EQUIPPING THE NAVY FOR WAR ON LAND

By Rahul Roy-Chaudhury

The author is with the Institute for Defence Studies & Analysis, New Delhi

In late April 1998, the New York Times alleged that India was developing a sea-based ballistic missile, Sagarika, which could destroy targets deep into Pakistani territory. Quoting unnamed Clinton Administration officials in a dedicated leak, the article stated that Russian assistance in the missile program for the past three years was a violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). In a rare gesture, the Indian Ministry of Defense denied these allegations. It stated that it did not have a sea-launched ballistic missile project. This was followed immediately by an official denial by the Russians. Nonetheless, the United States continues to persist with these allegations.

Cruise Missile

The US has simply got it wrong. Whereas India is developing a sea-launched missile, Sagarika, it is not a ballistic missile but a naval air-breathing cruise missile. This missile is to be launched at targets on land. It is expected to be mounted on the hull of submarines, thereby providing it maximum invulnerability at sea. This is not a missile whose development was discovered recently. It was identified as a cruise missile over three years ago in a book, Sea Power and Indian Security published in London. This was followed by its description in the 1995-96 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships. In March 1996, Jane's Naval Weapon Systems also defined Sagarika as a cruise missile. In effect, there exists sufficient authoritative literature describing Sagarika as a cruise missile, not a ballistic missile. Yet, all these sources were deliberately and systematically ignored by the Clinton Administration.

Sagarika was a late entrant to India's guided missile program, which began in July 1983. It was only in 1990 that a specialised Naval group was formed to design and develop, for the first time, a cruise missile in India. Since 1992, Sagarika has been under development at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bangalore. It is expected to be completed by 2000, and deployed soon afterwards. The successful deployment of Sagarika would require solving two major problems - the requisite platform for deployment, and the ability to conduct a submerged launch. India's Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) program, a nuclear-powered submarine, appears to be the ideal vessel, although it will still take a few more years to complete. Cruise missiles are clearly the weapons of the future. They can cover considerable distances at supersonic speeds, are highly accurate, and have relatively low operating costs. They are also extremely difficult to intercept and destroy, as they can fly below 30 meters above ground to evade radar, and are small in size.

Not surprisingly, a number of countries possess sea-launched cruise missiles for both land-attack and anti-ship missions. The US sea-launched cruise missile, Tomahawk, with a range of 2500 km, was used with devastating effect during the Gulf War of 1991. It was involved in the initial military attack on Iraq and the pounding of Baghdad. The most sophisticated Russian land-attack cruise missile is the submarine-launched SS-N-21, with a range of 3000 km. Meanwhile, China's YJ 8-2 submerged launch anti-ship cruise missile program is known to be in an advanced state of development, with work on a land-attack version progressing well.

Role of the Navy

The Indian Navy is not altogether without experience on submarines with cruise missile capabilities. For three years, 1987-90, Indian naval officers and ratings gained valuable knowledge aboard a cruise-missile armed Charlie-I class nuclear-powered submarine leased from the erstwhile Soviet Union. This submarine was equipped with eight SS-N-7 anti-ship cruise missiles. At a time when a Revolution in Naval Affairs is underway, with consequent critical changes in Naval doctrines worldwide, it is imperative that land-attack cruise missiles are deployed with medium-sized navies such as India's. In the near future, the role of the Navy in Indian security policy will also increasingly depend on its ability to influence a war fought on land. The ultimate aim of the Indian Navy, therefore, will be directly to affect the course of this war on land. The Sagarika cruise missile will clearly enhance this task and make the Navy far more useful in a war of this nature.