Navy's show of strength for China has a weak link -- Agusta

May 20, 2016 09:41

Four ships of the Indian Navy's Eastern Command have set sail on Wednesday on a two and a half month deployment through areas that the Chinese Navy considers its own.

The ships are headed for Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Russia and eventually the United States as part of what the Navy calls "a demonstration of its operational reach and commitment to India's 'Act East' policy."

The Rear Admiral commanding the fleet knows that it enters China's backyard, the South China Sea, with a glaring operational shortfall. He has just a single anti-submarine helicopter between the four warships: a Westland Sea King, variant of a chopper that first entered service with the Indian Navy 45 years ago.

The other two helicopters on the decks of the warships are French-designed Chetak helicopters which began flying in India 55 years ago. The Chetaks are unarmed, have no ability to track enemy submarines and serve only a very basic utility role.

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