The navy discovered the vulnerability during a month-long exercise that concluded a few days ago on the western sea front.
NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy’s only aircraft carrier, Viraat, may be an easy target for enemy aircraft and other weapon platforms.
The navy discovered the vulnerability during a month-long exercise that concluded a few days ago on the western sea front.
Tropex (Theatre-level Readiness Operational Exercises) is the navy’s most extensive annual drill in which all its major platforms collaborate. The air force, coast guard, and army components also take part in the exercise.
The authorities were reticent about Viraat’s susceptibility to attack. But a source said “the enemy’s” unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range patrol aircraft were able to intrude into the carrier group’s airspace during the war-simulation exercise, determine the location of carrier, and close in on it.
The gaping breach in the security of the carrier battle group — a combination of warships with the carrier at its heart — raises questions about the utility of acquiring new aircraft carriers. India has procured the Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya) from Russia, and another carrier is under construction in the Cochin shipyard. A proposal to build a second carrier in Kochi is also being considered.
A carrier, its support ships, and other electronic warfare systems on board are supposed to be on guard against enemy intrusion at all times. It is a cat-and-mouse game between the carrier group and the enemy’s potent aircraft such as the P3C Orion. If an intrusion is reported by the carrier’s consorts, then a combat air patrol is scrambled. The fighters from the carrier then chase the intruders away. No such alert was sounded during Tropex.
The thrust of this year’s exercise was to validate the concept of ‘maritime manoeuvre from the sea’. The exercise is designed to ensure that in a short, swift, and intense conflict, the navy is able to directly address and favourably influence the progress and outcome of the air-land battle.
The lessons learnt during the exercise will “now be fed back into the navy’s analysis organisations and used to refine operational doctrines”, a navy statement said. The statement did not mention the weak spot in Viraat’s defence.
“A detailed analysis of the exercise is now underway,” the statement said.
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