Wow. This is a big one for the PN. This destroyer along with the four Perry Class frigates Pakistan is negotiating on can really boost the power of the PN. The Spruance is a very capable destroyer and it is larger than every Indian vessel except the aircraft carrier. Here are two articles that relate to this:
US House approves warships for Pakistan, other four nations
WASHINGTON: United States House of Representatives has given its final approval for providing US warships to Pakistan, India, Turkey, Egypt and Greece. The bill has been sent to President George Bush for signing after the parliamentary approval.
The US senate has earlier passed the bill that will become a law after the president’s signs.
United States will provide a Spruance class destroyer USS Fletcher in aid to Pakistan after President Bush’s approval.
US will also give ships to four other countries under the legislation; Egypt will be given USS Raven and USS Cardinal while Greece will be provided a ship of the same category. United States will give Turkey a Spruance class destroyer ship USS Fletcher, while four countries including India will purchase warships from United States.
Courtesy Geo
US salvoes across South Asia
By Kaushik Kapisthalam
Even as an authoritative report from an arm of the US government warned of a potential nuclear war in South Asia triggered by an "arms race" between India and Pakistan, the George W Bush administration is working hard to complete arms sales and transfers of astronomical proportions to the two nations.
Congress report
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is part of the Library of Congress and provides regular, non-partisan research and analysis reports to members of Congress on policy issues. A recent CRS report on US-Pakistan relations stated, "US policy analysts consider the apparent arms race between India and Pakistan as posing perhaps the most likely prospect for the future use of nuclear weapons by states."
The report also noted that since Pakistan's decision to be part of the US-led coalition in the "war on terror" in 2001, the US has taken significant steps to provide military support to Islamabad. It noted that the March 25 decision by the Bush administration to release advanced F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan was just the latest in a series of major US weapons sales and grants to that nation.
The report added that between 2003 and now, the US had given to Pakistan six C-130 military transport aircraft ($75 million grant); six Aerostat surveillance radars ($US155 million sale); 12 radars and 40 Bell transport helicopters ($300 million sale); military radio systems ($78 million sale).
Proposed sales include eight P-3C maritime reconnaissance aircraft, six Phalanx ship protection weapons systems and 2,000 TOW anti-tank missiles (worth up to $1.2 billion), and the recently proposed sale of 300 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 60 Harpoon anti-ship missiles (worth $226 million).
Even the deals marked as "sale" may be partially or fully funded by the $1.5 billion annual US military assistance to Pakistan. It must be noted that apart from aid, the Pentagon's budget includes $100 million per month to be given to Pakistan as "compensation" for its "war on terror" efforts.
Enter the Spruance
On May 9, the US Defense Department sent mandatory notifications to Congress about potential naval equipment sales and transfers to allied nations. One of the items is the decommissioned US Navy vessel USS Fletcher, which is slated to be transferred to Pakistan on a grant basis. This means that the vessel is essentially given to Pakistan free of charge, with the latter having to pay only for transportation charges.
The Fletcher, ship number DD-992, is a Spruance-class destroyer. Such vessels are about 563-feet long and displace over 9,000 tons and outsize every single ship in India's surface naval fleet except aircraft carriers, and thereby would give Pakistan a visible confidence boost when it compares its navy with India's. The US Navy has decommissioned all of its 24 Spruance-class vessels. The Fletcher was one of the last such ships to be decommissioned when it went out of service on October 1, 2004.
laugh.gif
Typically, there are three parts to any modern navy - surface fleet, submarine fleet and naval aviation. In naval power, India has had an overwhelming numerical superiority over Pakistan. However, Pakistan has the qualitative superiority in two of the three areas - submarines and aviation.
Pakistan's Agosta-90B submarines are more advanced than any of India's current subs and India seems to be unable to make up its mind on new purchases. Even if India orders new subs tomorrow, it will take five to 10 years for them to arrive, and Pakistan will maintain its edge until then. Pakistan's P-3C Orion planes give it a clear edge in terms of naval reconnaissance. India's surface fleet is still powerful, but the Spruance-class acquisition is a clear psychological edge for Pakistan. The Fletcher will tower over any Indian destroyer and has more advanced armaments. This is a clear attitude changer. India's acquisition of the carrier Gorshkov will give it a boost, but carriers are sitting ducks when faced with an enemy that has higher-quality submarines and ship-killers.
While Spruance-class vessels were originally built to hunt and kill enemy submarines under all weather conditions, they have since been modified to carry missiles. Each of these ships has a 61-cell vertical launch missile system capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as shorter-range Harpoon missiles. The ship also carries ASROC rocket-launched torpedoes that can home in on a submarine until it destroys it. Many would consider the impending Spruance-class acquisition by Pakistan to be a key milestone in the naval annals of Asia.
Ironically, the USS Fletcher invokes bad memories for some in India. In April 2004, the Fletcher made a call on the Indian port of Chennai while it was on its way back to its home base in San Diego after completing its last mission as part of the US operations in Iraq. The Fletcher ruffled feathers in the Indian Navy by not flying the Indian flag while in Indian waters, as well as when it was berthing. It is an internationally agreed practice that every foreign ship entering the territorial waters (12 nautical miles) of another country should fly the flag of the host country, along with its own flag. RIFLE.GIF
Experts baffled
Defense and naval experts are unsure about the rationale behind what they see as Pakistan's disproportionately large naval acquisitions from the US. The Spruance-class destroyer, they note, is an extremely capable ship, but may turn out to be too cumbersome for the Pakistan navy. Typically, smaller navies that are confronted by larger adversaries tend to focus on littoral defense as well as smaller anti-submarine capable vessels, they add.
While they do carry excellent anti-submarine capabilities, Spruance-class vessels have typically been used as escorts for American carrier-battle groups, which are offensive assets by design. These vessels are used to launch a barrage of missiles onto the adversary's targets near the coastline. It is to be noted that Pakistan is already set to receive advanced Harpoon-II missiles, which the Spruance-class destroyers are capable of launching. "If the Americans want to bolster Pakistan's naval defense against India, it is unclear why they are giving them a vessel that is clearly made to be used in offensive operations," one Western expert questioned.
Another curious aspect of the destroyer is that it would cost Pakistan an estimated $40 million annually just to operate the vessel. While Pakistan will likely get the vessel for free, it would still have to foot the bill for its operations. The Fletcher acquisition therefore seems to be similar to Pakistan's planned purchase of eight P-3C Orion planes, which, along with Pakistan's existing ones, seem to be an extraordinarily large number for the small navy that Pakistan has, some note.
Even Pakistani military officials have mentioned that Pakistan would be better positioned if it went for a couple of smaller but newer anti-submarine frigates instead of a Spruance-class ship, which the US has been eager to give to its allies since it began decommissioning them in the 1990s. It is unclear at this stage if such big-ticket items are meant to really help Pakistan's military, or if they are designed to be showpieces to quell anti-American sentiments inside Pakistan.
'Junk' for India? CRY1.GIF
The May 9 notification to Congress also included a possible sale of a ship to India. The vessel in question is the Austin-class Amphibious Transport Dock USS Trenton. Amphibious Transport Docks are used to transport large numbers of troops over long distances by sea. The Indian navy, according to many, is in dire need of such vessels. However, the US offer of the Trenton has raised many questions.
The Trenton was commissioned in 1971 and is not considered to be in good shape. The United States Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare division, which uses Amphibious Transport Docks, has long complained of the Austin class vessels' problems, which include "poor habitability and deteriorating working conditions" among other things. One Indian observer bluntly called the Trenton "a piece of junk". To add to this, the US wants India to pay top dollar for this ship, unlike the grant given to Pakistan. laugh.gif
However, some contacts in Washington and New Delhi circles feel that the Spruance-class vessel transfer to Pakistan may be a precursor to a transfer of the advanced Aegis combat system for Indian ships, which can monitor vast areas of the ocean for other ships and air activities. {Is it true?}
The Washington Post recently quoted Pentagon officials as saying that the US was considering the sale of the Aegis system and maritime patrol aircraft to India as a measure that would help Indian ships "monitor" China's activities in the Indian neighborhood and the strategic Malacca Strait. The contacts say that if India was willing to join up with the US-led global missile defense network, the Aegis was "there for India to buy". Given that sales of systems like the Aegis to India could provoke an apoplectic reaction in Islamabad, the US may be trying to soften up Pakistan by offering them goodies in advance, the reasoning goes.
While Pakistan seems to be eager to get as much as possible from the US at no cost or paid for by US aid, India seems to be willing to pay for its needs. This is because Delhi is wary of seemingly "free" items from the US that almost always come with strings attached in terms of policy flexibility in other areas.
During Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to the US, the Washington grapevine was abuzz with potential US-Indian military deals worth up to $15 billion in the next five to six years. While the Indian Air Force's tender for 126 fighter jets is rumored to be the prime component of the package, sales of the Aegis system and the Patriot PAC-3 missile system are not said to be far behind.
Whatever happens in the next few years, American military contractors are anticipating booming times, thanks to the US policy shifts with India and Pakistan.
Kaushik Kapisthalam is a freelance defense and strategic affairs analyst based in the United States. He can be reached at [email protected]
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.)
US House approves warships for Pakistan, other four nations
WASHINGTON: United States House of Representatives has given its final approval for providing US warships to Pakistan, India, Turkey, Egypt and Greece. The bill has been sent to President George Bush for signing after the parliamentary approval.
The US senate has earlier passed the bill that will become a law after the president’s signs.
United States will provide a Spruance class destroyer USS Fletcher in aid to Pakistan after President Bush’s approval.
US will also give ships to four other countries under the legislation; Egypt will be given USS Raven and USS Cardinal while Greece will be provided a ship of the same category. United States will give Turkey a Spruance class destroyer ship USS Fletcher, while four countries including India will purchase warships from United States.
Courtesy Geo
US salvoes across South Asia
By Kaushik Kapisthalam
Even as an authoritative report from an arm of the US government warned of a potential nuclear war in South Asia triggered by an "arms race" between India and Pakistan, the George W Bush administration is working hard to complete arms sales and transfers of astronomical proportions to the two nations.
Congress report
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is part of the Library of Congress and provides regular, non-partisan research and analysis reports to members of Congress on policy issues. A recent CRS report on US-Pakistan relations stated, "US policy analysts consider the apparent arms race between India and Pakistan as posing perhaps the most likely prospect for the future use of nuclear weapons by states."
The report also noted that since Pakistan's decision to be part of the US-led coalition in the "war on terror" in 2001, the US has taken significant steps to provide military support to Islamabad. It noted that the March 25 decision by the Bush administration to release advanced F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan was just the latest in a series of major US weapons sales and grants to that nation.
The report added that between 2003 and now, the US had given to Pakistan six C-130 military transport aircraft ($75 million grant); six Aerostat surveillance radars ($US155 million sale); 12 radars and 40 Bell transport helicopters ($300 million sale); military radio systems ($78 million sale).
Proposed sales include eight P-3C maritime reconnaissance aircraft, six Phalanx ship protection weapons systems and 2,000 TOW anti-tank missiles (worth up to $1.2 billion), and the recently proposed sale of 300 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 60 Harpoon anti-ship missiles (worth $226 million).
Even the deals marked as "sale" may be partially or fully funded by the $1.5 billion annual US military assistance to Pakistan. It must be noted that apart from aid, the Pentagon's budget includes $100 million per month to be given to Pakistan as "compensation" for its "war on terror" efforts.
Enter the Spruance
On May 9, the US Defense Department sent mandatory notifications to Congress about potential naval equipment sales and transfers to allied nations. One of the items is the decommissioned US Navy vessel USS Fletcher, which is slated to be transferred to Pakistan on a grant basis. This means that the vessel is essentially given to Pakistan free of charge, with the latter having to pay only for transportation charges.
The Fletcher, ship number DD-992, is a Spruance-class destroyer. Such vessels are about 563-feet long and displace over 9,000 tons and outsize every single ship in India's surface naval fleet except aircraft carriers, and thereby would give Pakistan a visible confidence boost when it compares its navy with India's. The US Navy has decommissioned all of its 24 Spruance-class vessels. The Fletcher was one of the last such ships to be decommissioned when it went out of service on October 1, 2004.
laugh.gif
Typically, there are three parts to any modern navy - surface fleet, submarine fleet and naval aviation. In naval power, India has had an overwhelming numerical superiority over Pakistan. However, Pakistan has the qualitative superiority in two of the three areas - submarines and aviation.
Pakistan's Agosta-90B submarines are more advanced than any of India's current subs and India seems to be unable to make up its mind on new purchases. Even if India orders new subs tomorrow, it will take five to 10 years for them to arrive, and Pakistan will maintain its edge until then. Pakistan's P-3C Orion planes give it a clear edge in terms of naval reconnaissance. India's surface fleet is still powerful, but the Spruance-class acquisition is a clear psychological edge for Pakistan. The Fletcher will tower over any Indian destroyer and has more advanced armaments. This is a clear attitude changer. India's acquisition of the carrier Gorshkov will give it a boost, but carriers are sitting ducks when faced with an enemy that has higher-quality submarines and ship-killers.
While Spruance-class vessels were originally built to hunt and kill enemy submarines under all weather conditions, they have since been modified to carry missiles. Each of these ships has a 61-cell vertical launch missile system capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as shorter-range Harpoon missiles. The ship also carries ASROC rocket-launched torpedoes that can home in on a submarine until it destroys it. Many would consider the impending Spruance-class acquisition by Pakistan to be a key milestone in the naval annals of Asia.
Ironically, the USS Fletcher invokes bad memories for some in India. In April 2004, the Fletcher made a call on the Indian port of Chennai while it was on its way back to its home base in San Diego after completing its last mission as part of the US operations in Iraq. The Fletcher ruffled feathers in the Indian Navy by not flying the Indian flag while in Indian waters, as well as when it was berthing. It is an internationally agreed practice that every foreign ship entering the territorial waters (12 nautical miles) of another country should fly the flag of the host country, along with its own flag. RIFLE.GIF
Experts baffled
Defense and naval experts are unsure about the rationale behind what they see as Pakistan's disproportionately large naval acquisitions from the US. The Spruance-class destroyer, they note, is an extremely capable ship, but may turn out to be too cumbersome for the Pakistan navy. Typically, smaller navies that are confronted by larger adversaries tend to focus on littoral defense as well as smaller anti-submarine capable vessels, they add.
While they do carry excellent anti-submarine capabilities, Spruance-class vessels have typically been used as escorts for American carrier-battle groups, which are offensive assets by design. These vessels are used to launch a barrage of missiles onto the adversary's targets near the coastline. It is to be noted that Pakistan is already set to receive advanced Harpoon-II missiles, which the Spruance-class destroyers are capable of launching. "If the Americans want to bolster Pakistan's naval defense against India, it is unclear why they are giving them a vessel that is clearly made to be used in offensive operations," one Western expert questioned.
Another curious aspect of the destroyer is that it would cost Pakistan an estimated $40 million annually just to operate the vessel. While Pakistan will likely get the vessel for free, it would still have to foot the bill for its operations. The Fletcher acquisition therefore seems to be similar to Pakistan's planned purchase of eight P-3C Orion planes, which, along with Pakistan's existing ones, seem to be an extraordinarily large number for the small navy that Pakistan has, some note.
Even Pakistani military officials have mentioned that Pakistan would be better positioned if it went for a couple of smaller but newer anti-submarine frigates instead of a Spruance-class ship, which the US has been eager to give to its allies since it began decommissioning them in the 1990s. It is unclear at this stage if such big-ticket items are meant to really help Pakistan's military, or if they are designed to be showpieces to quell anti-American sentiments inside Pakistan.
'Junk' for India? CRY1.GIF
The May 9 notification to Congress also included a possible sale of a ship to India. The vessel in question is the Austin-class Amphibious Transport Dock USS Trenton. Amphibious Transport Docks are used to transport large numbers of troops over long distances by sea. The Indian navy, according to many, is in dire need of such vessels. However, the US offer of the Trenton has raised many questions.
The Trenton was commissioned in 1971 and is not considered to be in good shape. The United States Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare division, which uses Amphibious Transport Docks, has long complained of the Austin class vessels' problems, which include "poor habitability and deteriorating working conditions" among other things. One Indian observer bluntly called the Trenton "a piece of junk". To add to this, the US wants India to pay top dollar for this ship, unlike the grant given to Pakistan. laugh.gif
However, some contacts in Washington and New Delhi circles feel that the Spruance-class vessel transfer to Pakistan may be a precursor to a transfer of the advanced Aegis combat system for Indian ships, which can monitor vast areas of the ocean for other ships and air activities. {Is it true?}
The Washington Post recently quoted Pentagon officials as saying that the US was considering the sale of the Aegis system and maritime patrol aircraft to India as a measure that would help Indian ships "monitor" China's activities in the Indian neighborhood and the strategic Malacca Strait. The contacts say that if India was willing to join up with the US-led global missile defense network, the Aegis was "there for India to buy". Given that sales of systems like the Aegis to India could provoke an apoplectic reaction in Islamabad, the US may be trying to soften up Pakistan by offering them goodies in advance, the reasoning goes.
While Pakistan seems to be eager to get as much as possible from the US at no cost or paid for by US aid, India seems to be willing to pay for its needs. This is because Delhi is wary of seemingly "free" items from the US that almost always come with strings attached in terms of policy flexibility in other areas.
During Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to the US, the Washington grapevine was abuzz with potential US-Indian military deals worth up to $15 billion in the next five to six years. While the Indian Air Force's tender for 126 fighter jets is rumored to be the prime component of the package, sales of the Aegis system and the Patriot PAC-3 missile system are not said to be far behind.
Whatever happens in the next few years, American military contractors are anticipating booming times, thanks to the US policy shifts with India and Pakistan.
Kaushik Kapisthalam is a freelance defense and strategic affairs analyst based in the United States. He can be reached at [email protected]
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.)
