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service craft. Owing to the country’s still bad relations with the Soviet Union, and the slow improvement in its ties with China, the navy apparently continues to experience difficult problems in maintaining its aging force of ex-Soviet and ex-Chinese ships in operational service. Besides three non-operational “Whis- key”-class submarines, only two Kronshtadt-class ASW corvettes remain in service. The mainstay of the navy’s
Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian Navies
Compiled from Combat Fleets 1984/85*
strength comprises six “Shanghai-IIs” and 35 “Huchuans,” but many of these craft are not operational owing to the problems caused by the lack of spare parts. The navy’s mine warfare component still includes two “T-43”-class fleet minesweepers, but the number of the “T- 301’’-class coastal minesweepers decreased by two craft in 1983, so that only four remain on the list. However, two of the “T-301s” are considered marginally
The year 1983 saw the introduction into service of many new naval and coast guard ships and aircraft into the navies of the North African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian nations. Few of these acquisitions were built by the countries which now operate them—the major exceptions being India, Israel, and, to a lesser extent, Egypt. The perceived needs of defense have thus represented a drain on national resources. For some nations the fiscal strain is considerable, while even the oil-rich states have begun few new programs because of declining oil prices.
The struggle between Iran and Iraq, with both sides being supplied by arms purveyors of all political persuasions, remains inconclusive; the Syrian-inflamed, Soviet-inspired civil war in Lebanon goes on and on and on. In the western Sahara region, Morocco still faces land-oriented conflict with the Soviet- supplied Polisario insurrectionists, while Libya has turned its restless dreams of empire southward, toward Chad.
The Iran-Iraq War endangers not only the petroleum supply lines to Europe and Japan, but also the territorial integrity and livelihoods of the many nations bordering the western shores of the Persian Gulf. Oman, a tower of strength and stability in that region, has reached a reduction of tensions with its western neighbor, the Soviet-influenced People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, but is confronted—- as are the other Persian Gulf countries— by threats from the east by Iran.
This discussion of naval program activity during 1983 can easily be taken as a laundry list of deliveries, launchings, and orders. But the trends are important and worth noting. Oil has made most of the nations newly wealthy (and its current glut has them all nervous about the continued amassing of that wealth), and security concerns have made them fertile grounds for European naval constructors if wealthy, or Soviet largess if they are not. Very dangerous toys continue to be placed in the hands of very irrational leaders, in Libya, the Persian Gulf, and elsewhere. In many places, current profits may be the real headaches of tomorrow for European governments, and the Soviet Union is the ever-present ultimate beneficiary. No one can blame the small nations of the area for seeking as best they can some small defensive umbrella against the storming of their larger, belligerent neighbors. But with virtually every navy from Morocco to Bangladesh now possessing sophisticated antiship missiles, among other modem weaponry- things could easily and rapidly get out of hand.
The 23 navies covered in this report will be discussed in alphabetical order by region for ease of reference.
North Africa
Algeria: Algeria has taken major strides to diversify its resources of naval equipment away from sole reliance on the Soviet Union, which still provides major support, including the delivery of a second “Romeo”-class submarine in February 1983. Algeria has evidently not been entirely satisfied with the performance of Soviet equipment and is reported to be negotiating with MTU of West Germany for the re-engining of its three “Nanuchka-II”-class guided missile corvettes and nine “Osa-IIs.”
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A major wedge in Soviet dominance of the Algerian market has been driven by Great Britain. Two 2,300-ton landing
fhips were ordered from Brooke Marine Lowestoft in October 1981, and one of hese was subcontracted to Vosper Thor- Jtycroft at Woolston a year later. Sisters a new unit built for Oman by Brooke
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Marine, the 16-knot ships are 93 meters ln length and carry 240 troops, plus seven "'ain battle tanks and 380 tons of combat Cargo.
Brooke Marine is also participating in aJoint construction program for six 37.5- P^ter fast patrol boats for Algeria’s Coast '^ard. The first three (two of which were delivered during 1983) were built at ‘-QWestoft, and the others are being assembled by ONCN/CNE at Mers-el- ^ebir. The 27-knot craft are armed with a “-mm. Melara Compact gun forward and are to receive a twin Soviet 30-mm. antiaircraft mount aft.
During 1983, reports were received “at Algeria had ordered a 50-meter . frigate” with West German diesels and alian guns from a yard in Varna, Bul- |aria. Unlikely as that prospect seems at lrst hearing, the international traffic in “aval equipment is of such complexity “at this is a possibility.
Egypt: During 1982, there were wide- sPfead reports of a major naval program Agreement with Spain, to include two escubierta-class frigates, six Cor- ^°ran-class patrol boats, and a possible 7° license-built, French-designed i COi'fa-class submarines. Financial reali- es> however, have reduced this agree- “Jent to the two frigates, the new former entinella and Serviola, the first due for arnover early in 1984 and the latter in <jugust. Both will carry eight U. S.-sup- Paed Harpoon missiles.
Egypt’s major supplier of new war- 7'PS. however, has turned out to be the e°Ple’s Republic of China, whose prices “)ust certainly be well below those of mselves do not represent the latest in “Romeo”-class submarines arrived from China during late March 1983, and a second pair was delivered early in January 1984; these new units join six Soviet-built examples of the class delivered in 1966 and 1969. In October 1983, China provided two 400-ton “Hainan’’-class large ASW patrol boats, christened by Egypt the Nour and the Alhadi. There are rumors that China may later supply frigates, possibly of the 1,900-ton “Jian- ghu” class, to replace Egypt’s five aged ex-Soviet and ex-British destroyers.
These new acquisitions will have diversified the Egyptian naval supply system’s spares problem to frightening proportions, for the ships and craft join the six Ramadan-class 312-ton guided missile patrol boats delivered from England during 1982-83, six Anglo-Egyptian “6 October”-class missile boats completed 1980-81, and the large numbers of semiobsolescent and superannuated Soviet- built units delivered prior to 1976.
Egypt is itself a builder of ships, and its coast guard is receiving a dozen Egyptian-designed, German-engined “Tim- sah”-class patrol boats from the Timsah Shipyard, Alexandria. Nine 23.3-meter, aluminum-hulled patrol boats ordered late in 1983 from Swiftships, Inc., of Morgan City, Louisiana, are apparently also intended for the Egyptian Coast Guard, which currently has nearly 70 patrol boats and craft in inventory.
Morocco: The Moroccan Navy took delivery of the new Spanish Descubierta- class frigate Colonel Errhamrani on 10 March 1983. This ship can be distinguished from her Spanish Navy and Egyptian Navy sisters by having four rectangular MM-38 Exocet box-launchers where the other frigates have eight Harpoons. The recipient of four MM-38 Exocet-equipped Lazaga-c\ass guided missile patrol boats from Spain in 198182, Morocco was reportedly negotiating during 1983 with West Germany’s pre-
The Egyptian Navy took delivery of four “Romeo”-class submarines in 1983-84; unlike its earlier submarines which came from the Soviet Union, these “newer” units were supplied by China.
mier small combatant builder, Friedrich Liirssen Werft, for ten similar-sized “FPB-57”-class boats. Their acquisition would greatly enhance the Moroccan Navy’s capabilities for territorial waters defense. The navy also has 11 French- built patrol boats and four amphibious warfare units from the same source; six 32-meter patrol boats were ordered in France during 1982.
Tunisia: Like so many other Third World nations, Tunisia is adding guided missile patrol boats to its naval inventory. The La Galite, the first of three C.M.N., Cherbourg-built La Combattante-IU- class craft ordered in June 1981 from France was commissioned during October 1983, and her sisters, the Tunis and Carthage, were scheduled to be completed in early 1984. The 425-ton units are near-duplicates of the trio for Qatar.
Tunisia is seeking an inexpensive prestige ship to replace the 41-year old former USS Thomas J. Gary (DER-326), now named President Bourguiba and used for training cruises in the Mediterranean and Black seas. Perhaps because Tunisian ship repair yards have a constant load of Soviet Navy ships undergoing overhauls, there seems to be little enthusiasm in the United States to provide a replacement. Tunisia’s Navy also operates eight patrol boats ranging from seven to 31 years in service and from 125 to 402 tons displacement, and two wooden-hulled patrol craft delivered between 1957 and 1967 from France.
Bahrain: Bahrain’s afloat forces are divided between a four-boat navy (two of
The surface-to-surface missile has given most of the world’s navies real offensiv* punch. The air-to-surface sea-skimming antiship missiles—like the Israeli Gabriel Mk-IIIs on this F-4—promise to further increase the threat to naval ships.
whose units have yet to be delivered from West Germany) and a coast guard with 18 small but recently built patrol craft and a dozen small service units, including ten motor-dhows. The navy’s pride will be its two MM-40 Exocet-equipped Liirssen “TNC-45”-class guided missile patrol boats, ordered in 1979 and scheduled for delivery very shortly. The coast guard took delivery of the first of five glass-reinforced plastic-hulled patrol craft from Souter of Cowes in June 1983; the other three craft should have been in service by the time this appears. Two of these craft are of the sleek, 34-ton “P-1200” design; the others are seven-tonners.
Iran: Not surprisingly, considering the rabid paranoia of Iran’s current government, little news has become available concerning the Iranian Navy. If rival claims are to be believed, both Iran and Iraq have destroyed each others’ fleets several times over since hostilities began. Unfortunately, the “naval targets” so gleefully attacked by both sides have all too often turned out to be innocent merchantmen. Considering the reports of shattered morale and discipline within the ranks of the Iranian fleet and the cut off of spares from the West, it is perhaps surprising that even the major units are occasionally sighted at sea and that long- ranged P-3F Orion patrol aircraft still make regular sorties.
In November 1982, the Ayatollah Khomeini announced that he wished to renew the cancelled 1978 contract for six West German “Type-209” submarines. So far as is known, West Germany has failed to respond—but the Iranian request is indicative of desire to maintain a fleet and an apparently sufficient store of capital for the venture. Whether any Western supplier would be willing to chance accepting an order from the mercurial Iranian Government is highly questionable; British yards are, after all, still stuck with two 2,540-ton landing ships and a superbly equipped 33,000-ton oiler completed to Iranian order more than four years ago.
Despite its rundown condition, the Iranian Navy is still a force to be reckoned with, especially in view of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s threat to close the Persian Gulf if French-supplied, AM-39 Exocet- equipped Super Etendard fighter-bombers are used against Iran by Iraq. This threat will escalate even further when Iraq’s new Exocet-capable Mirage III aircraft begin to arrive in 1985. By sowing even the most rudimentary of minefields, Iran’s fleet and air assets could cause havoc with the industrialized West. What merchant captain (and what marine insurer) is willing to chance that the missile tubes are empty or the gun barrels rusted?
Iraq: In contrast to Iran’s generally moribund naval state, Iraq’s fleet has been the center of considerable new acquisition activity. The four Italian Lupo- class frigates—the Hittin, Tmi Qar, Al Badissaya, and Yarmook—are well along in construction at La Spezia; they are scheduled for delivery from March 1985 through February 1986. Both 685-ton helicopter-equipped missile corvettes have been launched by CNR, Muggiano; the Mussa Ben Nussair on 4 December
1982, and the Tariq Ibn Ziad on 8 July
1983. Two of the four similar but more heavily armed non-helicOpter versions of the design on order from CNR, La Spezia, were launched on 5 July 1983; the Abdullah Ben Ariserh and the Kalid Ibn Alwalid.
The now-bankrupt Helsingor Vaerft of Denmark completed three most peculiar vehicle cargo ships for Iraq during 1983, the Al Zahraa, Khawla, and a third 3,500-ton ship, all with the unusual merchant features of a helicopter deck and accommodations for 250 troops. Wartsila, at Turku, Finland, meanwhile was building the 6,000-ton Al Mansar, a “passenger ship” with armored sides, bullet proof glass portholes, and a helicopter deck and hangar. None of these sizeable pseudomerchant auxiliaries had left European waters by year’s end, nor had the 8,700-ton Italian Stromboli-clas> replenishment oiler, Agnadeen, which was launched at Naples on 22 October
1982. Similarly, the sumptuous Danish- built yacht Qadissayat Saddam and, f°r river service, a “presidential barge” h^ not made the dangerous passage through the Persian Gulf.
As can be seen, the Iraqi Navy faces a formidable geographical problem, with > blue-water fleet on order which must run the gauntlet of a narrow sea threatened by an implacable enemy. The naval program also faces a financial threat, for the Iraq1 oil pipelines, upon which national revenue depends, are vulnerable to attack by Iran to the east and Syria to the west.
Israel: In addition to building most o> its own naval units, Israel is also an exporter of naval craft and an importan1 manufacturer of naval weapons. During
1983, details were released on an air- launched version of the Gabriel III anti' ship missile, and the first foreign order for a new close defense surface-to-air missile system, Barak, was placed by Ecuador to equip its four West German- built light frigates.
New construction for the Israeli Nav^’ however, is not proceeding at a rap> pace. At a time when many of the har used Sa’ar II- and ///-class missile boat* are in need of replacement, Israeli Ship yards, Haifa, the principal supplier, has
n°t been able to convince the navy to prder its 800-odd ton corvette design and ls continuing to deliver its latest variant °f the Res/iev-design guided missile boat at a rate of only one or two per year. At nearly 500-tons full load, the Romat class are still propelled by the same basic plant as original 250-ton French-built Sa’ar class of the late 1960s, and performance naturally suffers. The weapons load, however, is truly formidable: eight Har- P°°n missiles, eight shorter-ranged Gabriel III, an Oto Melara 76-mm. gun, and, until a Phalanx or Israeli-developed PCM-30 close-in weapon system can be Provided, a 40-mm. antiaircraft gun. As ln all of the Sa'ar/Reshev series, weapons are interchangeable: some Sa'ar variants are operating with an Edo towed s°nar, triple Mk-32 ASW torpedo tubes, lhree or five Gabriel missiles, and antiaircraft weapons.
The Grumman-designed Mk-II/M- 1® 1-class missile hydrofoil Shimrit was delivered to Israel in 1982, and Israeli Shipyards produced a sister in 1983. "nether series production of the 105-ton, 45-knot craft is to proceed has not been announced. The Shimrit carries four Har- P°ons and two Gabriels to a range of 750 nautical miles at 42 knots while foiling, but the craft are expensive.
Israel is rumored to be scouting various ‘Oreign shipyards and design bureaus invested in submarine work, with a view toward indigenous construction of submarines to replace its three 600-ton (submerged) British-built units by the early t990s. The six landing craft in naval service are also to be replaced in the near future. Funds for the navy, which is last m the Israeli military budget pecking 0rder, are, however, hard to come by, and there are reports that a third Reshev is t° be sold to Chile in 1984, possibly to delp finance new construction for the tleet at home.
Jordan: Definitive information on Jor- Qan’s very small naval force, which operates along on the short Gulf of Aqaba Vastline, is not available. There have een reports of an order for three to six . U-rneter patrol boats having been placed ln Greece during 1982. Considerably m°re authoritative reports indicate that Ufing 1983 Jordan was discussing an mder with Britain’s Fairey Allday Marine 0r 25-meter glass reinforced plastic pa- lr°l craft armed with a surface-launched Vrsion of the British Aerospace Sea kua antiship missile. In the meantime, Here are about six Bertram of Miami- mit small craft in use, none of more than ei§ht tons displacement.
Kuwait: Kuwait’s small fleet is in the Pr°cess of completing its metamorphosis into a well-designed, missile-equipped coast defense force. In addition to the acquisition of six new MV-40 Exocet- equipped guided missile boats from West Germany, and two larger patrol boats to act as leaders, Kuwait ordered six AM-39 Exocet-equipped Super Puma helicopters from Aerospatiale in France during 1983. All six of the “TNC-45”-class missile boats had been completed by Friedrich Liirssen Werft in Bremen-Vegesack by the fall of 1983, and at least one of the larger “FPB-57”-class leaders, Istiglal, was ready as well. These craft are all particularly well supplied with electronic warfare equipment, chaff, and flare launchers, and all eight carry the ubiquitous 76-mm. Oto Melara Compact gun.
Kuwait is supporting its newly enlarged navy with auxiliaries as well. Six SRN-6 hovercraft were ordered in 1981; six Cheverton Loadmaster logistics landing craft were ordered in 1983; and the same firm also received orders for two fireboat/tugs and six service launches during the same year.
Lebanon: Not surprisingly, the small official Lebanese Navy of the legitimate government had all but faded away in recent years, although PLO forces operated a number of small craft, and Christian Phalangists in the south had been supplied with patrol craft by Israel. During 1983, however, France began to assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its coastal assets: The EDIC-class tank landing craft L9096 was transferred during November and named the Sour, while a second transfer was planned; several patrol boats are programmed for construction in France, to relieve the wooden-hulled Tarablous, completed during 1959. New patrol craft are certainly badly needed in order to counter coastal infiltrations by terrorists.
Libya: The Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahyria added to its well-established reputation as one of the world’s major trouble makers last year during another imperialistic adventure into Chad. Libya also added to its naval order-of-battle, and by early January 1984, possessed no fewer than 33 antiship guided missile-carrying ships and craft—one frigate, which returned in October 1983 after a five-year absence in Italy, seven corvettes (including a third Soviet-built “Nanchuka-II” delivered in January 1984), and 25 guided missile patrol boats. Among the latter are ten French La Combattante-II-class, 311-ton boats, whose initial deliveries had been delayed by a February to December 1981 French Government embargo; in 1983, the Mitterand Government imposed yet another embargo on the transfer of the final unit, but this was lifted at the end of the year—despite the Libyan invaders’ continued presence in Chad.
The sixth Soviet-built “Foxtrot”-class submarine arrived in Libya during February 1983, and two Sava-class submarines may have been ordered from Yugoslavia during 1982. Although the two “Koni”- class frigates reported several years ago to have been ordered from the Soviet Union have as yet failed to materialize, the other portion of the program, the “Nanchuka-IIs,” has been carried out; thus 1984 may see the first of the “Konis” delivered. A fifth “Natya”- class patrol minesweeper was delivered during September 1983 from the Soviet Union, and another followed in January
1984.
Despite its already large and varied fleet, Libya reportedly continues to seek new sources of missile combatants. Yugoslavia, which has already supplied Libya with midget submarines and a submarine rescue ship, was rumored to be the object of Libyan negotiations for four Rade Roncar-class missile boats in 1982, but no further news has been received. Turkey, however, has begun to follow
Qatar’s Rbigah (right), the third of a trio of La Combattante-III-ctois guided missile patrol boats, was completed in 1983. The second of Saudi Arabia’s four “Sawari” program frigates, below, was launched on 24 June 1983. Both ships are French-built products.
through on its major contract with Libya, with at least eight of a programmed 16 600-ton landing craft already delivered, and a reported contract to deliver 14 40- knot, German-designed 170-ton patrol boats placed in 1980—the latter possibly intended for the customs service.
Altogether, the Libyan Navy has the potential to be one of the most potent of the African continent, but the saving grace may be that there are too many ships and craft of too diversified origins for the country to assimilate. Certainly the material condition of those ships which have visited foreign ports has been most unimpressive.
Oman: The Omani Navy, now rapidly moving out from under British tutelage and taking full command of its own resources with Omani personnel, is another Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea fleet undergoing rapid modernization and expansion. The Al Sharquiyah, the second of three “Province”-class missile boats from Britain’s Vosper Thomycroft, was commissioned on 5 December 1983; and unlike the earlier Dhofar, she carries eight instead of six MM-40 Exocet missiles—a potent battery for a 363-ton, 40-knot craft also carrying a 76-mm. Oto Melara Compact and a twin Breda 40-mm. antiair gun. The Omani Navy has a particularly well-organized training structure, and to add to the current afloat training capability, the 930-ton Royal Yacht Al Said (renamed Al Mubarka), began conversion early in 1983 at her builders, Brooke Marine, to act as fleet training ship. On 18 May 1983, the same builder launched a 2,300-ton Omani Navy sister to the new landing ships being built for Algeria. Omani’s position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is of utmost strategic importance, and it is well that the navy (and the smaller, but equally efficient Royal Oman Police patrol boat force) is so well organized, trained, and led.
Qatar: In 1983, Qatar took possession of the last two of the three 430-ton La Combattante-III-c\ass guided missile boats from France’s leading small combatant shipyard, Construction Mechan- iques de Normandie (C.M.N.) of Cherbourg. These craft duplicate the armament of Oman’s Al Sharquiyah but add two twin U.S.-manufactured Emer- lec EX-30, 30-mm. antiair mounts—a potent weapon which has found wide favor around the world. The Damsah, Al Ghariyah, and Rbigah join six 120-ton Vosper-Thomycroft-built patrol boats delivered in 1975-76 and 36 smaller patrol craft to give Qatar a good capability to defend its coastline against seaborne incursions. That coastline is also defended on land by truck-mounted groups of four MM-40 Exocet missiles.
Saudi Arabia: The largest navy on the Arabian Peninsula is about to take a quantum jump in capabilities. Under the
Franco-Arabian “Sawari” program, four 2,610-ton guided missile frigates, 24 SA-365 Dauphin II helicopters, and two 10,475-ton underway replenishment oilers were ordered in October 1980. The first of the frigates, the Madina, was launched at Lorient Naval Dockyard on 23 April and the second at La Seyne Shipyard, Toulon, on 24 June 1983- These 32,500-horsepower, diesel-driven ships will carry eight Otomat Mk-2 antiship missiles, a Crotale surface-to-air missile system, a 100-mm. and two twin 40-mm. guns, ASW torpedoes, and a Dauphin II helicopter capable of launching four AS. 15 air-to-surface missiles- The first ship should be operational a year from now. The first oiler, the Boraida. was launched on 22 January 1983, and the second ship, the Yunbou, was laid down on 9 October 1983—both by La Ciotat Shipyard, Marseilles.
Saudi Arabia’s major ship acquisition program with the United States came to an end on 10 January 1983, with the commissioning of the fourth and last PCG-type missile corvette, the Tabuk- Between December 1980 and December 1982, ten PGG-type large guided missile patrol boats were commissioned in the United States, and earlier elements in the ten-year effort include four 407-ton coastal minesweepers, four 403-ton utility landing craft, eight LCM(6) landing craft, and two large harbor tugs. The PCG and PGG types share many ele' ments of design; both have eight Harpoon missiles, a 76-mm. Mk-75 gun, and 3 Phalanx installation, while the larger PCG also carries ASW torpedoes and an SPS-40B air search radar. Both classes, unfortunately, share a weight problem-
Saudi Arabia had planned to follow the “Sawari” program with the acquisiti°n of two even larger frigates of roughly 4,000 tons displacement, armed with the U. S. Standard SM-1 (MR) surface-to-air missile system. France offered an “F4000”design incorporating a U- o- Mk-13 launcher, while the U. S. entrant was the Oliver Hazard Perry class. Fall' ing oil revenues have put the program °n the back burner for now, although it ,s difficult to understand how Saudi Arabt3 was to assimilate all of these highly con1' plex ships in so short a time—even wit*1
445” class, with five delivered to date- The navy now trains its officers on boar the Ceylon Shipping Corporation’s commercial cargo ship Lanka Kanthi, f°r 1 no longer has a deep seagoing ship oflts own. The navy would very much like to acquire a “prestige” ship to show the flag beyond Ceylonese coastal waters, but the limited resources available an the lack of suitable ships from potentia donors have frustrated the effort thus far-
India finally has new aircraft—the Sea Harrier—for its World War II- vintage aircraft carrier.
escort minesweepers (added to the six delivered during 1978-80), and three or four “Foxtrot”-class submarines. In addition, the Soviet Union is also assisting with the Godavari-class guided missile frigate program and its gas turbine-powerful successor by selling India weapons and sensors.
Indian Navy orders in the West during 1983 were confined to aircraft. Although an expected second increment of Sea Harrier V/STOL fighter-bombers for the aged carrier Vikrant did not materialize, Britain’s British Aerospace secured an order during July 1983 for Sea Eagle air- to-surface missiles to equip the 12 Sea King Mk-42B helicopters ordered from Westand (with an option for eight more) at the same time. The first of eight Sea Harriers (two TMk-60 two-seat trainers and six FRS Mk-51 single-seaters) was handed over to the Indian Navy on 27 January 1983.
Progress on the Indian-West German program to construct “SSK-1500” submarines is unreported, although it has announced that these submarines are to employ U.S.-manufactured Singer Libra- scope Mk-1 fire control systems, whose intricacies may prove of great interest to some of the more Soviet-oriented elements within the Indian Navy, and the Ulrich Gabler-designed spherical escape chamber, whereby the entire crew can escape, dry, to the surface en masse. Two of the 1,800-ton submerged diesel-electric submarines are to be built in West Germany by Howaldtswerke, and two in India.
India’s second “Kashin,” or Rajput- class guided missile destroyer, was commissioned on 28 June 1982 and the third, Ranjit, commissioned on 24 November 1983, arrived in India from the Soviet Union a little more than a month later to join her sisters based at Bombay. The Godavari, the first of a trio of 3,600-ton, steam turbine-powered guided missile frigates building at Mazagon Docks, Bombay, was commissioned on 10 December 1983, after a 42-month fitting-out period, during which she received Soviet SS-N-2C and SA-N-4 missile systems, twin 57-mm. and four twin 30-mm. antiair gunmounts, and radars; her sonar and Sea King helicopter are British, and some of her radar equipment, Indian-made, is of Dutch design. Three near sisters substituting 25,000-horsepower Soviet gas turbines for the somewhat underpowered 30,000 total horsepower plant in the Godavari are programmed.
Indian yards are a source of nearly all smaller combatants and auxiliaries for the Indian Navy. During 1983, the 1,880-ton survey ship Nirdeshak was commissioned on 4 October by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers at Calcutta, almost five years after her launch. By way of contrast, a new cadet training ship, the 350-foot Tir, which was launched on 15 April, was announced for commissioning less than a year later. Garden Reach continues to build examples of the “SDB Mk-II” patrol boat (a variant of the 1950s-vintage British “Ford” class), with the eighth 220-ton craft launched during August and three more under construction. Using the same hull design, Goa Shipyard launched its third coastal survey ship variant of the “SDB Mk-II” on 10 August. At Vishakhapatam, on 8 September, the torpedo trials and recovery craft Astravahini was launched.
India’s Coast Guard also continues to grow. Sumidagawa, Tokyo, delivered the 273-ton patrol boat during late summer 1983; a close-sister to the Philippine Coast Guard’s Japanese-built Bessang Pass class, the Jija Bai will serve as prototype for at least three more sisters to be built in India by Garden Reach Dockyard. The first of three 1,100-ton full load patrol cutters was scheduled to have been commissioned during June 1983, but whether this actually happened is unavailable. For aerial patrol, the Indian Coast Guard leased two standard Fokker F-27 Friendship transports from Indian Airlines during 1983 and also operates several Cessna-182 light planes.
Pakistan: Overshadowed by India to the East and the Soviets in Afghanistan to the North and challenged by the unpredictable Khomeini regime in Iran to the West, the Pakistani Navy has taken prudent steps toward necessary expansion of its capabilities. Fairly well confirmed are reports that a second pair of French-designed Agos/a-class submarines were ordered during 1983, apparently to be built in Spain. A sixth ex-U. S. Navy Gearing FRAM I-class destroyer, Harold J. Ellison (DD-864), was purchased on 1 October and renamed the Shah Jahan (D-170); she will probably be given the same careful refit undergone in turn by the other ships, during which time then electronic warfare suits and antiaircraft capabilities were enhanced. The United States has reportedly agreed to supply Harpoon missiles for these destroyers.
TTie last of three ex-British “C”-class destroyers has been decommissioned, and the training cruiser Babur (renamed Jahanghar) has been relegated to pierside service. A new Babur, in the guise of the ex-Royal Navy “County”-class guided missile destroyer London, purchased during March 1982, made iter first cadet training cruise during 1983, travelling aS far as Japan.
On the down side, neither the planned transfer of the U. S. destroyer tender Everglades (AD-24) nor the transfer of at1 ex-U. S. Navy fleet tug took place during 1983 as provisionally planned. Also- many—perhaps all—of the 12 People s Republic of China-provided “Shanghai" H”-class patrol boats are now out ot service.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is threatened far more by internal dissension between its Tamil minority and Singhalese majority than by any potential external aggressor, and its 2,960-man navy’s principal task is the patrolling of coastal waters. The navy’s Colombo Dockyard is busily Pr0' viding the small fleet with new patr° boats. Two 330-ton, 130-ft craft were launched during May and July 1983, an construction continues on the 44-ton ‘ *'