A VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN NAVY

THE INDIAN NAVY IN ITS OWN WORDS AND PICTURES

  
   We have to admit two things in terms of full disclosure. We are unapologetic "navalists" meaning we are interested in everything connected to navies, and we are particularlyly fond of the Indian Navy. To a navalist watching the Indian Navy, over the last few decades emerge from struggling Third World Force to the top five navies in the world, about to grab  the brass ring for No.4 ; is for us more interesting and exciting than the NFL Superbowl. Having enlarged their force and improved quality any way they could for decades, India is starting on the road to its own naval industries and will be increasingly modernizing its fleet with Indian built equipment. The most amazing aspect of the Indian naval progress when compared to the larger Chinese navy is the across the board quality. China has emerged with 930 war ships but still can't really operate their one air craft carrier. India has been operating air craft carriers for decades, and their third one will probably be Indian built. India has mastered naval techniques and tactics once the exclusive province of the U.S.  and top English speaking navies, such as replenishment at sea, submerged missile launches, and amphibious operations, while demonstrating skill and aplomb in vital naval missions other than war such as naval diplomacy, foreign navy training assistance, piracy control, and disaster recovery assistance. By contrast, the Chinese Navy still struggles to build many modern naval skills and has engendered fear and mistrust among its regional neighbors. The Indian Navy while belonging to a non aligned nation, nonetheless makes friends and influences people. We think the approximately 159 ships of the Indian Navy could probably put the approximately  930 ships of China on the bottom right now in a contest of arms.

 Unfortunately, as is so often said in U.S. Naval Institute Articles, "sometimes quantity has a quality all its own",  a caution that makes us qualify our prediction above. It is a caution also not lost on Indian Naval Leadership, one of the reasons the Indian Navy takes pains to make friends.  Navies around the world including the United States and India are facing a difficult budget climate. China is pouring money into her fleet, even if their operating skill is lagging. Only Japan's fleet, another highly competent navy, is growing. Japan's fleet is growing in direct response to China's growing naval aggression. Unfortunately Japan has constitutional restraints on growing her fleet very fast, and on types of ships it can build. Fortunately Japan and India routinely operate and drill together though bound by no particular defense treaty. India is unfettered by constitutional restraints on the size of her Navy, her only limitation is the usual messy competition for government funds that one would expect in the world's largest democracy.

 We call the Indian Naval Team "The Tigers". Quite frankly we root for their continued success like we root for the NFL Saints and the Ravens. We believe that another large , and powerful navy in the hands of a democracy is a good thing for the world. This is especially true as the naval power and competency of a major thug state is rising. We know that our visitors represent a wide variety of maritime interest with fishermen and boat builders making up a decidedly large proportion at the moment. We appreciate all of our readers and visitors regardless of the nature of their maritime interests. But it is the natural tendency of the naval enthusiast to want to spread interest in naval developments and affairs. We hope many of our non-navalists will join us and enjoy this little video introduction to the Indian Navy in their own words and pictures. Simply click on the YouTube links below in order of occurrence. Click on your back button to return here and start the next one (that will save you having to scroll around YouTube where there are a lot of Indian Naval videos, we've selected the ones that give you the big picture in the least amount of time. But of course we encourage your interest, feel free to browse the entire collection, we do.)


INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN NAVY PART 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRVuCKiCDE

 2INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN NAVY PART  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlUaFAEULHs

INS Vikramaditya in its full glory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuExAt3gwBc