NEW DELHI: Pakistan has lost almost half of its sophisticated long-range maritime snooping and strike capabilities in just one well-targeted jihadi attack on naval base PNS Mehran in Karachi that ended on Monday after a 15-hour gun-battle which left 10 security persons and four attackers dead. At least two of the five P-3C Orion long-range patrol aircraft, supplied to Pakistan Navy by the US, were destroyed in the attack.
The irony is stark. Pakistan got the P-3C Orions, packed with radars and weapons like the E-2C Hawkeye 2000 airborne early-warning suites and anti-ship Harpoon missiles, from the US as part of the around $15 billion military aid in the name of the global war on terrorism over the last decade.
India cried foul, holding that Orions as well as other weapons like F-16s were clearly meant for conventional warfare, not counter-terrorism. Al-Qaida or the Taliban, after all, did not have an air force or a navy. And now, in a role reversal, the Pakistan Taliban has destroyed at least two, if not more, of the four-engine turboprop Orions, probably seeing them "as legitimate targets".
"It's quite a significant loss for Pakistan Navy...almost 50% of its long-range maritime patrol capabilities has suddenly been taken out," said an Indian Navy officer. As per Pakistan-watchers here, Pakistan is slated to get a total of 10 upgraded Orions, with eight of them supposed to arrive by 2012.
"They had five as of now, two older ones which were upgraded and three newer ones. If the two destroyed in the attack are the newer platforms, the loss will be even more significant," said another officer.
India, of course, has been wary of the Orions for quite some time. With "a loiter time" extendable to over 10 hours, they pose a significant threat to Indian warships in the entire Arabian Sea due to their long radius of operations. An Orion, which can cost well upwards of $100 million depending on its configuration, incidentally can also carry nuclear weapons in its internal bomb bay under the front fuselage.
Indian Navy, in fact, had pushed for installation of the Israeli Barak anti-missile defence systems on 14 of its frontline warships like aircraft carrier INS Viraat, destroyer INS Mysore and stealth frigate INS Shivalik to counter the Harpoon and Exocet missiles acquired by Pakistan.
There are lessons for India to also learn from the jihadi attack to ensure its precious air and naval assets are protected in a much better manner. IAF, incidentally, came up with its own version of special forces, the Garuds, in 2004-2005 after facing fidayeen (suicide) attacks on its crucial airbases like Srinagar and Awantipora. "Security of our airbases should be further upgraded," said an officer.
The US had also offered to sell eight P-3C Orions, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to India under the foreign military sales programme some years ago but the deal did not materialize.
Instead, India is now going for 12 Boeing-manufactured P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for around $3.1 billion, with the first slated to arrive in early-2013.
At present, the Navy is making do with five Russian-origin upgraded Ilyushin-38s and eight ageing Tupolev-142M maritime patrol aircraft, backed by a fleet of Dornier-228s, to keep tabs on the entire Indian Ocean region.
The irony is stark. Pakistan got the P-3C Orions, packed with radars and weapons like the E-2C Hawkeye 2000 airborne early-warning suites and anti-ship Harpoon missiles, from the US as part of the around $15 billion military aid in the name of the global war on terrorism over the last decade.
India cried foul, holding that Orions as well as other weapons like F-16s were clearly meant for conventional warfare, not counter-terrorism. Al-Qaida or the Taliban, after all, did not have an air force or a navy. And now, in a role reversal, the Pakistan Taliban has destroyed at least two, if not more, of the four-engine turboprop Orions, probably seeing them "as legitimate targets".
"It's quite a significant loss for Pakistan Navy...almost 50% of its long-range maritime patrol capabilities has suddenly been taken out," said an Indian Navy officer. As per Pakistan-watchers here, Pakistan is slated to get a total of 10 upgraded Orions, with eight of them supposed to arrive by 2012.
"They had five as of now, two older ones which were upgraded and three newer ones. If the two destroyed in the attack are the newer platforms, the loss will be even more significant," said another officer.
India, of course, has been wary of the Orions for quite some time. With "a loiter time" extendable to over 10 hours, they pose a significant threat to Indian warships in the entire Arabian Sea due to their long radius of operations. An Orion, which can cost well upwards of $100 million depending on its configuration, incidentally can also carry nuclear weapons in its internal bomb bay under the front fuselage.
Indian Navy, in fact, had pushed for installation of the Israeli Barak anti-missile defence systems on 14 of its frontline warships like aircraft carrier INS Viraat, destroyer INS Mysore and stealth frigate INS Shivalik to counter the Harpoon and Exocet missiles acquired by Pakistan.
There are lessons for India to also learn from the jihadi attack to ensure its precious air and naval assets are protected in a much better manner. IAF, incidentally, came up with its own version of special forces, the Garuds, in 2004-2005 after facing fidayeen (suicide) attacks on its crucial airbases like Srinagar and Awantipora. "Security of our airbases should be further upgraded," said an officer.
The US had also offered to sell eight P-3C Orions, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to India under the foreign military sales programme some years ago but the deal did not materialize.
Instead, India is now going for 12 Boeing-manufactured P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for around $3.1 billion, with the first slated to arrive in early-2013.
At present, the Navy is making do with five Russian-origin upgraded Ilyushin-38s and eight ageing Tupolev-142M maritime patrol aircraft, backed by a fleet of Dornier-228s, to keep tabs on the entire Indian Ocean region.
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