Garden Planning And Zoning Board To Order At 6:41 P: Fill & Download for Free

Before answering and elaborating the logic behind Number of platforms build under certain Type, we need to first understand the aspects of Constructing a Warship.Requirement of New Platform :- A lot of Strategy and design Planning goes behind the constructions of warships, unlike other defence constructions, building a warship, has got one of the longest processing and executing time. Requirement and accordingly the design of new warships are done, by keeping in thought process, the future warfare and the prerequisite to win a battle both conventional and unconventional. To meet the requirements of future, planning are done is present, and that’s how we come up with construction plan and timing. So, by the time project reaches its end, that is final ship in class getting commissioned, there will new advancements in technologies and future requirement will vary, and thus new project will be initiated to accommodate this new advancements.Timeline & Designing :-Timeline of construction of warship, majorly depends upon the ability of the Shipyard to take up the task, and required technology to build one. Once order is placed with shipyard, they come up with a plan for whole 10–11 years, which is average time a whole class of warship takes to get commissioned. Project 15B first ship i.e. INS Vishakhapatnam, was launched in 2013, and last one INS Porbandar is expected to get commissioned by 2024.Design of a warship varies a lot, as lot of new advancements take place while a class of ship is under construction. Even though, designers consider the future requirements of the ship warfare scenarios, by the time a class of ship commissioning gets completed, there are already new design requirements for next upcoming future. That is why, under a certain class of ship, number are kept to match the requirement analysis.Budget :- There is no two thought, that Indian Navy’s budget allocation has seen low light in few decades immediately after Independence, well soon political masters understood the importance of power projection in sea and using same for flourishment of diplomacy. Now, Naval Budget, being in good condition compared to past decades, Indian Navy’s leap for new technological aspects becomes positive. It is universal truth that, in most of the defence deals, budget consideration are given high priority over technological leap, and recent example of this can be seen in ongoing Project 75, for building six scorpion class submarines.Technology and Weaponry:- As discussed in earlier points, technology is something which is advancing rapidly. No, wonder, major allies power became super power due to WWI and WWII, furthermore cold war is another era, where, technologies developed at a rapid phase to counter one’s enemy. Coming to construction, when a ship’s design is finalised, same is sticked to till the last boat of the class gets commissioned, which even though the ship’s design gives enough room to incorporate various new technologies, same is only done, once all the previous design is implemented. One may contend, why not update ship at the time of construction itself, the reason is “previous point”. As i said, lot depends on budget.Shipyard’s Profit:- In the end, it all comes down to profit and loss of a shipyard, Shipyard profit depends on number of different orders, to put it in layman’s term, a shipyard will earn for profit if it makes 8 ships of 4 different class, 2 each, as compared to making all 8 ships of same class. It is simply to explain the aspect, don’t take numbers with real numbers, along with it, there are many other major factors to contribute towards it.State-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers (GRSE) are building complex weapon-intensive vessels such as destroyers, stealth frigates and corvettes."While state-owned Goa Shipyard Ltd. and Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. have capability to build various categories of vessels like patrol vessels, tankers, landing platform docks, survey vessels, tugs, barges, etc., MDL is also constructing submarines for the Indian Navy,"In addition, MDL, GRSE, Goa Shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard have embarked on a comprehensive modernization program.At a cost of $114.3 million, MDL is creating new facilities, including a module workshop, a 300-ton Goliath crane, a new wet basin and cradle assembly shop, and will switch over from unit assembly to block assembly, enabling integrated modular construction of warships.MDL will also be able to substantially reduce the construction period for warships and will be able to build three warships to five warships and three to six submarines at a time.GRSE is establishing a $90.4 million modernization plan to create new facilities, including a modern hull shop, upgrading of the Tribon ship design software, improving the capacity of inclined berth, etc. In addition, GRSE is building a 10,000-ton capacity dry dock, a 4,500-ton capacity inclined berth, a pier and associated systems.Likewise, with funding of $71.4 million, Goa Shipyard is creating infrastructure for indigenous construction of mine countermeasure vessels. The shipyard is also upgrading the capacity of its lift facility from 1,400 tons to 6,000 tons and creating additional construction berths to build three offshore petrol vessels at a time.Goa is also improving the capability of two berths for repair of smaller warships.Hindustan Shipyard is also spending $68.2 million to revamp its entire shipbuilding and ship repair facilities.Currently, the Indian Navy is building 48 warships at domestic shipyards and by 2027, it plans to have 198 warships compared with its current fleet of 137 warships.All the above Construction aspects, point out at one logical conclusion, make less, but evolve and make strong every time.In every modern naval fleet, destroyers play critical role due to their versatility, agility, fire power and longer reach. Introduced at the beginnings of 20th century as Torpedo Boat Destroyers" (TBD) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats. After Russo-Japanese War, destroyers began to evolve as true long range multi-mission ships.Two World Wars during the last century played a critical role in evolution of destroyers. Aerial threat and advanced German U-boats, emerged as a nightmare for the Allied navies. This forced naval engineers and ship designers to come with the new designs of destroyers giving it capability against these two new threats. They were fitted with new anti-aircraft guns, radar, and forward-launched ASW weapons, in addition to their existing light guns, depth charges, and torpedoes.After the World War II, the advent of guided missile was a major advancement in maritime warfare allowing the destroyers to expand their combatant roles and taking over the missions previously fulfilled by much larger ships i.e. battleships and cruisers. This expansion of operational capability of destroyers, for the first time, allowed them to perform independent operations as well.Today, only few nations have the capability to design, build and commission guided missile destroyers. The operational orbit of destroyer today, includes land attacks and strike missions (through cruise missiles), fleet defense against aerial threats (through on board long range radars and SAM system), anti-submarine (through torpedo) and anti-ship operations (through anti-ship missiles). Earlier generation of naval destroyers were not multi-mission capable. They were either fleet air defense ship or ballistic missile ship. County Class of UK and Kashin Class of USSR, introduced in 1958-60, were basically air defense destroyer designs.As the miniaturization of nuclear war-heads has turned cruise missiles into nuclear cruise missiles, guided missile destroyers have emerged as supplementary platform for any nation’s nuclear triad strengthening its 2nd strike capability.Along with the evolution of missiles, radars and onboard sensors of a destroyer, the missile launchers have evolved as well. From early single and twin arm launchers (MK 13 & MK 11) to modern Vertical Launch System (MK 41 VLS), this evolution of launchers has enabled the modern ships to carry a lot more guided missiles (both SAM and SSM) in the form of a missile magazine.Despite all their multi mission nature, fact remains that destroyers due to their larger size can be detected by enemy submarines and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). In order to overcome this intrinsic shortcoming of destroyers, stealth factor was introduced in the design philosophy of the destroyers.Indian Navy's Modern Guided Missile Destroyers:Today, Indian Navy is operating 'Rajput' class (5000 tons), 'Delhi' class (6700 tons) and Kolkata Class (7400 tons) guided missile destroyers along with number of guided missile frigates. First two classes of ships are of conventional design and offer very little to no capability to evade enemy ships tracking them in open sea. Rajput Class destroyers (INS Rajput, INS Rana, INS Ranjit, INS Ranvir, INS Ranvijay) are Russian built. In late 1970s, after scrapping British built R Class and Hunt Class destroyers, the Indian Navy initiated ‘Project-15’ to design and build indigenous destroyers later to be known as 'Delhi' Class. The project was executed by Mazagon Dockyard Limited (MDL). It took some 20 years for MDL to deliver first ship (INS Delhi) to Indian Navy for commissioning in 1997. Subsequently two more ships (INS Mysore and INS Mumbai) were built and commissioned in Indian Navy in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Having influences of both Soviet and Western ships, Delhi class can operate in complete Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) environment. The ship is equipped with Kh-35 'Switchblade' anti-ship missiles (Range 130 Km) and its air defense system is being upgraded with Israeli Barak-1 SAM system (Range 32 Km).As a fellow up of the Delhi class, Indian Navy in May 2000, MDL began work on Project-15A. This was the evolution for Indian shipbuilding industry and major aspect of new project was inclusion of stealth features in the ship design. While pursuing that, more than 2000 modifications were made in Delhi class design. After these modifications, a new class of Indian destroyers (Kolkata Class) emerged. Kolkata class incorporated the latest technologies in sensors, weapons and navigation controls of the ship. Main weapon is Indo-Russian supersonic BrahMos cruise missile (2 x 8 cells). In air defense role, the ship would be fitted with Israeli made Barak-8 SAM system (Range 70 Km). 32 of these missiles would be carried in VLS launch magazine. Israel also provided main sensors and processing systems for this class of ship. The first of Kolkata class was commissioned in August 2014. The remaining two - Kochi and Chennai - are expected to join service by early 2016. Right now, Kolkata class destroyers are the biggest destroyer ships designed and built in India.Just like Delhi class, Kolkata class also has a follow on design project known as ‘Project 15-B’ or Vishakhapatnam Class. MDL launched INS Vishakhapatnam, the first of four 7,300 tons Project 15B guided missile destroyers being built for the Indian Navy (IN), in Mumbai on 20th April. IN officials said it would be commissioned in July 2018 and delivery of the three follow-on platforms at two year intervals will be completed by 2024 at an overall cost of INR 293.40 billion (USD4.89 billion).Key differences of Project 15A and Project 15B include the relocation of its sonar to the bow from the hull; the design of its mast, which houses its main radar, has also been revised to further reduce its radar cross section.Other changes include reshaping of the hull to accentuate its stealth features and the addition of a rail-less helicopter traversing system.According to IN, INS Vishakhapatnam would be fitted with the IAI-Elta-designed EL/M-2248 Multi-Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) to provide guidance to 32 Barak-8/NG air-defense missiles.The destroyer will also be fitted with IAI-Elta EL/M-2238 S-band (2 to 4 GHz) 3-D volume air surveillance radar (STAR) radar and a Thales LW-08 D-band air search radar.INS Vishakhapatnam 's principal weapon will be 16 BrahMos anti-ship/ land attack cruise missiles, co-developed by the DRDO and Russia.The ship's anti-submarine warfare capability includes twin-tube launchers and RBU-6000 SMERCH-2 rocket launchersA license-built 76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun, four Russian AK-630 close-in weapon systems and a 127 mm main gun, which is still under negotiation.It can also carry two multiple-role helicopters (e.g., Sea King or HAL Dhruv helicopters).Total Atmosphere Control (TAC) System; this system will enable the crew to operate the ship in regions of NBC fall out.According to Asian Defense military blog, "In its quest to become a powerful three-dimensional blue-water force and maintain a fleet of around 140 "surface and sub-surface combatants", the Navy already has 30 warships and six submarines on order in various Indian shipyards."Apart from this buildup of guided missile destroyers, Indian Navy is pursuing an ambitious $16 billion USD plan to modernize its surface and sub-surface fleets. Project-17 is yet another ambitious project to build 6,000 tons stealth frigates.According to Chietigj Bajpaee, an Indian defense analyst, Indian has ambitious plans for the development of a 160-plus ship navy, comprising three aircraft carrier battle groups by 2022. More than 40 warships and submarines are on order or under construction at the country's three major shipyards. These include stealth destroyers, anti-submarine corvettes and stealth frigates. These vessels will supplement and in some cases replace the country's older destroyers.According to some estimates, Currently, Indian Navy is the world’s fifth largest maritime force but it would take 3rd position, after China and US, within the next 15 years when Indian Navy would eventually complete its modernization.Indian security establishment and strategic community consider the rise of India’s trade through sea as the primary driving force behind this ambitious modernization as Bajpaee put it in his interview.But for a more objective analysis of this ambitious Indian naval modernization, the prevailing bitter truths of regional geopolitics like traditional rivalries between the countries like China-Japan maritime tension, India-Pakistan, India-China energy competition and China-US standoff over Taiwan, cannot be overlooked. These geopolitical realities have reshaped the Asian security architecture for the 21st century, where arms race, increased defense spending and a desire for ubiquitous military presence in the Indian Ocean are dominant trends.The strategic maritime competition between China and the US in the South China Sea is the biggest driver behind the Indian naval ambitions. As an indirect consequence of this strategic competition and Indian counter-strategy to it, the maritime balance of power in Arabian Sea between Pakistani and Indian naval forces is rapidly tipping in favor of India; thus creating serious maritime security concerns for regional stability and Pakistan’s seawards defenses.Implication of Indian Naval Expansion for the Maritime Power of Balance in Arabian Sea:By looking at the design philosophy of Indian naval fleet, it becomes evident that Indian Navy is preparing for complete NBC/ WMDs scenarios. The pursuance of nuclear triad remains the ultimate long term objective in Indian strategic thinking to deter Chinese military modernization and expanding influence in the Indian Ocean.In this strategic milieu, the inclusion of stealth guided missile destroyers would further this growing maritime disparity between Pakistan and India. A scenario involving multiple Indian navy ships, armed with dozens of nuclear armed missiles, would be no less than a nightmare for small Pakistan Navy.Even we take nuclear WMDs out of the picture, the conventional arsenal of IN poses serious challenge to Pakistani naval installations and other industrial targets.Indian Threat & State of Pakistan Navy:The establishment of NSFC, back in May 2012, was perceived as Pakistan's announcement of existence of country's maritime strategic deterrence in form of a nuclear submarine project. Back in 2012, ISPR issued its press release which read, "The force, which is the custodian of the nation's 2nd strike capability, will strengthen Pakistan's policy of credible minimum deterrence and ensure regional stability.” This statement cemented the impression further that Pakistan having nuclear submarine program. It has been three years since the NSFC was established but still Pakistan's surface fleet remains precariously exposed to Indian Navy's overwhelming technical and numerical superiority in Arabian Sea. Nation is still looking towards the strategic decision makers and security managers to put Pakistan's 2nd strike capability in operational state in order to give PN much needed deterrence capability.PN currently does not operate any single ship armed with long range land attack cruise missile to give it a true guided missile capability. Although, the Ex-Type 21 ships (Tariq Class) acquired from the UK in 1993-94 are classified as destroyers in PN but fact remains that these ships were built as frigates originally. These PN Ships were rearmed with American and Chinese anti-ship missiles (Harpoon and C-802). But Harpoons do not give any advantage to Pakistan Navy as Indian Navy has also acquired Harpoon Block II missiles (Range 130 Km) for its latest P-8I MPA aircraft.But Pakistan's maritime security worries in context of Indian naval modernization do not end there; PN's sub-surface fleet, which can provide a considerable deterrence and sea-denial capabilities against enemy's overwhelmingly larger surface fleet is also precariously out numbered.PN currently has only 5 conventional submarines (3 Agosta 90-B and 2 Agosta-70) and 2 Agosta-70s have reached their retirement age. Since 2010, PN has been looking for various options to strengthen its submarine fleet but so far no confirmed deal has been signed. Latest news suggest that PN may eventually acquire Chinese made conventional diesel submarines. Originally, PN requires 12 submarines. This requirement was laid out in Armed Forces Development Plan (AFDP) 2015. It is high time for PN to expedite the acquisition process. Apart from getting Chinese submarines, Pakistan is also looking for surplus Western subs. In this pursuit, Turkey can provide Pakistan with German Type-209 submarines which it wanted to modernize but then went for latest Type-214.Pakistan also needs to increase the strength of its surface fleet. News is that PN is considering to acquire 4 more F-22P type frigates. Pakistan must look at the potential acquisition of Chinese destroyers. Chinese platforms would allow Pakistan to integrate Pakistani cruise missile Babur on them giving Pakistan the deterrence against the maritime threats from India.Redefining Maritime Minimum Credible Deterrence:Pakistan Navy cannot match its Indian counterpart one to one basis neither it is required keeping in minds the size of Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and coastline length. But then there is a third and more relevant factor in this equation of indo-Pak maritime power projection which PN will has to balance. The third factor is growing expeditionary nature of Indian Naval modernization. Evidently, Indian Navy is seeking to build ‘army maneuver through sea’ capability in joint ops doctrine with Indian Army. Minimum credible deterrence threshold for maritime arena, in Arabian Sea, will have to be redefined by PN. The share of Pakistan Navy in annual defense allocation must also be redefined as per this reevaluated minimum credible deterrence parameters in maritime power projection. Acquisition of more F-22P frigates and some Chinese built destroyers would become the eventual consequence of any such reevaluation. PN will have to become a capable brown water navy with limited expeditionary capabilities.Seeking Self-Reliance:Pakistan Navy needs to take a page from Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) success in self-reliance in ship building. Just like PAF’s JF-17 Thunder, PN needs to initiate a joint venture with China or Turkey to design and build indigenous destroyer. Pakistan must become a player in the geopolitical game being played in Indian Ocean rather than being a pawn. Building a strong ship building industry is also vital for Pakistan from pure economic perspective. It can attract foreign customer and earn foreign reserve.But this is a mid to long term plan. For now, the most realistic option for Pakistan would be to concentrate on enhancing two basic maritime capabilities against the Indian Navy's surface fleet at war footings i.e. Sea denial and Coastal defense.Sea Denial:For rapid sea denial, what Pakistan Navy can do is to concentrate on aerial operations capabilities in open Ocean and raise the number of missile boats in surface fleet. Pakistan Air Force has already expanded the operational orbit of JF-17 with integrating CM-400AKG super-sonic anti-ship missiles. Both PAF and PN must expedite the deliveries of these planes to PN. According to media reports, PN is interested in 30 JF-17s to raise 2 squadrons. Air launched version of C-802 anti-ship missile is also being integrated on Thunders, Keeping in mind the size of Mig-29K fleet of Indian Navy and Su-30MKI fleet of Indian Air Force (which can be deployed along with Kh-35 anti-ship missile in join operations with Indian Navy), Pakistan Navy must revised its requirement for JF-17s to 60-70 to raise minimum 4 squadrons. How these aircraft integrate with existing fleet of Pakistan naval aviation wing would determine their effectiveness during the actual air-sea battle.Coastal Defense:For coastal defense, Pakistan has built fast missile boats, these small boats can prove invaluable defense against growing numbers of Indian guided missile destroyer fleet. These boats are easier to build and maintain with minimum resources and time. Media reports suggest that Pakistan has increased its requirement of Azmat class Fast Attack Craft (FAC) to 8 from current strength of 2. It will help in coastal defense but due to their limited green water capabilities (shorter range, lower displacement) they cannot perform sea denial operations in open sea far from coast line but these ships (each armed with 8 C-802) are in-arguably the best option for coastal defense.It will be only prudent to remind once again what renowned American maritime strategist Alfred Mahan once said about the Indian Ocean and its importance in the 21st century when global trade has made this Ocean strategically the most important geography on the globe.“Oceans quiet in their majesty or violent in relentless force……he who controls them, the air above, the depths below, plots the destiny of man”— Admiral John S. McCain, Jr.Thank You.!Sources:-http://www.aviation-defence-universe.com/wp-content/themes/defence/pdf/inip.pdfANALYSIS | Indian Guided Missile Destroyers and Balance of Power in Arabian Sea by Shahzad Masood Roomidomestic-shipyards-build-all-indian-naval-warshipsMilitary Analysis: Indian NavyVisakhapatnam-class destroyer - Wikipediahttp://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/en

The Indian Navy has been battle-tested once before, in 1971. When comparing with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) it is important to look not just at the number of capital ships and submarines but also at the rotary and fixed wing platforms, sensors, missile systems (air defence, cruise, anti ship & ballistic), satellites, fleet support vessels, bases and collaboration with foreign navies. The Chinese leadership since the turn of this century has been focusing on making the PLA, traditionally a land warfare oriented and ground forces dominated organization to one capable of undertaking operations across all domains i.e., developing multi-spectrum capability and becoming an expeditionary force. From being a more than 2 million strong force at the beginning of the century the People's Liberation Army Ground Force in 2020 has around 9,75,000 personnel with emphasis on transforming into a force capable of joint operations with other branches of the PLA and fighting and winning a swift war under informatized/intelligentized conditions. The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on the other hand has not seen any cuts in it share of the budget or personnel. On the contrary it is gradually becoming the principal element of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) military power.The primary area of operations of the IN is the Indian Ocean Region i.e., the region from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden in the west to the Strait of Malacca in the East while the east coast of Africa too falls within the Indian maritime area of interest. A secondary maritime area of deployment is the South China Sea and the Western Pacific in conjunction with other regional powers like Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan and Australia. India and Vietnam signed an agreement in 2010 which gave Indian Navy ships access to based in Vietnam and an arrangement for logistics support. Indian has access to Vietnam's strategic Nha Trang naval base. In 2018 India and Singapore signed a naval logistics support agreement and the former also gained access to the Changi naval base near the Strait of Malacca. India is also co-developing the Sabang Port in Aceh Province of Indonesia as part of the strategic partnership between the two countries. Other than these partnerships India has also signed reciprocal logistics support agreement with the United States and France granting it access to the French base in Djibouti, where the PLAN also operates a base since 2017. The Indian Navy reportedly also has a radar and surveillance station in Madagascar and is also developing the Agalega island of Mauritius and Assumption island of Seychelles to serve as outposts in the IOR, although the Seychelles project seems to have run into some trouble owing to the island nation's legislature not ratifying it.The primary concern for the Indian naval establishment is the unprecedented pace of Chinese naval build up, it's gradual but still ongoing transition into a Blue water Navy and it's forays into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and the frequency and quantum of deployment has only increased in recent times. The PLAN first started deploying into the IOR around 2008 with conduct of anti-piracy operations being the stated objective. Since then however the PLAN has also deployed submarines into the region. The 2014 docking of a Chinese submarine at the Colombo Port generated great consternation in New Delhi. The presence of PLAN Type 093 Shang class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) in the IOR in 2013 is believed to have dawned on the national security establishment the vulnerability of the slower Arihant class SSBN to such boats. This led to the kickstarting in 2015 of the Indian Navy SSN programme to build six nuclear attack submarine, something that had been put in the backburner almost a decade ago owing to the paucity of funds and focus on the construction of the nuclear ballistic missile submarines as part of the nuclear triad assured second capability. It is pertinent to keep in mind that original Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project envisioned the indigenous construction of nuclear attack submarines. However post the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests and India's adoption of no first use nuclear doctrine the emphasis was shifted to SSBN, but based on the same design. This approach is not dissimilar to what the Chinese did with their first Type 092 SSBN that entered service in the late 1980s. It's design was based on the Type 091 Han class SSN that entered service in 1974–75 becoming Asia's first indigeneously built nuclear boats (not counting the Soviet Union since it's primary orientation was towards Europe). The Type 092 Xia class served as a testbed and technology demonstrator for future SSBN development and the next batch of SSBN belonging to the Type 094 Jin class entered service only in the first decade of the 21st century, completing the PRC's nuclear triad. US sources estimate that right Jin class boats would be in service by 2020. The PLAN reportedly also has six to nine Shang class boats in service along with atleast three older Han class. In the pipeline are plans to construct five newer Type 095 Sui class nuclear attack boats and the Type 096 nuclear ballistic missile boats.Successive Chinese boats have displayed improved acoustic signature, reduction in noise level and propulsion. All these point towards China having achieved 'continous deterrence at sea' in this decade itself. Continuous deterrence at sea concept differs from single submarine deterrence patrol in that the former requires multiple submarines and at no time is any leg of the triad not functional. Of course whether the PLAN has achieved effective sea based nuclear deterrence against the United States is not yet confirmed. The JL-2 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) is said to have a maximum range of 7000 km and upwards. Whether the Type 094 is stelathy enough to evade the sensors and anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the US Navy and go beyond Chinese littoral waters to a location that would bring US population and industrial centers in it's missile range is not yet clear. Maybe that's the reason they are working on the newer Type 096 SSBN. However from their littoral waters the PLAN can strike targets anywhere in the Indian landmass. The PLAN attack submarines of Type 093G class (three are being upgraded) are said to be able to launch YJ-18 and CJ-10 anti-ship and land attack cruise missile from their VLS. On the higher side the number of such cruise missiles onboard a single boat can reach twelve. The CJ-10 reportedly had a range of 1500 (US estimate) to 2000 (Chinese sources) km and can carry a nuclear warhead. The PLAN nuclear submarine programme at this moment is well ahead of it's Indian counterpart. India's first SSBN INS Arihant was commissioned in 2016 and conducted it's first deterrence patrol in late 2018. The second boat INS Arighat is to be commissioned in 2020–21 while the larger S4 and S4* are under construction, with the hulls having been already supplied by L&T. The later two boats would be able to carry eight 3500 km range K4 SLBM or twenty four 750 km range K15 SLBM. As of now the Arihant is only equipped with the K15. The K4 was tested successfully in January 2020 and is now ready for serial production. The follow-on class of the Arihant boats, now simply known as the S5 class will be larger and carry 12–16 long range SLBM, the 5000 km range K5 or the 8000 km range K6 with Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) capability. The S5 class, three of which are to be built is still in the drawing board and won't ‘probably’ be inducted even in the next decade. The existence of the SSN programme was publicly acknowledged by the Navy Chief only in 2017. Another area of concern for India is the transfer of submarine launched nuclear capable cruise missile capability by China to Pakistan. The Chinese are constructing eight AIP-equipped Type 041 Yuan class diesel electric submarines for the Pakistani Navy with four boats to be delivered by 2023 while four are to be constructed in that country via Transfer of Technology (ToT) and delivered by 2028. The PN is working on a submarine launched variant of the 450 km range Babur-III cruise missile with a nuclear warhead thus a sea-based deterrence leg at a lower cost. Chinese assistance to this project cannot be ruled out as it is line with the Chinese strategy of helping Pakistan maintain some semblance of parity and military power balance with India in order to keep the later embroiled in a South Asian rivalry so that it won't emerge as a strategic rival and combative power to China. Whether the strategy has yielded the desired result is another issue but the Chinese are likely to continue with this proxy encirclement and engagement game. Another example of this strategy is the Chinese assistance to the Paksiatni 'Ababeel' MIRV project (not yet operational) apparantly as a counter to India's Agni-V and Agni-VI nuclear capable ballistic missile which can strike large population centres in mainland China.The PLAN conventional attack submarine arm too is not only quantitatively but also qualitatively superior to the Indian submarine arm. It has over 20 Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) capable Type 041 Yuan class boats, 13 Type 039 Song class boats, 12 Russian origin Kilo class (Type 877EKM) boats and around 13 Type 035 Ming class boats in service. The Ming class boats were based on the design of the Soviet Romeo class boats which which were licensed built in China as Type 033 class with reduced noise levels and indigeneous sonars. Around 80 such Type 033 boats were built by the Chinese starting 1963 and many were exported. The most recent export of Ming class submarines was to Bangladesh which acquired two of them and Thailand too has placed orders for three boats. In comparison to sound 55 operational Chinese subs presently India has eight Kilo class submarines, four HDW 209 class submarines and two Scorpene class submarines. Four Scorpene submarines are in the pipeline and all six are set to be in service by 2023–24. Project P75I to build six AIP and Brahmos launch capable boats has remained confined to the files for more than twelve years now. The Request For Proposal (RFP) is yet to be issued. So there's little chance of them getting inducted even in the next decade and we don't know what effect the COVID 19 pandemic will have on our defence procurement. Recently there has been an offer made by Rosoboronexport of Russia to sell three old Kilo class hulls to India as a part of a 1.8 billion USD deal to upgrade three in service Kilos. The mothballed hulls, 30 years old will have to refurbished and fitted with the necessary equipment before being delivered to the Navy. As of now two Kilo class boats, one each at a Russian shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) have undergone a second Mid Life Certification and Upgrade (MLCU) while a third is in Russia undergoing a similar procedure. One boat after MLCU has been given to the Myanmar Navy. Two other boats are to be upgraded at an Indian shipyard, probably one of L&T's or Naval Dockyard Mumbai with Russian technical assistance. Two older HDW 209 boats too are to be upgraded in India with technical assistance from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). So more than 50 years after acquiring it's first submarine and despite carrying out maintenance, repair and overhaul work in the boats with Russian assistance since the 1970s India's naval establishment and domestic shipyards are still dependent on their foreign partners for carry out upgrade certification work, leading to frequent cost and time overruns in such projects. India has also operated nuclear attack submarine on lease from Russia. First from 1987–1991 and the present Akula class SSN INS Chakra since 2012.The Chinese submarine arm although much larger than it's Indian counterpart does not actually project a complete picture of the net assessment of the two forces. China views the United States as it's principal rival and with it's stated objective of being able to win wars globally by 2050 it is imperative for then that the US be toppled as the most powerful country on earth. As of now China is struggling to completely impose it's will even in it's neighbourhood and it's military is still technologically distinctly inferior to that of the United States'. So it is highly unlikely that the entire force of the PLAN could in any circumstance brought to bear upon the Indian forces. Presently as per the Indian Navy at any time there is only a single PLAN submarine in the Indian Ocean. The total quantum of deployment in the region remains between 8 and 10 assets. That even with such a miniscule force they are able to occupy the most prominent position in the strategic calculus of the Indian establishment and the nation at large is testament to the overbearing influence of the Chinese on the psyche of the nation's around them and it's ever increasing hard power. There have been reports of Chinese ships entering India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as confirmed by the Navy Chief in the 2020 Raisina Dialogue and the recent reports of Chinese submarines deploying hydrographic survey vessels to map the Indian Ocean seabed even in India's littoral waters is a grave concern and an indicator of future Chinese designs.Deploying ships in the high seas also require the ability of the Navy to sustain and replenish them. The question is, can the PLAN at this point in time sustain large scale deployments to the IOR. It has a base in Djibouti and it can resupply it's ships at the Paksiatni naval base of Karachi and ‘maybe’ in Gwadar in the future, but in the case of a naval conflict the later is too close to India and moreover despite all the rhetoric it is in no way certain that in the event of a India-China conflict Pakistan would automatically join the war on the Chinese side, because that would leave it vulnerable to Indian aggression. India's Andaman & Nicobar islands, it's so called 'iron-chain' counter to the Chinese 'String of Pearls' strategy, would facilitate easy monitoring and interdiction of Chinese vessels coming through the Malacca Straits. The PLAN can divert it's assets through the Lombock and Sunda Straits turning this into a naval tracking and hunting game. Of course such a scenario assumes everything else to be static but that won't happen in reality. A naval conflict lies further up the escalation ladder and it means a land war across the Himalayas and air war over it has already begun. This could throw the entire post WWII international order into chaos and there is a distinct possibility that such conflict, if it is a prolonged one, is not going to remain solely a India-China conflict. However if the air-land war remains at a level somewhat lower than a full scale naval battle in the IOR and South China Sea in the escalation ladder the navies would still be in stand-off but not at war. A high intensity naval conflict would however also leave Chinese merchant vessels and oil supplies vulnerable to attack by the Indian Navy and vice versa to some extent. Of course if Pakistan decides to join the war on the Chinese side than the position of the Sino-Pak alliance at sea shall be marginally better off but the balance would still be in favour of India unless of course China can somehow deploy the bulk of it's forces to the IOR. In a conflict with a Sino-Pak alliance the service worse off won't be the Navy but the Air Force owing to the interoperability of it's adversaries, China's investment in long range radar and electronic warfare (areas in which it also assists Pakistan), it's own squadron strength and the wartime maintenance and serviceability of it's diverse inventory. An example of interoperability between these two forces is the same 450–500 km detection range L-band radars stationed in Mianwali air base and Kargilik in Sinkiang providing complementary radar coverage of North-West India. It's not a panacea for the tactical superiority IAF but such interoperability is a force multiplier. The regular Shaheen exercises have also helped the PAF gain valuable first hand info on the performance of the Flankers (Su 27, Su 30MKK, Su 30MK2, J11 and J16) which form the bulk of the PLAAF fleet.The Indian Navy fares slightly better in the surface domain as compared to the sub-surface domain. The PLAN maintains a large numerical superiority but the technology gap is not as stark as in the case of submarines. India was the first country in Asia to own and operate aircraft carriers. Presently it has one refurbished Kiev class aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and one another carrier, first to be built indigeneously, INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) to be inducted by 2021. The plans for a follow on larger carrier INS Vishal are still in the design phase with a recent statement by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) which said that the carrier is not a procurement priority as of now and the focus should instead be on submarines has put a question mark over the future viability of the project. Prioritisation of defence spending by the forces is a part of the CDS' charter of responsibilities and it quite likely that his view shall prevail. That would signal a shift in the traditional Indian Naval doctrine from sea control to sed denial. Prior to the advent of the carrier groups sea control was exercised by large capital ships such as battle cruisers and destroyers but with advancements in naval aviation technology Battle Group centered on an aircraft carrier became the primary sea control tool. A CBG consists of destroyers, guided missile frigates and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes. Probably the CDS views that in light of the rapidly expanding PLAN fleet it would be more prudent to invest the Navy's limited budget in sea denial capabilities instead of expensive projects like aircraft carrier construction and it's associated assets. However all the submarine projects in progress or under consideration were planned prior to the appointment of the CDS. So either the projects were planned without taking into consideration the budgetary restrictions of the Navy or the CDS wants to prioritise naval spending in a manner that is not acceptable to the service itself and it's doctrine. The Navy however is unrelenting in it's push for a third carrier. Even after the CDS' statement the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) came out in public stating that a third carrier is an absolute necessity for the Navy and there can be no compromise on that regard. After the service was forced to revise the number of assets as laid down by the Maritime Capability Perspective Plan 2012–2027 the Navy categorically stated that there can be no compromise on the acquisition of the INS Vishal. The Navy plans to deploy one carrier each under the western and eastern naval command with one undergoing repair and refit and ready for rotation. The MCPP revision necessitated by the decrease in the service's share of the national defence budget from 18% in 2012 to 13% in 2019 reduced the number of ships from 198 to 175 along with reduction in helicopter and other assets such as the Poseidon P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft and all this at a time when the PLAN on the basis of the number of vessels (not tonnage) has overtaken the USN as the largest maritime force in the world. The former has more than 300 vessels compared to around 290 of the USN. The Chinese shipbuilding industry which is already the largest in the world has allowed the PLAN to leverage the infrastructure, skill and technology in commercial shipbuilding to massively expand it's fleet and also modernize it. A RAND study suggests that in 1996 the PLAN only had 56 ships and only a few of them possessed air defence missiles. This would mean a naval expansion by more than five times in less than 25 years. The PLAN always had a large submarine fleet but the current fleet is much more technologically advanced. The Indian Navy currently has between 130 and 140 ships and the Naval chief stated that 50 ships & submarines and 36 aircraft are on order, and Acceptance of Necessity (AON) has been obtained to initiate procurement of 41 more ships, 6 (down from 10) P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft (in addition to eight in service and four on order) and 34 helicopters (probably 24 Sikorsky MH 60R mulirole helicopters and 10 Kamov Ka-31 AEW). The ships under construction include the seven P17A Shivalik class frigates, four P15B Visakhapatnam class destroyers etc. Deal for four Russian Grigorovich class frigates (2+2) has also been signed. Some of the new inductions would only come in as replacement of decommissioned older vessels. A hydrographic survey ship is under construction at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers shipyard in Kolkata and three more are planned. The Navy operates one US amphibious transport dock, renamed INS Jalshawa. However plans for the construction of four Landing Helicopter Docks, a must for expeditionary capability have been pending since 2006. The Navy however does have a few older Landing Ship Tank (LST) and the latest Mk IV Landing Utility Craft. Recently a contract for five fleet support vessel construction was given to a consortium of HSL and strangely enough, Turkish shipyard, TAIS. In a similar time frame the PLAN is slated to have around 430 ships and 100 submarines.The induction of capital ships like destroyers and frigates also require necessitate the acquisition of helicopters which serve as their long range reconnaissance and surveillance platforms.The utility helicopter fleet of the Navy is made up of the vintage Cheetah LUH and the Sea King. The Navy has 14 operational Kamov Ka 31 AEW helicopters and maybe about four operational Sea King helicopters. The number of helicopters on paper might be larger but the unavailability of spares has led to cannibalization of some units. For e.g., of the ten Ka 28 helicopters, only four were operational while the others were cannibalized for spares. In 2016 a ₹ 2000 core contract was signed with Russia for the upgrade all ten helicopters. The Navy also has some (eight with sixteen on order) HAL Dhruv utility helicopters on order. Long term requirements for the force can be gauged from the tender for 111 Naval Light Utility Helicopters and 123 Naval Multi Role Helicopters. There are however six squadrons of Dornier Do-228 maritime surveillance aircraft in service. The Navy's sole operational aircraft carrier can carry upto 30 MiG 29K fighter and the force currently has 44 MiGs. Once the Vikrant is in service these assets would have to be shared among the two carriers and this would require a very high serviceability rate which has never been a area of strength for the fighters. The acquisition of 57 Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter Aircraft (TEDBF) is in it's earliest stage. The PLAN in comparison has hundreds of older Harbin Z8 (license built version of French Aerospatiale AS321 Super Felon) medium lift and Z9 (Eurocopter AS365 Daphne) utility helicopters. The Z8 copters shall be gradually replaced by the Changhe Z18. The PLAN has forayed into the field of naval aviation only in this decade. Their first aircraft carrier was a refurbished Kuznetsov class from Ukraine and a second domestically built carrier, the Shangdong too is in service. A third CATOBAR capable carrier is under construction at Shanghai while there are plans for a fourth. In the long run they might acquire as many as 10 carriers, although Chinese sources only talk about six by 2035 with four nuclear powered ones. The primary deck based aviation aircraft for the PLAN is the J15 which is a reverse engineered variant of the Su 33. The Chinese had acquired a prototype from Ukraine in 2001. The Russians rightly fearing Chinese intentions of reverse engineering their design refused to sell it to them. As of now the weight of the J15 and the STOBAR carriers in service limit the PLAN's carrier based aviation capability. Future Chinese carriers would field the Chengdu J20 carrier-based variant.The most prominent PLAN capital ship in the forseeable future is the Type 055 Renhai class battle cruiser/heavy destroyer. Eight such ships currently under construction. There are around 11 Type 052D Luyang-III class destroyer in device and another 9 under construction. In the frigate department the PLAN has 28 Type 054A Jinkai-II class ships in service while since 2013 it has inducted 41 Type 056 corvettes in service along with Type 056A ASW corvettes with active towed sonar array. The primary supply and replenishment ships of the Navy seems to be the Type 903/903A vessels. Around 10 of them are in service and more are being built. Apart from these the PLAN also has many older variant of destroyers and frigates in service. Since it started it's naval build up in the the 1990s it has launched many different class of destroyers and frigates. This approach seems similar to the Russian approach of induction a platform and then subsequently upgrading it better sensors, weapons systems and propulsion. Any deficiencies in the previous design borne out by active service can be rectified in subsequent upgrades and redesigns and the lessons learnt can also be utilized in the design of modern systems. So none of the assets fielded by PLAN as of now incorporate any quantum leap in technology or any hitherto unknown technology but are large and more numerous than their western counterparts. This is not to say that the PLAN is not a world class navy, it is, but compared to smaller navies like the Royal Navy or the French Navy it's power projection capabilities are quite limited and it also does not possess demonstrated capability in the field of cruise missiles, stealth frigate design etc. Chinese developed radars and engines are have high maintenance requirements and sometimes might not meet their advertised performance parameters. China however is investing heavily in the field of Laser and High Powered Microwave weapons, hypersonic missiles (DF-17) electronic warfare, anti-satellite capability (both Kinetic & Directed Energy), artificial intelligence, unmanned combat drones and underwater unmanned vehicle. China is already a world leader in commercial drones and is also making strides in military drone technology, both reconnaissance and combat. The PLAN has also been investing heavily in the construction of Amphibious Transport Docks and Landing Helicopter Dock. The most prominent them being the Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock, two of which are under construction. It can reportedly carry around 30 helicopters. There are also five latest Type 071 Yuzhao class ATDs in service which can accommodate over five hundred troops. There are also plans to raise a 100,000 marine force. All these point towards the acquiring of expeditionary capabilities, not just for an operation across the Taiwan Strait but also in line with becoming a global military power by 2050.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2013 launched the nation's first dedicated military communication satellite GSAT-7 for the Navy. The satellite provides coverage over a wide area in the Indian Ocean Region. Another satellite GSAT-7A was launched as a dedicated asset for the Air Force and the Army. The 2019 Shakti ASAT weapon test might have been a milestone as far as Indian military capability is concerned but the Chinese are well ahead in this field too. Their ASAT capabilities are multi-dimensional ranging from land based kinetic ASAT to airborne and seaborne kinetic ASAT to stationing of killer satellites in orbit (for e.g., one with a robotic arm which can be used to knock another satellite of it's orbit), laser ASAT weapons, Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons or disruption of satellite communication (electronic warfare). India is aware of these PLA advancements and strategies and deterrence capabilities should be developed to counter them. The Chinese also have a much larger constellation of military communication, SIGNIT & geo-imaging satellites. It's Yaogan Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electro-Optical and ocean SIGNIT capable constellation consists of 40–50 such satellites which also provide military communication services. The Yaogan 30 constellation alone has 18 satellites on a single orbital plane thereby providing higher revisit rates for a target area. Then there are the Gaofeng earth-imaging satellites which are not dedicated military satellites but they can be used for ocean surveillance purposes. The Beidou constellation provides global coverage. Interestingly apart from the Chinese military the Pakistani Armed Forces are the only users granted access to the navigation system for military usage i.e., it can be used to guide Pakistani missiles, aircrafts, ships and precision guided long range munitions. A satellite launched for Pakistan by China in 2018 from the Taiyuan Launch Centre called the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PNSS) [along with another satellite known as the P-Technology Evaluation Satellite (TES)] is believed to be an X-band radar imaging satellite could be an Yaogan. The Indian Armed Forces and the civilian space department are yet to substantially leverage India's considerable expertise in remote sensing for military purpose. The establishment of a tri-service Defense Space Agency (DSA) under the Air Force seems to be a step in the right direction. Along with the DSA, a Defense Cyber Agency (DSA) headed by the Navy and an Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) under the Army became operational on November, 2019. These steps are in accordance with the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee report submitted to the Prime Minister in 2013. The report had actually suggested setting up dedicated commands. Hopefully the formation of these agencies is the first step towards that objective.Agencies take shape for special operations, space, cyber war.The 2019 People's Liberation Army (PLA) defence white paper calls for the force to protect not just the physical frontiers of China but also the interest frontiers which can be read as securing resources, protecting investments such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure and Chinese citizens working in the concerned countries, sea-lanes of communication, allies and even intervention. In any such expeditionary set up the Navy by default becomes the lynchpin and pivot. The 2015 military reforms of the PLA led to the creation of integrated theatre commands. The theatre commands however would function operationally only in the case of a land conflict along it's borders or a sea-air conflict in the Chinese littoral. In case the PLAN mangages to break free of it's strategic encirclement by the US and it's allies and become a global force it would have remain operationally independent of the theatre command structure. Military reforms have also been on the agenda of the government in India and the creation of the CDS is the most prominent step taken by the government till date. It is too early to comment on any would be reforms but one that concerns the Navy is establishment of a Peninsular. The structure and responsibility of the command is not known but any move to make the Navy doctrinally and capability-wise too defensive and the armed forces land-centric has to weighed in carefully for it’s own set of pros and cons. The CDS had suggested that the Peninsular Command (now renamed as Maritime Command) which should start functioning by 2021–22 will have the entire IOR as it's maritime area of responsibility.How is China modernizing its navy? | ChinaPower Project