“The destroyers are old designs—mid-fifties—but have been partly converted to missile configurations. The cruiser will be a definite asset to the battle group. He, excuse me, she mounts a twin launcher for the SA-N-3 Goblet, and two quad launchers for SS-N-14 Silex antisub missiles. Both weapons can double in an antiship role. I … sir?”
Admiral Vaughn was standing. “Commander, this isn’t getting us anywhere. I think we all know that the Russkies aren’t going to pull their own weight out here, not if it comes to a stand-up fight. Let’s hear what the Indians have.”
Neil swallowed his anger. “Yes, sir. Phil? Let’s go to number twelve.” It took a moment for the projectionist to skip ahead several slides and find the first one dealing with Indian ships. As he waited, Neil summarized the Indian forces.
ARMAGEDDON MODE
115
“As I’m sure you’re all aware, India has designs on being the number-one power in the Indian Ocean littoral. They have die mird largest standing army in the world, the fifth largest air force, and the eight largest navy. While we will be primarily concerned with their naval capability, we have to keep in mind that the Indians will be able to support their naval operations against us witii a sizable fraction of their ground-based air force. All together, the IAF maintains some 960 combat aircraft. The Indian navy consists of at least sixty combat aircraft, including twenty-six attack helicopters. Of course, these one-thousand-plus aircraft are spread out over the whole Indian subcontinent, and the majority are already tied down in action against Pakistan. Our best guess . . .” He hesitated. “Our best approximation is that the Indians can deploy between one and two hundred aircraft of various types against us here at Turban Station.”
Another aircraft carrier flashed on the screen behind him, an odd-looking ship with a long island and a massive, upswept hump at the bow end of her flight deck.
“Okay. Here we go. India currently has two aircraft carriers, gentlemen,” Neil said. “This is their latest, the Viraat. The name means ‘Mighty’ in Hindi. Her displacement is almost 24,000 tons. She has an illustrious history. Originally, she was the British Hermes, one of the two Brit carriers that supported the Royal task force in the Falklands campaign. The British sold her to the Indians in ’86.
“For a while, the Indians operated her as a commando carrier and later used her for ASW. That ski jump you see forward lets her handle Sea Harrier V/STOL aircraft. Until recently, she carried one six-plane Sea Harrier squadron, plus a number of helicopters, but Intelligence believes the Indians have been upgrading her capabilities. Last year they completed purchase of thirty additional Sea Harriers from the British, and many of those are probably destined for the Viraat. She also still has provisions for 750 troops and carries four landing barges to facilitate landing operations. Next.” A new slide appeared on the screen.
“The other Indian carrier is the Vikrant. She started off as a World War Il-era Glory-class carrier, the HMS Hercules. She was purchased by India in 1957. She’s smaller than Viraat— only 15,700 tons—but she carries six Sea Harriers. Vikrant is
116
Keith Dougtass
scheduled to be replaced by a 40,000-ton, Indian-built carrier sometime later in the late nineties, but that one’s not off the drawing board yet.”
Neil went on with a rundown of the Indian navy, concentrating on the warships known to be operating out of Arabian Sea ports. There was one nuclear sub, the Chakra—a Charlie I-class vessel on loan from the Soviet Union, but it was unlikely that the Indians would be in the mood to trust the Soviet technicians aboard her during the current crisis. There was a new Soviet Kresta-II cruiser, the Kalikata, recently arrived at Bombay. All together, the Indian navy included over fifty capital ships, plus numerous missile and patrol boats, auxiliaries, and the like.
As he continued speaking, he was distracted by the sight of Admiral Vaughn leaning over to the captain at his side, apparently in deep conversation.
Just what the hell was going on with the flag staff today anyway? It was as though Vaughn simply didn’t care … or at least felt that the information was superfluous. It was impossible not to make comparisons with Admiral Magruder. That man might not always have agreed with OZ assessments, but at least he listened. And his questions had always been good ones, sharp and to the point.