By Kapil Chandni, BR Correspondent

All images © Indian Navy via Kapil Chandni

Unsheathing the Talwar

An overcast sky provided the perfect backdrop to the gleam of the Indian Navy's latest sword, the INS Talwar, as she quietly slipped alongside and berthed at Mumbai on 12 August 2003. For the families of her 28 officers and 225 sailors, she could not have come any sooner, as her arrival coincided with Raksha Bandhan. There were many happy faces all around, among the families enclosure, among the senior officers of the Indian Navy and even hardened cynical observers of the Indian Navy in the form of the Press Corps. The Talwar is the first of the three Project 1135.6 Guided Missile Frigates which are being delivered to the Indian Navy this year. Hopefully, they shall go a long way to make up for the Indian Navy's lost decade when no warship orders were placed. Being the lead ship of the new Talwar class, she did suffer the usual initial teething problems exacerbated in a sense due to her severe problems with her Shtil-1 SAM system.

The crest of INS Talwar depicts a pair of swords, which aptly illustrates the name of the ship.

But as a confident Captain Satish Soni, CO of INS Talwar, said all those problems had been left behind and the Talwar was fully worked up and ready for her induction into the fleet. This ship is different from the rest of the Indian Navy's surface combatants. Her sleeker lines and shape define her as a warship for the 21st century. And tonne for tonne, she packs the most potent punch weapon system wise, according to her proud Commanding Officer. Her varied weapon systems are all integrated into a Computer Aided Action Information System (CAAIS) which provides a single window view of the ambient battle space under any potential threat scenarios. The CAAIS has been developed exclusively for this class of ships and displays real time tactical information, target acquisition, processing and designation of target data gathered from her sensors to various weapon systems automatically.

Stealthy Sword

The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Madhvendra Singh emphasized that the truly stealthy ship is an invisible ship. In naval warfare, the ship which remains undetected for a longer period has an undeniable edge over her adversaries. The Talwar has been designed to obtain this critical edge. Her overall shape and design point to a reduced cross section which makes her difficult to be located by sensors. And her quietness has been enhanced to make it difficult for submarines to detect her. This has been done by minimizing vibrations and other noise causing systems. The most significant move has been mounting her four gas turbines which develop a total of 56,000 h.p. on isolated cradles which minimize her contact with the hull and thereby considerably reduce the transmission of her vibration and sound.

The 3S-90 missile launcher fires one of her 9M317 (SA-N-11, navalised SA-17) surface to air missiles during her sea trials. The 9M317 missile has a maximum range of 45 kms.

INS Talwar fires her 30mm GSh-30k six-barrel automatic guns during her sea trials. The guns are part of the Kashtan CIWS (Close In Weapons System) which protects the vessel from incoming missiles.

The Edge

The Talwar's formidable weapons suite comprises the vertically launched Klub long range SSM with a range in excess of 200 km. For air defence, she has the devastating multi-channel Surface-to-Air Defence System complemented with two Kashtan Point Defence Systems for the Close In Weapons System role. There has been a significant change in her main gun. Instead of the usual AK-100s mounted on the Delhi Class destroyers, the Talwar wields a more advanced A-190E gun which is lighter, has a better layout and even more accuracy than the venerable AK-100. And, the A-190E gun also fires 100 rounds per minute. All this is backed up by a highly effective Electronic Warfare suite. The ship also will be carrying Kamov's Ka-31 helicopter for Airborne Early Warning and Over-the-Horizon targeting thereby increasing the force of her punch. A pair of Ka-31s have arrived in India and are undergoing their trials at Goa. The Indian contribution to the ship is its sophisticated communication system, the HUMSA Sonar and its Advanced Towed Array Sonar (ATAS).

The Delay and Lessons Learnt

All three Talwar Class ships have been substantially delayed and there have been penalty causes built into the contracts with the shipbuilders. The exact quantum of the financial penalty will be worked out between the respective governments. The CNS was candid in admitting that any financial penalty would not compensate for the delay occurred, but he did point out a few positives which emerged from the incident. The Navy took delivery of a fully operational combat ready warship, resisting Russian pressure to commission and induct a partially ready ship. There was tremendous Indian involvement in the ship right from the word go.

A close up shot of the Talwar's AK-190E main gun, which can fire a devastating 100 rounds a minute. The gun hull features stealth technology to minimize the radar signature of a ship.

There was actually a Indian Navy supervisory system present at St. Petersburg right from the initial stages of the ship's construction. And the team and later the ship's company was providing feedback and comments to the shipbuilders and these were actually being implemented. This is a marked contrast to days of yore when purchasing ships from the erstwhile Soviet Union meant turning up at the assigned port just in time to take delivery of a ship whether you were happy with the ship's performance or not. That 'Take it or Leave it' attitude has given way to a grudging respect of the expertise of India's seafarers. And the Indians would put in as many hours of work as their Russian counterparts which facilitated a harmonious working relationship.

Influencing the Battle on Land

Admiral Madhvendra Singh acknowledged that the Navy's move to acquire a land attack capability, reflected in the Klub system on the Talwar showed the emphasis towards littoral warfare. "Any navy which cannot influence a land battle will cease to be relevant," he said. But he also pointed out that the Navy always maintained a littoral warfare capability as demonstrated in the 1971 war with Pakistan saying that "We practiced littoral warfare even before people started talking about it." He also added that the Indian Navy was always a Blue Water Navy and would seek to enhance this capability.

Showing the Flag

Discussing the Navy's international role, Admiral Madhvendra Singh said that among any country's armed forces, it was the Navy was its international arm. The Indian Navy interacted with foreign warships and merchant ships on a daily basis, often extending them support in times of distress. 12 miles out of Mumbai and the Fleet Commander's ships were in international waters bound by international laws. He gave the example of a day last week in the Indian Navy. INS Talwar had called at Djibouti and the training ship INS Tarangini was in the Great Lakes and had come first in two races and finished a credible third in the last race. INS Suvarna had finished her assignment off Mozambique and was sailing towards Mauritius and the INS Savitri was returning from the Malacca Straits.

From Left: Rear Admiral Vijay Shankar, Admiral Madhvendra Singh, Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson (Retd.), Unidentified Lady, Rear Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi and Rear Admiral Samir Chakravorty.

Other Programmes

The Navy is keenly awaiting more aircraft carriers into the fleet. Plate cutting on the ADS is expected to begin later this year finally and Admiral Madhvendra Singh was confident of having the ship in service by 2011. The Gorshkov will be a useful addition too. Asked about nuclear powered ships in the future, the CNS sanguinely remarked that India makes nuclear reactors for civilian applications and also has the capability to make ships. If there was a requirement for such ships, he was sure it could be done. On being asked about the Navy's sole operating carrier, INS Viraat, Vice Admiral Arun Prakash (FOC-in-C Western Naval Command), said that the Viraat had recently completed a major exercise off the East Coast and performed exceedingly well.

Vice Admiral Arun Prakash said that when acquired the ship was expected to last for a decade and a half, but after her recent refit, she was going to long for yet another decade. Admiral Madhvendra Singh confirmed that the Navy was in talks to acquire the P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft from the US. The Navy did have a gap in its MR/Airborne ASW capability looking at the vast areas in the IOR which required surveillance and further aircraft would bridge that gap. The Navy is keen to procure at least 10 P-3C Orions from the US. Admiral Madhvendra Singh acknowledged that continual support and spares might be a problem in case of a deterioration in relations with the US, this was a risk not limited to the US as a supplier alone, but also from suppliers from any other country.

Illustrious Legacy

The first Talwar of the Indian Navy was a shore training establishment set up to train communication branch sailors. The second Talwar was a Whitby Class frigate which was a crucial component of the Indian Navy for more than two decades, from 1960-1985. Formidably equipped for her time with a 4.5 inch medium-range anti-surface and anti-air gun, two 40mm Bofors close range anti-aircraft guns and three barrel depth charge motors, she was transformed into the Navy's first missile frigate in 1975. This was done by replacing her 4.5 inch gun turret with three P-15 anti-ship missile launchers. This had conferred her with an effective strike range of 45 km and was considered path-breaking for her time. It was also yet another example of the Navy's ingenuity of mating a Soviet weapon system with a British ship design.

One of her earlier COs and later Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson (Retd.), known to Indian Navy watchers as the originator of Project Seabird was present for the ceremony of the new Talwar. He confessed his heart fluttered when he saw this new avatar of the Talwar and wished her company well in their endeavours. Admiral Dawson had commanded the ship in 1966 and was happy with this successor to the Talwar heritage. Yet another Commanding Officer of the earlier Talwar is the present CNS Admiral Madhvendra Singh. He had previously served on board the Talwar getting his watch-keeping certificate and later serving as her Gunnery officer in 1971. He took command of the old Talwar in 1979, and undertook varied operational commitments. Under him, the Talwar logged the maximum days at sea and also won the 'Best Ship Trophy'.

Bending the elbows after a hard day's work - Lieutenant Sameer Chakravorty (currently Rear Admiral), Sub Lieutenant Rakesh Pandit (currently Captain), Lieutenant Romeo Vaz (currently Commodore) and Lieutenant Commander Jagjit Singh Bedi a.k.a. Jaggi Bedi (currently Rear Admiral).

Giving Admiral Madhvendra Singh company from his 1979 command, with their shared pleasure, were three other Flag rank officers present: the Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command Rear Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi (Executive Officer as a Lieutenant Commander in 1979), Rear Admiral Samir Chakravorty currently Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group (Gunnery Officer as a Lieutenant in 1979), both of whom had served under the then Commander Madhvendra Singh. Other illustrious serving officers of that commission are Commodore Arvind Bali (then a Communications Officer as a Lieutenant), Commodore R Vaz (then an ASWO as a Lieutenant), Captain Rakesh Pandit (currently the CO Designate for the new Brahmaputra Class frigate, the Betwa and then the SSM Officer). Additionally even the present Western Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Vijay Shankar has served on the old Talwar. All are considered today as the bright stars of the Indian Navy. The new Talwar's company certainly has their work cut out for them. As per tradition the new Talwar, takes the same pennant number F40.

The Talwar will be integrated into the Western Fleet in the next few weeks and will be operationally deployed. New tactics and doctrines will be developed to take advantage of her formidable capabilities. It is a challenging task and here its worth recounting an incident at the press briefing. Admiral Madhvendra Singh was asked if the Talwar was the most modern warship in the Indian Navy. To which he replied , "Yes, it certainly was." Then Captain Satish Soni, the Commanding Officer of the Talwar added, "It's the most modern and potent not only in India but also in the world," to which a gleeful Admiral Madhvendra Singh remarked, "That shows the trust and confidence the Commanding Officer has in his ship and her company of officers and sailors." Teen Jai To That!