Opinion: Indian Navy is all set for a weapon revolution

On the Navy Day, it is appropriate to review the role technology is playing in the Indian Navy’s (IN) operational transformation. In recent years, the IN's efforts to acquire advanced weapons and sensors technology have attained critical momentum, resulting in the inducting of autonomous unmanned platforms, high-definition radars, advanced sonars and electronic warfare suites.

India's premier defence research agency, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been at the centre of the navy’s tech-revolution. The thrust of the research agency’s efforts has been to develop disruptive technologies and ‘smart’ weapons, such as precision munitions, drone-launched guided missiles, loitering missiles and lethal autonomous systems. Informational systems and network-centricity too have received a significant share of R&D investment, in particular, the development of a dedicated naval communications satellite, GSAT-7 (Rukmini) that has enabled the operational integration of naval units in widely dispersed formations.

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With the emergence of space as a new theatre of inter-state conflict, there is renewed interest in satellite-enabled warfare. Indian space scientists are exploring the possibility of launching ‘mini-satellites on demand’ for military purposes, even as existing satellites and sensors are being hardened for protection against anti-satellite weapons. Similarly, growing concern over the Navy’s rising dependent on data processing and network centricity has led to the search for reliable cyber protection measures.

It is automation and ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) that are being seen as the real ‘game-changers’ in future naval operations. Onboard autonomous systems today are able to self-regulate and self-actuate, using new computing and automated decision-making capabilities. A combination of analytics and cloud computing in combat systems has created greater awareness among naval professionals of the need for automated weapons systems with AI enabled decision-cycles.

Meanwhile, efforts are also on to rid Indian naval ships off gunpowder through the induction of directed energy weapons (DEWs). The DRDO, which has been developing small DEW systems for the Indian Army is known to have started work on a naval laser weapon and the electromagnetic rail gun. The ability to precisely hit an enemy target without collateral damage makes DEWs a very attractive proposition.

In keeping with the Indian Navy’s penchant for big platform development, aircraft carrier and submarine technology continue to attract attention and investment. The Navy is attempting to assimilate and integrate several advanced technologies such as the Electro-Magnetic Launch System (EMALs), Advanced Arrester Gear (AAG) and Integrated Full Electrical Propulsion (IFEP) / Nuclear Propulsion, as also to construct advanced nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

Much of the Indian Navy’s technological focus presently is on developing unmanned autonomous systems. With the US announcing the sale of predator Guardian drones, India will soon have a credible sea-based surveillance capability. The Indian Navy, however, is also keen to acquire strategic unmanned systems, including a fleet of high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) maritime UAVs as well as rotary-wing tactical drones for intelligence gathering and strike missions in the far littorals. In the undersea domain, the DRDO is working on a prototype for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs), but progress has been slow. What is needed is AUVs for conventional submarine search and strike missions in the distant littorals.

Many of the aforementioned technologies find mention in the ‘Indian Naval Indigenization Plan (INIP) 2015-2030’, a road-map for technological self-sufficiency which envisions the development of advanced naval systems under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The Navy’s move towards self-reliance, it notes, will only be possible through investments in R&D, and a public-private partnership to make processes self-sustaining.

It is the Strategic Partnership model, involving the Indian private sector in defence manufacturing that has generated the most hope. The Navy's leadership is confident the model would take India a long way in defence manufacturing, with international partnerships triggering a paradigm shift in technology induction. But the Navy is also clear that building a sustainable model of growth will be a slow process, requiring long-term investment in niche technologies.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).