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New
Delhi, 05 June 2005
With
the sanctioned upgradation of Indian Navy’s Sea
Harrier fighter aircraft, INS Viraat’s flight deck
is all set to register a decent new look. A total of
14 Sea Harrier FRS51 will be updated, fitting these
with Rafael Derby/Alto Beyond Visual Range
Air-to-Air Missiles (BVRAAM) in tandem with Elta
EL/M 2032 radars. Combat manoeuvring flight
recorders and digital cockpit voice recorders will
be added. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at
Bangalore will carry out the upgrade. The
upgradation was long overdue as the original
combination of non-coherent pulse ‘Blue Fox’
radar and Magic 2 Within Visual Range Air-to-Air
Missiles (WVRAAM) combination was critically
inadequate in dealing with emerging threats in the
Indian Ocean region. The upgradation of the Sea
Harriers may also send a tacit signal that the Navy
may be interested in the Royal Navy Command Cruiser
HMS Invincible facing premature decommissioning and
is capable of providing a robust Afloat Naval
Headquarters useful for distant and amphibious
operations.
The
Sea Harrier was developed for Royal Navy
requirements during the Cold War era and intended
primarily for protection of shipping lanes in the
North Atlantic from long-range air-launched missiles
fired from Soviet Tupolev-95/142 “Bear”
bomber/cruise missile platforms or submarine
launched missiles using target coordinates supplied
from “Bears” via data-link. The “Bear”
usually operating at medium or high altitude could
be detected by the ship’s radar to vector a Sea
Harrier out to intercept it. In any case the Sea
Harrier was essentially a back up to land-based air
power, as it lacked the requisite speed of a
“conventional” fighter. Unfortunately the
concept of having an Advanced Short Take-Off &
Landing (ASTOL) project with plenum chamber burning
for mounting a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) for two and
half hours at an unspecified distance from the
mother ship failed.
However,
in close combat the Sea Harrier is formidable. It is
“stealthy” in visual terms, thanks to its small
size and smokeless engine. With Vectoring In Forward
Flight (VIFF) attributes it has a formidable turning
capability. In spite of a modest fuel fraction, the
economical turbofan engine with lack of reheat
enables a maximum interception radius of around
740-km.
Yet,
even during the Falklands conflict in 1982 in spite
of great air combat success of the Royal Navy Sea
Harrier fleet, the limitations and deficiencies were
apparent. With no Airborne Warning & Control
System (AWACS) platform support and often-minimal
ship-borne control, the Sea Harrier fleet was forced
to resort to the wasteful practice of standing
patrols with an inherent risk of getting
outnumbered. The deployment of aircraft carriers HMS
Hermes and HMS Invincible well beyond the effective
range of Argentine strike fighters also
“stretched” the patrol area of the Sea Harrier
fleet. No wonder, in the absence of radar lookdown
capability, most sightings were made visually and
chances were missed. However, on the flip side the
Argentine fighters, operating from land bases were
made to reach the Royal Navy fleet at “firm”
subsonic speeds only to be decimated by the Sea
Harriers. The Royal Navy tactics and the sheer skill
and professionalism of Sea Harrier pilots held the
key. The Royal Navy nuclear powered submarines for
their part “cornered” the sole Argentine
aircraft carrier ‘Vienticinco de Mayo’ in
coastal waters constraining its operational
flexibility to a considerable extent. In all the
Royal Navy Sea Harriers registered around 28
“kills” without conceding a single loss in
air-to-air combat, with around 23 “kills”
registered by the AIM-9L Sidewinder WVRAAM.
But
the all-WVRAAM armament in air-to-air role in shape
if AIM-9L Sidewinder also made their deficiencies
apparent. AIM-9L was touted as an “all-aspect”
WVRAAM. Yet, although most missile launches were
made from astern, the kill ratio achieved was only
about 67 percent. At very low level in dense
atmosphere the advertised range of AIM-9L was
severely curtailed and the missiles fell “short”
of even close targets. No wonder the Royal Navy
promptly went for a combination of ‘Sea Vixen’
radar with AIM-120 AMRAAM BVRAAM, with Sea Harriers
holding the distinction of being the first European
fighter to be armed with AMRAAM.
The
Indian Navy for their part have selected the Israeli
Active-Radar Homing (ARH) AAM referred to as Alto or
Derby which shares design commonality with Python 4
WVRAAM with addition of mid-body wings. Derby has
Look-Down/Shoot-Down capability and advanced
programmable ECCM to operate under dense electronic
warfare environments. Israelis claim a maximum range
of 50-km.
For
BVR engagements a Lock-On After Launch (LOAL) mode
is used in which the missile employs inertial
guidance immediately after launch until the seeker
is activated and homes in on the target. Derby also
has a very low minimum range and an option for
Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) mode and thus is also
capable of being employed for short-range
engagements. In the LOBL mode for short-range
engagements, Derby's seeker can be slaved to the
aircraft's radar or the pilot's helmet mounted
cueing system. The seeker is activated before launch
and guides the missile all the way to the target.
The warhead and proximity fuse shares commonality
with that of Python 4.
To
support the IN Sea Harrier fleet embarked on INS
Viraat the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) role the IN
employs Russian Kamov-31 (also known as the Kamov-29
RLD) representing a further development of the
Kamov-27 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopter. In
terms of enhancement of endurance the helicopter
will be fitted with a helicopter-to-helicopter
in-flight refuelling capability although whirling
rotor blades makes such a task very challenging,
demanding expertise and concentration.
The
Kamov-31 is fitted with the E-801M Oko (Eye)
airborne electronic warfare radar which features a
6x1-metre planar array mounted beneath the fuselage.
The radar is folded and stowed beneath the
aircraft's fuselage before being lowered into a
vertical position, to allow 360-degrees mechanical
scanning once every ten seconds. The radar can
simultaneously track up to 20 airborne or surface
threats, and can detect fighter-sized aircraft from
a range of 110-km to 115-km and surface ships at a
horizon of 200-km from an altitude of 9840-ft. Some
sources state an enhanced capability.
The
co-ordinates, speed and heading of a target gathered
by the radar are transmitted via an encoded radio
data-link channel to a ship-borne or shore-based
command post facilitating introduction of airborne
network centric warfare to the Indian Navy. As is
apparent, the Kamov-31 will considerably free the IN
Sea Harrier fleet from the wasteful practice of
standing patrols by positioning them at advantageous
co-ordinates before the enemy air platforms arrive
at striking distance, a critical requirement in
respect to limited speed of the Sea Harriers
especially while dealing with enemy strike fighters
and Long Range Maritime Patrol (LRMP) platforms like
P-3C Orion armed with stand-off Anti-Ship Missiles (AShM).
Meanwhile
the ASW capability of INS Viraat remains formidable,
thanks to a combination of British and Russian ASW
helicopters. INS Viraat previously known as HMS
Hermes in British Royal Navy service perhaps remains
as the only post-World War II aircraft carrier
shouldering on a distinguished service well into
twenty-first Century. One of the more photographed
warships of all time, in Royal Navy service it
played a critical “Cold War role” in North
Atlantic and North Sea often “brushing” with
one-time arch-rival Soviet Navy surface combatants.
During Falklands War of 1982 its role as an aircraft
carrier and Command Ship was of paramount
importance, as Royal Navy would simply have failed
to undertake the Falklands campaign without this
particular ship.
Presently
in Indian Navy service the ageing INS Viraat still
represents a potent strategic force in the vital
Indian Ocean region. INS Viraat having enjoyed such
a distinguished service on three oceans is expected
to “hold the fort” until INS Vikramaditya
(ex-Admiral Gorshkov) joins the Indian Navy fleet
sometime in 2007–2008. One may hope that such an
illustrious warship will “obtain” a new role as
a floating maritime museum much to delight of Indian
and British naval officers and personnel who served
on the ship at any point of time.
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