Shooting An Indian Navy Amphibious Assault Drill


Filmed an entire amphibious operation at Rutland Island in the Andaman Sea earlier this week involving two Indian Navy landing ships, the Shardul-class INS Kesari and Magar-class INS Gharial. The latter vessel, based in Visakhapatnam, was conducting a landing as part of a post-refit work-up. The Kesari is the largest vessel in Port Blair.

The ships had embarked units from the Army’s Kumaon regiment, along with a BMP-1 and a truck with medical supplies. The contingent was landed by Kesari and collected by Gharial. The landing was supported by troops and MARCOS in inflatables and helicopter support in the form of a Mi-8 and Chetak.

The Andman & Nicobar Islands have over 570 islands, out of which over 540 are uninhabited and relatively remote. Landing and amphibious operations form a central part of doctrine for the armed forces in these outlying territories, which also offer excellent sites to train.

The navy has, incidentally, received approval to build four new landing platform docks (LPDs), huge amphibious vessels comparable in size to the INS Jalashwa.
My special thanks to INS Kesari Commanding Officer Cdr N.P Pradeep, INS Gharial Commanding Officer Cdr Ashish Goel, Lt Arun John and officers and men on both ships for their support and hospitality. Godspeed and Shano Varuna.

Photos / Shiv Aroor

23 thoughts on “Shooting An Indian Navy Amphibious Assault Drill”

  1. You said:

    "Men of Indian Army could go with……. bullet proof vets.."

    Ah ! so that they do not come out of water at all ! Know what is amphibious!

    I think, give that advice to Paki Army.

  2. the beaches are AWESOME…better than Daytona Beach and OuterBanks here in the US-not to mention Puri and Goa (can't beat the feni there, though)….

    Are these places open for tourists?

  3. Shoddy uniforms-Looks like they have been left out of modernization.Most astonishingly in pic 3,u can see one jawan wearing canvas shoes while the others in a different one.
    I don't get it how a canvas shoe will be of help in marine conditions

  4. Is that an actual landing craft that India might use in a beach assault? Because, it looks very unsafe. The sides are two low and in even in slightly choppy waters, soldiers will fear falling of the sides. Even the front is too low, the soldiers might be picked off by a machine gunner even before they reach the beach.

  5. Hey Shiv,
    When are you posting the video ?

    Can you tell us all about the progress on FINSAS program ?

    and why nobody recorded or even posted a single picture of arjun mk2 ?

  6. [email protected]: Can't do that. Way too many Livefist photos get used on other sites without credit/backlinks. I've even found a site where the proprieter *takes* credit for some of my photos. I hate to watermark photos this way, but that seems the only interim method against online thieves.

    Vijay: There are different types of landing craft that India uses. This is an LCA (landing craft assault) used from the Shardul and Magar-class vessels. We were in them with army troops in pretty high sea states over three days, and they landed just fine. Controlling them, as with pretty much everything else, is simply a skill.

  7. Ha Ha I knew it would be coming:

    "..I don't get it how a canvas shoe will be of help in marine conditions…"

    Those are Chinese canvass shoes, cheapest but still the best ?

    It is better to go into water with canvass shes than those Agra made DMS heavy boots, heavy enough to help you sink and drown in the water.

    The boy has experience rather than mind !

  8. @Shiv

    Though LCA class but Shardul and Magar are more appropriately Landing Ship Tanks..LST

    There could be differences between LSA and LST !

  9. Abhishek, whether it is canvas,PT or plimsols or the DMS leather boot, it hurts just as bad when that jawan kicks you in the pants. CQMH Abdul Hamid PVC, was the last man standing of his company in Ladakh in '61 and walked back several miles with his feet wrapped up with pieces torn out of his fatigues to reach the nearest command post. And then in 1965 this hero destroyed seven Pattons M48 at Khem Karan, prompting the US Army to withdraw this piece of armor from combat worldwide. The Indian fauji wears what is convenient but has always kicked wazoo big time. Wanna take on a panga? You're most welcome.

  10. It's incredible how crude these soldiers equipment and kit is. These poor guys are wearing WW2 helmets not even the Indian Patka helmet when they are practicing ?

    One guy has some string as a strap! Another soldier is wearing a canvas shoes like some hipster!! Okay, even if this is an exercise, I don't see how exercising without all your gear is worth anything.

    Seriously, somebody ought to give a damn about these guys! Even the most determined and well trained soldiers need to be adequately equipped if they are to stand a fighting chance! Otherwise we are just throwing good men's lives away.

    It's scary to see these pictures.

  11. Looks like the Indian Army lost its way and attacked a beach resort!! Crazy!

    As to the canvas shoes, even with dhoti an Indian Army soldier will take on an entire enemy division of soldiers according to the jingos here.

    In the entire platoon, I don't see a radio between them.
    Wet war is apparently a joke to the IA, carried out for camera men and journalists.

  12. @Anon 8:43, I would not worry too much on dhotis and strings and beach resorts !!!!9GR,Indian Army was one of the 6 Gold Medalist in the the biggest and toughest to date Exercise Cambrian Patrol 2011.
    http://www.army.mod.uk/news/23593.aspx

    Our guys also hold on to the highest positions in the world at Siachen for over 25 years now.The Pakis held on Kargil for a few weeks!!And along the way The Indian army are one of the very few who have ground down jehdis in Kashmir,unlike the about to scarper geardo equipped NATO/US in Afghanistan,Ya the guys who call in an air-strike whenever anyone fails to answer the door!

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