5th Fleet Focus: Communication Problems

This is a really interesting article that covers some of the concerns India has with all its good publicity after taking action against pirates. There is a lot to consider here, and a good place for our government to begin the conversation.

The Tabar’s action has been greeted with cheer — from Australia where a newspaper said India’s action was the “template” for the battle against piracy, to the International Maritime Bureau that has asked other navies to learn from India, to the US where the state department spokesperson congratulated India.

At naval headquarters in New Delhi, however, the optimism generated by the Tabar’s action is tempered by a concern over how the Indian Navy will fit into the complex naval grid in the Gulf of Aden. There is also concern that the presence of so many warships from all over the world will invariably lead to “snooping” — efforts to assess the potential of battleships and record radar and communication signatures.

It is for this reason that the Indian Navy now wants to cover the tracks of the deployment of a second ship to the region after first letting it be known that a Delhi-class destroyer would be off Somalia in four days. There are three Delhi-class destroyers in the Indian fleet — the INS Delhi, INS Mumbai and the INS Mysore.

“There are about two-dozen warships there from about a dozen or more countries,” a senior naval officer in Delhi said. “We have to know how to co-ordinate with them.”

The final paragraph of the article has some bite.

In purely military terms, a huge asymmetry exists in the battlefield of the Gulf of Aden — the pirates are armed with AK-47s, speedboats and “mother vessels” that are usually dhows, while the navies have frigates, destroyers, cruisers and helicopters. Yet, they are clueless, in the absence of leadership, on what to do to secure the sea lane.

In other words, the international task force needs a Command Ship. If it wasn't such a national embarrassment, I would volunteer the USS San Antonio (LPD 17). Since it isn't available, I would suggest that perhaps the US Navy should surge a ship for this role. Which ship? Well that is an interesting question, I would volunteer the USS Wasp (LHD 1) for the role beginning next year, and begin the process of working on the communication solutions now.

In the meantime, the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is clearly the choice to be made, if she can be made available. If not, can the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) be spared for the role? Just one more example why this blog advocates for big motherships, the necessity for international command ships in the future will exist.