Indian Naval Station in VIkarabad

 India is preparing to build a second, Very Low Frequency (VLF) Naval Station in Vikarabad, Telangana to provide a robust communication system to the Indian military. 

The VLF band is used for:

• Radio navigation services
• Synchronizing radio clocks worldwide
• Secure military communications
• Communicating with submarines operating at depth
• Communicating with strategic bombers.

One of the primary aims of the VLF naval station is to provide tactical connectivity to Indian forces, within the framework of an increasingly network-centric military disposition. 

VLF radio waves have long wavelengths, requiring large transmitters whose wires extend, among other things, through mountain tops. The VLF wave penetrates beneath the surface of the sea and bends around obstacles such as mountains while following the curvature of the Earth. 

These waves form zig zags worldwide, propagating through an interaction between the lower ionosphere and the conductive earth, thereby restricting them from being lost in space. 

VLF waves also penetrate earth and rock by some distance, making them ideal for mine communications, and contributing to their reliability as an efficient and stable communication. 

The overwhelming advantage of VLF communication is that they will be less disrupted by nuclear explosions than higher frequencies. 

Since time synchronization is an essential part of GPS systems worldwide, it follows that the VLF sync feature of radio clocks makes them ideally suited for integration within space-based satellites and technologies using more advanced features such as Atomic clocks and pulsars. 

This makes them ideally suited for providing terrestrial, tactical connectivity with more advanced extra-terrestrial systems, such as satellites in orbit or those stationed off-world. 

Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the Indian VLF naval station will have some central component of their tactical and strategic connectivity based in their mountain ranges. 

Also, it can be surmised that India is diligently pursuing an Aerospace component of its nuclear triad with the procurement of a fleet of strategic bombers carrying their arsenals of nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. 

Already, India boasts the BrahMos supersonic missile within its armory - the acquisition of strategic bombers will coincide with the development of its cruise missiles, while tactical connectivity through secure communication platforms such as the VLF stations will make them more accurate and deadly. 

Secure communications integrated with space-based technologies will also mean that India will be able to conduct "surgical strikes" with rapidity and fluidity.   

Already, India is looking to expand its fleet of nuclear submarines at an accelerated pace and to pair these submarines with missile systems that can carry multiple warheads. 

At the same time, it has been working to improve its arsenal of Agni III, Agni IV, and Agni V missiles, with ranges varying between 3000-7000 km. 

Given its experience with MIRVs, the Indian military will be keen to integrate connectivity between its navy, and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) to ensure that it can project it's power far beyond its shores, allowing it to play a more central role in world politics. 

This will require seamlessly integrating their missile forces with the navy, air force, land forces, and ISRO to ensure that they can communicate in real-time with each other in a safe, coordinated, secure, and efficient manner. 

All this means that we can expect a shake-up in the Indian Defence apparatus and in the manner in which their services integrate with each other while ensuring that the chain of command remains intact, with clearly issued orders that are passed down the chain and through the services, right into the battlefield, to commanders who act upon them in a tactical setting. 

While this will allow the Indian army to remain agile and mobile, allowing for real-time deployment and real-time execution of orders and missions in a heavy-handed manner, investing in such network-centric systems allows India to develop its nuclear triad forcefully. 

Therefore, one can expect its nuclear doctrine to undergo a steady transformation as seemingly disparate projects are launched and completed across the various arms of its armed forces. 

Furthermore, since VLF waves penetrate seawater and seem to have a correlation with salinity, it is reasonable to expect that groundbreaking work on their use, effectiveness, and efficiency has been carried out in the Dead Sea, due to its high salt content. 

There is every reason to expect Israel to feature heavily in the modernization of the Indian naval forces, along with being a major partner in upgrading and evolving its nuclear doctrine. 

This cooperation and strategic partnership is expected to grow in the coming times, especially in Aerospace, rocketry, guidance systems, communications, special forces, intelligence, and between the navies of the two countries. 

All in all, it is fair to say that this level of preparedness has steadily put India in a position where it can target Pakistan's nuclear program in asymmetrical warfare, zeroing in on sabotage, subterfuge, and infiltration to become the undisputed masters of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. 

As such, one can expect greater strife and guerrilla warfare all along the Pakistani borders, in Kashmir and Afghanistan as well as more internal strife in the time to come. 

The Indian military continues to pile on capabilities with cutting-edge military systems and subsystems. As its partnership with Israel continues to blossom and to go from strength to strength, one can expect that flare-ups with India will become more and more deadly and prolonged with the passage of time.