New Delhi: A quiet splash. A darkish present. After which, chaos. Concrete cracking. Metal shattering. Russia’s mighty Crimean Bridge, as soon as an emblem of unbreakable management, was torn. Not by fighter jets. Not by missiles. However by bombs, sleeping silently beneath the waves.
On June 3 morning, Ukraine’s safety service SBU claimed duty for a jaw-dropping underwater strike on the Kerch Bridge, an vital provide line between Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula. The assault, which reportedly used 1,100 kg of explosives, focused the bridge’s underwater pillars – crippling its basis with out firing a single bullet above the floor.
The SBU mentioned the mission took months of planning, involving the stealthy planting of explosives beneath the bridge. At precisely 4:44 a.m., the bombs had been triggered. No warnings. Simply affect. Russian authorities scrambled to close down site visitors twice that day. By night, a brief repair was in place however the harm had been carried out, each bodily and psychologically.
“God loves the Trinity. The SBU all the time sees issues by means of. We by no means do the identical factor twice,” mentioned SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, referencing this being their third profitable strike on the bridge.
A chilling message and a direct blow to Vladimir Putin, who had personally inaugurated the $3.7 billion construction after annexing Crimea.
What Precisely Is an Underwater Bomb?
Consider it as a torpedo with out the movement. These gadgets, designed for stealth and shock, are planted on or close to underwater buildings. Typically positioned by divers, underwater drones, or submersibles, they’re programmed to detonate on command or by way of timed triggers. And in contrast to airstrikes, they’re practically invisible till they explode.
These will not be bizarre explosives. They’re constructed to face up to water strain, keep away from detection by sonar and ship targeted kinetic blasts that cripple foundations from beneath. That’s precisely what occurred at Kerch.
Does India Have Plans for This?
Whereas India has not publicly revealed plans for underwater bomb applications like Ukraine’s, quiet steps are being taken. Based on naval insiders, the Defence Analysis Improvement Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy are actively evaluating unmanned underwater methods (UUVs) that may very well be retrofitted for assault roles, not simply surveillance. There’s rising chatter round seabed warfare capabilities, particularly within the context of defending crucial property like undersea knowledge cables and offshore oil platforms.
The concept is just not far-fetched. India’s elite MARCOS commandos are skilled in fight diving and sabotage and might plant demolition expenses underwater.
What’s lacking is formal doctrine and deployment at scale. However after watching Ukraine use a silent underwater detonation to rock a $3.7 billion bridge, defence circles in Delhi are asking more durable questions and demanding quicker solutions.
What’s India’s Naval Response to China’s Menace?
India is aware of the seas are the place the following silent conflict may unfold. With China’s presence rising within the Indian Ocean, from Gwadar in Pakistan to Hambantota in Sri Lanka, India is now not taking possibilities.
There was a visual ramp-up of maritime surveillance drones and naval workouts with Quad companions and growth of island radar stations throughout the Indian Ocean rim.
However it isn’t nearly eyeballing Chinese language warships. India is betting large on indigenous tech, and that features underwater autonomous platforms. INS Arihant and INS Arighat, nuclear submarines constructed underneath India’s Superior Know-how Vessel mission, are a part of a broader long-term response.
However naval minds are additionally pushing for lighter and stealthier methods like drone swarms under water that may strike earlier than they’re seen.
How Do Underwater Drones Function in Fight?
They transfer like sea creatures. Gradual. Silent. Invisible. Underwater drones or Autonomous Underwater Automobiles (AUVs) function with pre-programmed coordinates. In fight, they’re used for mine detection, surveillance and more and more for assault missions.
They will glide by means of the ocean like torpedoes, latch onto targets like limpet mines and detonate with out warning.
Ukraine has turned them into weapons of disruption. India is determining learn how to flip them into weapons of deterrence. However the blueprint exists, and the timing, in a area the place tensions are all the time effervescent underneath the floor, couldn’t be extra pressing.