Underwater Domain Awareness

• Chief of the Naval Staff recently cited that with regard to naval operations, underwater domain awareness (UDA) was one of the most critical areas for the country.
• Countries such as the U.S. and China, have harnessed the underwater domain extensively for military as well as civil use.
• The Navy had announced a reorientation of the focus from manned to unmanned platforms.

• As part of that it had cut down the number of P-8I long- range patrol aircraft to go in for long-endurance drones.
• It was also decided to adopt Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to cut down on the requirement of mine sweepers.

Underwater domain awareness (UDA):

• Underwater domain awareness (UDA) is the aspect of maritime domain awareness focused on the underwater sector, including, from a security perspective, sea lines of communication (SLOC), coastal waters and varied maritime assets with reference to hostile intent and the proliferation of submarine and mine capabilities intended to limit access to the seas and littoral waters.
• It is a concept that addresses the aspect of a nation’s ability to monitor all the developments in the underwater region and possibly prevent events.

Underwater Domain Awareness Framework for India:

• India has the necessary capacity to monitor and prohibit survey vessels well before they enter its EEZ. But there is a pressing need for a comprehensive Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) strategy.
• The strategy will require coordination between our national security agencies, i.e., the navy, and the government departments.
• Both are responsible for the marine environment and disaster management and also collaborate with like-minded countries who share our concerns.

The framework shall include:

• Deepening of real-time information exchange,
• Co-development and deployment of UDA monitoring devices
• Joint processing of acoustic signatures
• Closer coordination in the patrolling of sea lanes to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• The government should create an enabling environment and encourage interaction between the various stakeholders.

P-8I

• It, a long-range patrol aircraft, was manufactured by Boeing for the Indian Navy.
• It is a variant of P-8A Poseidon and the Poseidon is operated by the US Navy.
• The P-8I is capable of conducting maritime patrol, anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance missions, and surveillance.