Indian Navy warned of submarine capability shortfall
India's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has warned the Indian Navy (IN) that it faces the prospect of having to operate with less than half of its current submarine fleet by 2012, when two thirds of the IN's submarines will be due for retirement.
In a report tabled in parliament on 24 October, the watchdog CAG revealed that the submarine fleet had been as low as 48 percent operational between January 2002 and December 2006 as a result of prolonged refit schedules far short of the 67 per cent operational availability target set by the IN's 1985 plan.
According to the CAG, 83 percent of short submarine refits and 100 percent of "normal and medium refits" fell behind schedule, since many of the Sindugosh (type 877) 'Kilo'-class boats ad to be sent to Russia to be retrofitted.
"With serious slippages in the induction plan, the navy is left with an ageing fleet, with more than 50 percent of submarines having completed 75 percent of their operational life and some already outliving their maximum service life," the CAG said.
At present, the IN operates 12 Sindugosh 'Kilo"-class boats, four Sishumar (HDW 209 Type 1500) boats and two Soviet-era 'Foxtrot' (Project 641) submarines, which are used largely for training and are well beyond their retirement date.
Six Project 75 Scorpene submarines are under construction at Mazagon Dockyard Ltd in western India, with the first boat due for induction in 2012 or early the following year.
The IN recently issued a fresh request for information for six more diesel-electric submarines with air-independent propulsion systems to overseas manufacturers such as Russia's Rosoboronexport, Armaris of France and Germany's HDW.
Holding the Ministry of Defence (MoD) responsible for not adhering to the IN's submarine construction and induction plan, the CAG also said that the missile-firing capability of three submarines was functioning at "sub-optimal levels" owing to the erratic performance of the inertial navigational system. The IN has experienced problems with the Novator Alfa Klub SS-N-27 (3M54E1) land-attack cruise missiles recently fitted to three Project 877 EKM 'Kilo'-class diesel-electric submarines at a Russian shipyard.
The performances of the new sonars fitted to the 'Kilos' was "not satisfactory", while delays by the MoD in acquiring deep submergence rescue vessels had led the IN to remain dependent on a foreign navy for rescue operations, according to the CAG. It recommended that the MoD "take all possible" measures to expedite the acquisition and construction of submarines and maximize combat readiness by maintaining operating standards and refitting submarines on time.
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