Vision statement of Indian Navy

“In support of the nation’s growing strengths and responsibilities, the Indian Navy is determined to create and sustain a three-dimensional technology-enabled and networked force capable of safeguarding our maritime interests on the high seas and projecting combat power across the littoral.” From this flows the Maritime Military Doctrine which focuses on the development of capabilities that would enable it to influence the events ashore and to undertake ‘military manoeuvre from the sea’ and lay down the blueprint of size and shape for the future. All forms of naval operations including sea control, littoral warfare, safeguarding the sea lanes, coastal security, humanitarian aid, low intensity conflict operations against illegal and undesirable elements, anti-piracy, deterrence and naval diplomacy involve continuous monitoring (domain awareness) and controlling activities (domain domination) in a given maritime area over a period of time which involves thousands of square kilometres of area.

Networked Force

The vision statement states that the Indian Navy will be a networked force which can be defined as the force which exploits the state-of-the-art information and networking technology to integrate widely deployed decision-makers, sensors, forces, platforms and weapons into a highly synergised and flexible system to achieve a high degree of mission effectiveness. Such type of warfare is commonly termed network-centric warfare (NCW) which is a fundamental shift from platform-centric warfare to NCW. It is also the predominant philosophy of war fighting in the information age. Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) forms the key attribute of NCW to implement it.

C4ISR

In concept, C4ISR is simple. Airborne, spacebased, underwater and surface-based sensors provide information through surveillance and reconnaissance. This information is then converted into intelligence which is used for faster decision-making, enabling effective command and control. Rapid sharing of information and intelligence simultaneously provides flexibility in dispersal and concentration of forces and firepower. Computers provide automation, rapid collation of information and converting it into intelligence, resulting in faster and accurate decision-making. Sensors use the complete electromagnetic spectrum for providing situational awareness in addition to the acousticbased sensors like sonar. Reliable and secure communications is the backbone of C4ISR. C4ISR for future naval information operations include both offensive (information warfare) and defensive (information assurance). Interoperability within inter and intra service and finally at national level, is also an essential ingredient of an efficient C4ISR. Converting C4ISR concept into reality with appropriate technologies is the difficult part.

Mission cycle time

In offensive operations, it is essential that the targets are identified, plans made and forces and fire power deployed and employed rapidly. During defensive operations, it is again paramount that the attacking forces along with their weapon platforms is detected, identified and neutralised as early as possible as the potential adversary controls the timing of the start of the hostilities. The main contribution of C4ISR towards all type of operations is the reduction of mission-cycle time or as called in the US as F2T2EA (find, fix, track, target, engage, assess). The mission-cycle time includes not only the time required for detecting or identifying a threat but also includes the time for dissemination of information and decisions to all concerned through the C4ISR. Experience shows that losses to own forces and resources required for operations can be reduced if the opponent can be engaged at the very outset.

Technology can improve the time available to detect and react to a threat and to shorten the F2T2EA cycle time through additional and more effective C4ISR. Terrorists can strike with very little resources with maximum effect and are not held back by deterrence based solely on the strength of a response. But if strength can also be combined with speed of response then counterterrorism will get much more effective. This was clearly illustrated by the 26/11, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack where by the time National Security Guard got its act together from Delhi, the terrorists had done the damage and were wellentrenched. The reaction time of the subsystems including the weapon systems should be so designed as to suit the mission cycle time required of a task force. C4ISR can only facilitate in streamlining and speeding up the mission cycle time. For example, the speed of communication will play a key role in the time required to initiate the action to the time the effect can be seen. Adequate sensors should be available so that reliable and accurate intelligence is available to enable real time/near real time response. Reduction of mission-cycle time also increases the number of engagements and thereby results in more targets engaged. While planning the mission-cycle time, it should be ensured that the information should not get outdated and thus the ISR cycle should have a faster target data renewal rates. This aspect will be more important when the naval forces respond to manoeuvring elements of opposing forces.

Sensors

Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) sensors must cover the area of responsibility, provide adequate sensitivity, resolution and accuracy to detect and identify the targets. The sensor requirement for Naval ISR is very complex and covers underwater, surface and airborne systems. Mobile targets need to be tracked and updated continuously and static targets updated periodically. When a target has been identified for engagement, the commander has to decide as to what resources are required to engage it effectively and finally obtain battle damage assessment through ISR. Time on target for surveillance will also depend on the type of the target. For example, the detection of a launcher being prepared for launch may leave very less time for a preemptive strike, whereas continuous surveillance to find a concealed launcher could enable an effective strike.

The detection of incoming objects at the earliest implies the need for wide-area sensor coverage, which means suitable deployment of surface, airborne, and spacebased sensors. For example, an incoming, supersonic, low-flying cruise missile may be launched 80 km away from a US Navy ship but may be detected by ship radar only at 22 km due to the radar horizon. Thus the ship has a very small reaction window to engage the cruise missile. However, if a cooperative engagement capability exists in which a sensor network of E-2C aircraft is in place for early detection of the cruise missile, then the ship will have adequate response time in place. Thus the value of early detection cannot be overemphasised. The value of identification of friend and foe (IFF) is essential for engaging enemy or potentially hostile targets. IFF becomes more critical as short mission-cycle times require integrated systems that may be geographically dispersed.

C4ISR as a system

The C4ISR system should be flexible in order to adapt to multiple situations, ensure adequate fidelity for having faith in the data and effective integration so that number of personnel and steps are reduced in the process. The networking of the system should support mission time cycles, provide information assurance and work in hostile environment. Reliable and real time/near real time communications are essential for an effective C4ISR system which includes that the ships have adequate connectivity, antenna coverage and bandwidth.