Dillinger
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Good post, but here you simply discussed about aerial threats. There will be sub surface combatants too. Searching for sub sea while keep guard up in the air will one hell of a job. It will be up to the IN to strategize and see how they implement their tactics in such a scenario. Like i have stated here multiple times, an electric submarine, lurking silently beneath at 1-2knots, and the massive Kolkata passing over it, would be ready to ambush. The submarines can hear you, they know your wake, but you can't hear him. Perhaps that's why PN is intending to place a 6 submarine order for newer SSKs, rather than surface ships.
We already have concluded multiple exercise to effect the same, just recently we conducted a mammoth exercise where the ISAR and MPA platforms of the IN were coordinated along with surface and sub surface combatants (the latter by dint of the VLF comm. facility) along with the IAF's air assets "wading into the sea", all run through the Link-2 and linebacked by the IN's own organic AEW, all of this facilitated by the IN's own dedicated satellite asset.
So, multiple engagements over vast areas is exactly what we have been training for, that is exactly why dedicated space assets were set up for the IN and preference was given to ensuring the seamless integration and development of a situation awareness picture at the theater wide level.
The sub-surface threat on the other hand will indeed remain dominant in relative terms. For multiple reasons, firstly because the IN has a severe paucity of ASW helos operating off its combatants and the NMRH/ASW helo deal has not been concluded yet, furthermore even if it were signed quickly it would take some time to build up appropriate force levels and ease them into the mix. Secondly, the absence of low/very low frequency active/passive towed array sonars in significant numbers at the moment, till the recently inducted Kamortas and the Talwar class frigates get their ACTAS sonar fitment (the latter moving into said refit next year) and lastly because the last three Agostas are capable boats.
@Donatello One can always "hear" the subs too, the sub needs to stay glued on its passive sonar, any active ping and the chances of detection go up quite a bit. The Ships have their own passive and active sonars up and running, towed arrays which can trail for kms and with sensors at variable depths (low, very low frequency brings an immense detection range increment, more than the range at which most subs will pick out the ships) negates the advantage of hiding in thermocline layers to a good extent. Add to that large area sanitation by MPAs such as the 8Is using their MAD and with persistence (and remember all this data is being collated and added to the unified picture) due to their large ETOS, then come the ASW helos which sanitize the relatively immediate area around the CBG/ship through sonobuoys and dipping sonar (marking contacts, plotting possible paths through multiple contacts) and then the ASW ships like the Kamorta themselves.
All such systems are always best utilized when they are structured in a layered manner with redundancies.
Of course, you could still eat a torpedo as stated before, just haggling over the technical point of sub vs. surface.
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