The Hindustan Times (Hindustan Times) 7 reported that the Indian Navy sought the green light to expand its fleet of nuclear and diesel-electric submarines. U.S. experts say India’s nuclear-powered attack submarines could change the balance of power in the Indian Ocean, offsetting the rise of Chinese Communist power in the region. And they suggest deploying nuclear submarines in the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, the choke points for Chinese Communist warships to enter the Indian Ocean.
On Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said the Indian Navy intends to approach the government for authorized force levels for nuclear-powered and diesel-electric attack submarines, in addition to ballistic missile submarines from the Nuclear Strategic Forces Command (SFC).
The Navy’s new plan, inspired by a similar Cabinet authorization for 42 squadrons in the Indian Air Force, will seek approval to authorize six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 18 diesel-electric-powered attack submarines, a South Zone official said.
Authorization for diesel-powered attack submarines would include submarines equipped with “air-independent propulsion” (AIP), which ensures they can stay under the water longer and are quieter than nuclear-powered submarines.
This comes as the Navy is seeking Defense Acquisition Board approval for plans to build six nuclear-powered attack submarines, or SSNs, as part of the defense establishment’s ongoing focus on expanding naval capabilities to counter the rise of the Communist Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean region and beyond.
India currently has only one Shark-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Akula-2 Chakra, on loan from Russia, and 15 diesel-electric submarines, including the Kalwari, a redfish-class submarine. While three of the Kalwari class submarines are already in service, the remaining three will be fitted with “air-independent propulsion systems,” which make the submarines more lethal than nuclear-powered submarines because their low radar reflection characteristics minimize the likelihood of detection.
Nuclear-powered attack submarines play a huge role in denying the enemy at sea and have the ability not to surface, in addition to replenishing food reserves and other logistical support.
India’s Nuclear Strategic Command, part of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), which manages the nation’s strategic nuclear weapons stockpile, has a 6,000-ton nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Arihant. The next nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arighat, due to enter service in 2022, will be equipped with nuclear-powered submarine-launched intermediate-range ballistic missiles (SLBMs) of the K-15 and K-4. The K-15 is expected to have a range of up to 1,500 kilometers, while the K-4 may have a maximum range of 3,500 kilometers.
India’s Defense Research and Development Organization also has a long-term plan to develop and test-fire the K5 missile, which has a range of 5,000 kilometers, the same range as the Flame-5 (Agni-5) surface-to-surface missile.
Because of their survivability, nuclear ballistic missile submarines form the backbone of India’s second strike capability.
Writing in the National Interest in March, Sebastien Roblin argued that India’s nuclear-powered attack submarines could shift the balance of power in the Indian Ocean and offset the rise of Chinese Communist forces in the region.
Attack submarines are primarily designed to hunt ships and other submarines, the authors say. To fulfill this role, the submarine’s agility is critical to intercepting vulnerable enemy ships, outrunning submerged enemies, and diving deep enough to evade anti-submarine forces. In this regard, nuclear power allows for much higher sustained submerged speeds of 20 to 30 knots.
Moreover, nuclear attack submarines are ideal for navies facing numerically superior opponents because underwater stealth allows submarines to choose whether to fight and pounce on unsuspecting enemy warships.
In addition, even a relatively small submarine force could force an adversary to devote significant resources to escorting valuable warships before they suffered unsustainable losses.
Moreover, some nuclear submarines of Communist and early Soviet design were significantly noisier than the Akula class or the U.S. Virginia class. making them easier to detect and destroy, and their crews more difficult to detect other submarines with hydrophones.
India can also take advantage of the greater range and endurance of nuclear attack submarines by deploying them at the few choke points where Chinese Communist warships can enter the Indian Ocean, notably the Straits of Malacca (at the intersection of Malaysia, Sumatra, and Singapore) and the Sunda Straits (between Sumatra and Java).
India could also send nuclear attack submarines through the straits into the Pacific, and in wartime, just one or two submarines in the Pacific would force the Chinese Communist Navy to invest expensive assets to protect their “rear” rather than treating the Pacific as a safe area for unimpeded shipping.
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