Kerala - Kochi   

`Indian Navy an effective instrument of diplomacy'

Staff Reporter

Anti-submarine warfare symposium inaugurated

KOCHI: The Indian Navy is not only capable of defending our substantial maritime interests, but is also being seen as an effective instrument of diplomacy and regional security, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command Vice-Admiral S.C.S. Bangara has said.

From a fledging service in the Seventies, the Indian Navy has grown into a creditable Bluewater force, he said, while inaugurating the international symposium on Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), organised at the Southern Naval Command (SNC) here. The event was organised in connection with the ASW School's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

"The SNC has grown concurrently and is proud today of having an acknowledged capability in training personnel for the high technology and competitive warfare environment of the 21st century. Over 650 officers of the Indian Navy and 130 from 15 friendly navies have walked through the portals of the school."

"The underwater environment being very complex, a single enemy submarine with modest capability can engage resources disproportionate to its capabilities and thus pin down even a large fleet for considerable duration. The ASW officer needs to constantly assess the mind of the predator, analyse the unfriendly medium through which he needs to detect him and be prepared for fleeting moments of the drama that would decide the victor between the hunter and the hunted," he said.

ASW specialists from the United Kingdom, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Seychelles are participating in the symposium.

Rear Admiral (Retd.) K.R. Nair, who qualified as an anti-submarine specialist in 1941, was the chief guest at the function. He was appointed as the officer-in-charge of the anti-submarine training when it was shifted from Mumbai to Kochi. He said it was World War II that brought the anti-submarine branch into public notice. "The Navy, which was confined to just ships and submarines, has now grown much in dimension," he said. He also released Ping Saga, a souvenir on the activities of the ASW School during the past 50 years.

Commodore A.J. Paulraj, who developed the Advanced Panoramic Hull Mounted Sonar (APSOH) in 1982, was the guest of honour at the event. "The APSOH was the most advanced sonar in the world during that time. It proved to be the harbinger of many new things," he said, adding that civilian partnership was good for the military since communication technology used in the civilian side was often better than the ones used by militaries.

Later, making a presentation, he said that technology had thrown up immense possibilities for the Navy. "With technology evolving at a rapid pace, new types of threats are evolving, with the result that there is mismatch with the traditional mindset," he said.

Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval Command Rear Admiral Rajender Singh too was present at the function.

Presenting a paper on `Remotely operated vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles - latest trends in detection,' Lt. Cdr. A.S. Shukla of INS Abhay said they were on the threshold of playing key roles in battle space. Lt. Cdr. J.S. Dhanoa of INS Valsura said underwater communication channel was a field of active research.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Campus legends, first cut
Petition against Regional Cancer Centre quashed
`Indian Navy an effective instrument of diplomacy'
Demonstration of power project held
Cooperative Week fete ends
The Hindu Young World painting contest
Kochi not game for football?
Winter school on fish packaging
Hide and seek
Around The City
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu