THE FUTURE OF SEA POWER

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A Hybrid Navy for 2020: The Sri
Lankan Strategy
Sirimevan Ranasinghe
The geostrategic significance of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean is recognised by the global
maritime community. With an ever increasing dependency on the oceans for resources
and trade, and due to its geographical positioning, Sri Lanka has been entrusted with
the huge responsibility of protecting the vital sea lines of communication that run to
its south.
In discussing the future of sea power from a Sri Lankan perspective, I will cover our
recent operational experience and how we are planning for the future.
Present Day Asymmetric Threats
As we are all aware, the maritime domain is dynamic in nature and managing affairs in
it, is a huge challenge for any navy. The vastness of the ocean space and the inability to
conduct surveillance over every square inch of it, are some of the challenges navies face.
The Falklands War (1982) is the last known major conflict between two states involving
maritime elements. Since then, no state has manoeuvred naval fleets against another.
Yet, there have been quite a number of maritime-related incidents in various parts of the
world. Since 1982, the Sri Lanka Navy has been the only navy to engage in actual military
operations. As you know, Sri Lanka was successful in using the traditional composition
of a small navy to evolve over time to defeat its enemy - the maritime capabilities of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) - which were once considered undefeatable.
Even though naval battles among states are highly unlikely to occur in the future,
there are a number of asymmetric threats that navies currently face. I mention two in
particular.
I would rate the use of suicide boats against naval assets as a major threat. These boats
are small and hard to detect by most sensors. If you are lucky, you will be able to see
them at a very close range during the day. But the possibility of detecting them at night
will be very low. These suicide boats can take any shape, size and the enemy has the
luxury of choosing the time, place and mode of attack against a naval platform. An
innocent looking fishing vessel, a jet ski, a pleasure boat or any other specially designed
small fast boat can easily be converted to a lethal suicide boat, carrying high explosive
to inflict heavy damage.
The use of humans as a torpedo or a similar device is another threat. This can be a highly
stealthy tool used in places where vessels have to manoeuvre at slow speed. Such a
device can carry a sufficient payload to deliver a lethal blow and detection of it when in
water will be extremely difficult.