Indian Navy Flexes Muscle In South China Sea With Three Warships Amid China-Philippines Tussle

[Harbyharb]

“Freedom of navigation” missions are long sorties that puts immense strain on ships’ service life while offering little value to overall training and preparedness in a proper conflict, if not obstructing them outright.

The idea of “Freedom of navigation” missions is to ultimately desensitize and deconstruct Chinese authority over de-facto controlled waters, and that eventually our regional allies and countries with contested interests would pick up the torch to replace US warships in something of a constant patrol, but surprise surprise, nobody liked burning their own dollars and using their own warships as cruise liners.

The fact that India, which have no bases in the region and had to travel even longer routes, have no immediate allies that could in any way directly contribute value, with a much smaller navy thus ship to spare on these cruising trips, achieving basically nothing except “look, we sure flipped a fat one at China this time!”

…is immensely entertaining for me.

 

[Nilgiri]

“Freedom of navigation” missions are long sorties that puts immense strain on ships’ service life while offering little value to overall training and preparedness in a proper conflict, if not obstructing them outright.

The idea of “Freedom of navigation” missions is to ultimately desensitize and deconstruct Chinese authority over de-facto controlled waters, and that eventually our regional allies and countries with contested interests would pick up the torch to replace US warships in something of a constant patrol, but surprise surprise, nobody liked burning their own dollars and using their own warships as cruise liners.

The fact that India, which have no bases in the region and had to travel even longer routes, have no immediate allies that could in any way directly contribute value, with a much smaller navy thus ship to spare on these cruising trips, achieving basically nothing except “look, we sure flipped a fat one at China this time!”

…is immensely entertaining for me.

It will be interesting to see how the India relationship with the Philippines and Vietnam evolves this decade w.r.t very much what you describe. India has been eyeing cam ranh bay for quite some time, but it will have to grow in muscle and reach for some time first for sure.

 

[DDG-80]

The fact that India, which have no bases in the region and had to travel even longer routes, have no immediate allies that could in any way directly contribute value, with a much smaller navy thus ship to spare on these cruising trips, achieving basically nothing except “look, we sure flipped a fat one at China this time!”

…is immensely entertaining for me.

The Indian Navy is expanding with 67 new vessels under construction, such as warships, submarines, and auxiliary vessels. Massive 44,000-tonne support ships are being built to help the Indian Navy operate far from home for longer periods. The Eastern Naval Command is getting stronger, improving India's ability to protect its waters and influence the Indian Ocean region.

 

[DDG-80]

India sends warships to South China Sea in ‘subtle reminder’ to Beijing

Southeast Asia welcomes India’s presence ‘with open arms’, New Delhi-based observers say – though there’s always a risk such military posturing could provoke an aggressive Chinese response.

www.scmp.com

 

[DDG-80]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1796006996514115682

 

[Deino]

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1760521348072255694

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OMG ... do you really think the PLAN ever considers three IN vessels a threat? As such, why always this over-hyping and chest-bumping BS and call it "Indian Navy Flexes Muscle" when in fact there is nothing!?

 

[Harbyharb]

The Indian Navy is expanding with 67 new vessels under construction, such as warships, submarines, and auxiliary vessels. Massive 44,000-tonne support ships are being built to help the Indian Navy operate far from home for longer periods. The Eastern Naval Command is getting stronger, improving India's ability to protect its waters and influence the Indian Ocean region.

Fun fact, there are currently almost twice as many US warships "under construction" as there are PLAN have. Does this mean that the US Navy has far greater shipbuilding capacity and efficiency?

No. It just means that we have a massive bottleneck at the drydocks, where delivery dates for most surface combatants could easily stretch beyond 2040. In comparison, for all PLAN vessels launched in the past 2 decades, most warships roll out of their dry docks within 36 months, spend another 12 fitting out and enter service.

What does this mean? This difference in efficiency means while the US struggles to maintain its current fleet size, where the rate of new vessel delivery could not keep up with the rate at which old vessels are decommissioned, the PLAN could actively expand its fleet while still replacing outdated units.

And how does India compare? With its destroyers sometimes taking a decade and its carriers taking multiple? And that's before we talk about the qualitative differences, which can be quite substantial. One builds modern warships, and the other has an RBU-6000/533mm deck torpedo tube fetish.

India sends warships to South China Sea in ‘subtle reminder’ to Beijing

Southeast Asia welcomes India’s presence ‘with open arms’, New Delhi-based observers say – though there’s always a risk such military posturing could provoke an aggressive Chinese response.

www.scmp.com

India reminds Beijing that the Indian Navy is a navy that exists.

 

[DDG-80]

One builds modern warships, and the other has an RBU-6000/533mm deck torpedo tube fetish.

The Indian Navy employs the RBU-6000 mainly for ASW, offering rapid response against torpedoes and submarines. Additionally, its adaptability to counter newer threats like UUVs and USVs enhances overall maritime security.

Anti-submarine rocket developed by ARDE with extended range of 8.5km | Pune News - Times of India

PUNE: The armament research and development establishment (ARDE) in association with the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) has develop.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

EEL provides Made in India fuze for Indian Navy's anti-submarine rockets

"In order to provide a major boost to AatmaNirbharta in Armament and Ammunition, Indian Navy received for the first time a fully indigenised fuze YDB-60 for underwater Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) Rocket RGB-60 used from major warships, through a private manufacturer M/s Economic Explosives...

m.economictimes.com

 

[Harbyharb]

The Indian Navy employs the RBU-6000 mainly for ASW, offering rapid response against torpedoes and submarines. Additionally, its adaptability to counter newer threats like UUVs and USVs enhances overall maritime security.

Anti-submarine rocket developed by ARDE with extended range of 8.5km | Pune News - Times of India

PUNE: The armament research and development establishment (ARDE) in association with the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) has develop.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

I know that it's for ASW, not for WW2-style torpedo rush, which is why I called it a fetish, not stupidity.

Okay, it's still stupid. They are mounting what does the same job as much smaller 324mm tubes that can be far more flexibly placed and can actually be reloaded, in one of the most precious mounting positions on a vessel amidship with minimal impact on lateral balance, whereas other countries either dedicate this position to box AShM launchers or more VLS.

And that's before we consider that things like VL-ASROC exist.

 

[DDG-80]

I know that it's for ASW, not for WW2-style torpedo rush, which is why I called it a fetish, not stupidity.

Okay, it's still stupid. They are mounting what does the same job as much smaller 324mm tubes that can be far more flexibly placed and can actually be reloaded, in one of the most precious mounting positions on a vessel amidship with minimal impact on lateral balance, whereas other countries either dedicate this position to box AShM launchers or more VLS.

And that's before we consider that things like VL-ASROC exist.

It's like this system got picked because it's cheaper than the VL-ASROC. It can quickly deal with things like torpedoes and submarines that are too close for comfort. With its rockets covering a wide area, it can protect against a lot of different threats. Plus, it can take out underwater drones and unmanned surface vessels, and it's really good at stopping incoming threats, which makes it great at dealing with all sorts of problems in the sea. The other system, VL-ASROC, doesn't have these features.

 

[DDG-80]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1796903933908320515

Indian Naval Ship Shivalik departs for Japan, set to participate in JIMEX 24, RIMPAC 24 exercises

Singapore, June 1 (ANI): Indian Naval Ship Shivalik mission deployed to the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean, departed for Japan, and is scheduled to participate in Japan India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) 24 and Exercise Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC-24). The ship departed from Singapore on May 30 for...

theprint.in

 

[DDG-80]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1800507217634079092

 

[HostileInsurgent]

Fun fact, there are currently almost twice as many US warships "under construction" as there are PLAN have. Does this mean that the US Navy has far greater shipbuilding capacity and efficiency?

No. It just means that we have a massive bottleneck at the drydocks, where delivery dates for most surface combatants could easily stretch beyond 2040. In comparison, for all PLAN vessels launched in the past 2 decades, most warships roll out of their dry docks within 36 months, spend another 12 fitting out and enter service.

What does this mean? This difference in efficiency means while the US struggles to maintain its current fleet size, where the rate of new vessel delivery could not keep up with the rate at which old vessels are decommissioned, the PLAN could actively expand its fleet while still replacing outdated units.

And how does India compare? With its destroyers sometimes taking a decade and its carriers taking multiple? And that's before we talk about the qualitative differences, which can be quite substantial. One builds modern warships, and the other has an RBU-6000/533mm deck torpedo tube fetish.

India reminds Beijing that the Indian Navy is a navy that exists.

Indian destroyers take 5 year and our maiden aircraft carrier took over a decade, all this including covid disruptions and the fact that it was our very first AC project.

INS Imphal, a 7500 ton destroyer, for example took 6 years from keel laying to commissioning and this includes 2-3 years of covid.

 

[Nuffle]

Be careful, PLA Navy. The Indian Ocean Blue Water Navy is in the South China Sea area.

 

[DDG-80]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1800355615757541836