India Looking for Amphibious Ships

LPD 14 Trenton,now INS Jalashwa(click to view full) In 2007, India’s amphibious capabilities took a big step forward, as the US Navy transferred the Austin Class LPD USS Trenton [LPD 14] to India. The 16,590t INS Jalashwa [L41] now serves alongside 2 smaller 5,600t Shardul Class LST-Ls, and 4 remaining 1,324t Polnochny Class LST-Ms. As India looks to project power within the Indian Ocean, however, and upgrade its disaster response capabilities, larger amphibious operations ships become a high priority. Reports to date indicate that India is looking for up to 4 LHD type aviation & amphibious ships, with designs to come from foreign firms. The expected candidates come from France, Italy, Spain, and even South Korea… Reported Contenders Mistral Class LHD(click to view – Français) Indian media report that Indian Army Army has almost 10,000 soldiers in 3 amphibious brigades, based in South India, West India and the Andaman Nicobar Command joint force. What it doesn’t have, is the naval carrying capability to turn all of that into a projectable force. LHD type ships could help change this, with their full-ship aviation decks, internal hangars and storage space for utility and attack helicopters or UAVs, ample internal space for vehicles […]