COMMENT
India’s only
operational aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (a modified Soviet Kiev class carrier) entered Indian service in 2013. Vikramaditya replaced
India’s ancient carrier INS
Viraat (ex HMS
Hermes) which was decommissioned in 2017).
Meanwhile India's much troubled INS Vikrant was laid down in 2009, launched 2013, and may enter service in 2021.
As India's main SSN, SSBN and carrier competitor is the much faster builder China, India has more problems than accidents.
ARTICLE
China’s Global
Times, April 29, 2019 reported:
“Indian carrier's fire likely result of lax military
regulation: Chinese experts”
Chinese military experts on [April 26, 2019] said that India's
military culture cannot keep up with its ambitious weapon and equipment
development, which might be the
reason behind its aircraft carrier's fatal fire on [April 24, 2019].
A fire broke out
at the engine room of India's aircraft carrier Vikramaditya while it was
entering harbor in Karnataka's Karwar on Friday. The fire killed a naval
officer who led the firefighting efforts in the affected compartment, according
to a [April 25, 2019] report by the Times
of India.
The cause of the fire is yet to be announced by Indian
authorities.
Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times on [April 26, 2019] that
the fire was more likely to be out of
human error rather than mechanical problems. The fire and the extinguishing
process suggested that they are unprofessional and unprepared to address such
an emergency, he said.
India has been
actively developing its military in recent years, but "its military
culture is lax and it has loose regulations," which cannot effectively
train soldiers to operate advanced military equipment, Li said.
[Earlier] India's nuclear submarine, $2.9 billion worth [INS] Arihant
was left out of commission after water rushed in as a hatch on the rear
side was left open by mistake while it was at harbor in early 2017, the Hindu
reported on January 2018.
Blasts of submarine [INS] Sindhurakshak that killed 18 personnel in 2013 was
induced by mistakes made during the arming of the torpedoes. Extensive checks
on weapon related safety systems and audit of Standard Operating Procedures on
all operational naval units were made as corrective steps, the Economic Times quoted defense ministry
official as saying in July 2018.
But Li noted that the Indian Navy's lax regulations mean sailors
may neglect or fail to obey the rules on handling advanced equipment.
"Meanwhile, the cutting-edge weapons and equipment
have higher requirement for the soldiers, who need to learn the knowledge of operation
and maintenance," Li said....”
[See the WHOLE
GLOBAL TIMES ARTICLE]
@Pete:
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty natural for a Beijing based commentator to fault the Indians for incompetence, regardless of the underlying cause. I doubt the same analyst would come to that conclusion were a similar fire to occur on Liaoning.
That said, the Indian Navy does seem to have an unfair share of accidents in recent times. Though the same might be said of the USN during the same time period, at least in terms of navigation.
Cheers,
Josh