the decision to establish an ASEAN Economic Community by 2020. Consequently, to borrow John Donne’s words, no nation remains an island anymore “entire of itself” – except perhaps in a purely geographical sense. Collective and not individual prosperity is the way of the future.
Secondly, the critical importance of energy security, which implies continuous and assured supply of energy resources such as oil, natural gas and coal, cannot be underestimated. Any challenge to the free flow of energy can lead to major conflict, which will have profound effects on regional and global economies. Ensuring energy security is therefore, a major maritime issue of common concern.
Thirdly, low intensity maritime threats, which include piracy, gunrunning, drug smuggling, illegal immigration, etc., are increasing in intensity and frequency. Being transnational in character, these threats require the cooperative use of maritime forces to tackle them effectively. India already conducts joint patrols with Indonesia and Sri Lanka and an agreement with Thailand for similar patrols is due to be signed soon. The danger of a grave threat from the seas is also driving security initiatives like the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the Container Security Initiative (CSI). These initiatives require multilateral maritime cooperation in order to succeed.
And lastly, environmental issues like the sustainable use of fishing resources, and pollution control, as well as matters relating to Search and Rescue, EEZ Patrols, etc., are increasingly engaging the attention of navies and coast guards. All these issues also need a multilateral approach to be effective.
Against the backdrop of what I have said so far, oceans today are not expanses of water that divide continents, but maritime highways that link nations. I also see them as a broad canvas on which the drama of international relations is often played out.
Warship building today is an expensive proposition due to the high infrastructure costs of shipyards, as well as the expense of design and development. Collaborative R&D, design, building and even marketing efforts between two or more countries in this region can bring with it many advantages”¦
Our other adversary, of course, can be Mother Nature, and we always need to be prepared for natural disasters. It is just five months since this region went through the tragedy of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. This disaster afforded an opportunity to demonstrate clearly to the world community the unique global brotherhood of the seas, and the ability of navies to not just work alongside each other, but also to catalyze and facilitate cooperation amongst nations.
I want to point out that in contrast to the Cold War era, when it was ideology that created hostility, the fight today is against the forces of anarchy, obscurantism and fundamentalism. If there can be an unholy nexus of international proportions amongst the bad guys; men of goodwill too must come together. Navies, therefore, must be equipped with the wherewithal to enable international cooperation. Let us then have a look at a few of these technologies and start with a survey of naval platforms in all the three dimensions.
First of all, the surface ship. This platform has weathered many debates about its continued utility in the face of emerging threats of every nature, including growing costs. Experience has, however, shown that large multipurpose ships allow great flexibility across a range of activity extending from hot conflict to humanitarian aid. Warships also provide unique reach and sustainability. Keeping these useful attributes in mind, technologies relating to propulsion, low visibility and hull forms must engage our attention.
One of the lessons of the 2004 Tsunami was that navies must have the ability to access the coast easily from the sea, which is not always permitted by existing hulls. Developments have been undertaken to find unconventional hull forms that would combine shallow draft, higher speeds, better sea-keeping qualities, and improved survivability. The new ideas that find application in warships include: multiple hulls like catamarans, trimarans and pentamarans; surface effect ships, air-cushion vehicles, semi-planning monocoques, and delta hull forms, etc. Stealth is another consideration that is literally changing the “shape of ships” to come.
The displacement of the battleship by the aircraft carrier was one of the most significant maritime developments of the last century. This is one platform that has remained at the vortex of controversy, and continuously attracted fire from its many detractors. However, quite apart from their military utility, events have shown that aircraft carrying platforms – and I include the LHD, LHA and LPD -have a tremendous role to play in peacetime activities too, especially disaster relief.
The Indian Navy has now been operating carriers, for close to half a century, and we have just reaffirmed our faith in this platform by buying one from Russia, and commencing the construction of a second one in India. Carriers have a whole range of unique technologies associated with aircraft launch, recovery and navigation, which are also evolving rapidly.
while exploring technology and exploiting it at sea, we must also try and leverage it to bring navies together. The sum of the parts is often greater than the whole, and with the tremendous resources, and human talent available, given the resurgent economies of our region, we can achieve a lot if we work together.
Factors such as high acquisition, manning and lifecycle costs of aircraft have led navies to look towards unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to supplement the efforts of Fleet Aviation. The Indian Navy was amongst the first to have operated UAVs at sea, and we have found them most useful. The future seems to point towards an increasing role for such unmanned platforms – in the air, underwater and on the surface – to perform cooperative surveillance tasks with greater efficiency and reduced costs.
Due to the submarine’s inherent stealth qualities; sea denial and trade warfare have remained its forte. Earlier attempts to integrate submarines with fleet operations were largely stymied by communication problems, but with increasing connectivity and longer range weapons, submarines are increasing their scope of operations. Even as interest in submarines grows rapidly amongst navies in the IOR, technology is being marshalled to bring about major improvements in the performance of the diesel- propelled boat.
Areas of focus include noise reduction, non-hull penetrating and optronic masts, towed wire antennae and sonars, cruise missiles, launch of Special Forces, and of course air independent propulsion. Technology will ensure that the submarine continues to hold its position as a platform of the future; and transformation will provide new and more useful roles for it.
The search for new means of propulsion at sea is driven as much by the rising cost, as by the environmental impact of our dwindling fossil fuel resources. Nuclear propulsion has its uses, but only in limited applications. With advances in materials such as permanent magnets and high temperature superconductors, the focus has now shifted to electric propulsion and many propulsion plants are already at sea, but mainly in the cruise liner business. The progress of electric propulsion is being watched with great interest, and the future certainly seems to lie in the “all electric ship”.
With modularity rapidly gaining acceptance, both as an economy measure and a force multiplier, platforms will become multi-role. Such designs would allow swapping of guns, weapon launchers, mine counter-measures gear or helicopter decks as required. Modular systems like the Danish STANFLEX are an idea whose time has at last come; and navies are being increasingly drawn towards it, as is obvious from the Littoral Combat Ship and “Streetfighter” under development for the US Navy.
The missile, torpedo and even the lowly mine continue to be an omnipresent threat to the naval combatant. Ship and submarine-launched cruise missiles, as well as shore based anti-ship missiles add to the complexity of maritime operations in the littoral. As smart weapon systems enter service, even smarter counter-measures are on offer, but budgetary constraints may not always permit navies to invest in them. Therefore, tactical acumen has to often substitute for technology at sea.
The vast benefits of multimedia telecommunications have made it possible for fleets to have enhanced knowledge management. Not only is the operational domain becoming increasingly transparent but the need for distant units to share a common situational awareness amongst themselves and with the command ashore is driving the need for networking.
Networking a navy is an undertaking as fraught with complexity as it is expensive in execution. The Indian Navy has however, taken the plunge and committed itself to networked operations before the end of the decade. In the context of regional maritime cooperation, there is no area more urgent than the establishment of communication channels and protocols that enable better coordination. Information Technology offers us a convenient means of linking friendly forces, and we also have a satellite launch capability in the region. Therefore, in the years ahead, we could perhaps look at a regional maritime data network. This would enable navies to cooperate effectively in areas such as SAR, pollution control, countering maritime terrorism and piracy, and of course, disaster relief operations.
Finally, warship building today is an expensive proposition due to the high infrastructure costs of shipyards, as well as the expense of design and development. Collaborative R&D, design, building and even marketing efforts between two or more countries in this region can bring with it many advantages, including economies of scale, amortization of development cost and simplification of logistic support.
Conclusion
As one contemplates the mechanics and implications of transformation at sea, it is easy to lose oneself in the marvels of technology. In all this, there is a need to retain clarity and focus, and to bear in mind that technology is only a means to an end.
Moreover, while exploring technology and exploiting it at sea, we must also try and leverage it to bring navies together. The sum of the parts is often greater than the whole, and with the tremendous resources, and human talent available, given the resurgent economies of our region, we can achieve a lot if we work together.
As we go about our business at sea, those of us in our respective navies must work assiduously to create synergies for mutual benefit. If the unfortunate tsunami episode had a bright side at all, it was to provide us a heartwarming glimpse into the extended family system of South and South-East Asia, where countries reach out in times of adversity.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the imperatives of globalization and our growing dependence on sea resources will ensure that the 21st century is a Maritime Century. Navies, if they so choose, can become catalysts for peace, tranquility and stability in the Indian Ocean Region. In this endeavour, transformational technologies will be their handmaidens.
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