Indian navy's role is limited and shall continue to be so for another two decades or so.Today IN cannot even blockade Karachi for more than three days,thereby making insignificant contribution to the war-making effort of the nation.The sea-theatre is considerably big as compared to the number of units at sea on either side;chances are that they will play hide and seek and exhaust themselves before hunting each other out ! Harriers would have been nonperformers if war were to break out,given the all-up weight constraints in fuel visavis weapon struggle. An aircraft carrier therefore demands it's own protection(op) in comparison to what it can deliver(cd) at sea.Thus the op to cd ratio is a miserable arithmatic which even advanced navies of the world are giving up on.But our admirals are like the proverbial one-eyed monster who kills itself by its sheer own weight and lack of allround vision.There is a penchant to 'extract'maximum out of the government,whether it's for the general good or not. Only if the Army and Navy could repose more faith in our Air Force and could work on the principle of interoperability that we wouldn't come to a situation of each trying to 'own' its own 'Air Force'.We rather be one big force than the divided three. Rajiv chandoke
