Anti Air Defense Doctrine

Anti Air Defense Doctrine

The Anti Air Defense Doctrine comprises of an Outer Area Defense and Inner Area Defense. Outer Area Defense involves the defensive network of warly warning radars and a interdiction Air Defense Batteries arrayed around the border regions of the Kingdom. The Outer Area Defense has already expostulated as per Integrated Defense Policy of dividing the nation into three sectors, with each sector having interlinked radar networks with strategic depth. The Outer Area Defense's radar networks consists of 200 NM range, XL12 radars and 400 NM range XL117 radars. The interconnecting networks of these radars provide a nearly impregnable Air Defense Barrier along the borders of the nation. 

XL12 and XL117 as stationary radar installations and hence are liable to be targeted in an Anti Radiation attack as a precursor to deep penetration strikes on the Kingdom's territory. Thus these are reinforced along the borders by a secondary layer of radars operated by each Border Guard Brigade consisting of a Battalion of Mobile Radar trucks per Brigade and Aerostats which provide a low level air defense potential.

The detection capabilities of the OAD radar network is complemented by batteries of Surface to Air Missiles comprising of SD5, SD4, SD3, SD2 and SD2R air defense missiles. OAD has 5 batteries of each of these missiles discretely and stealthily installed per Border Guard Brigade sector. These installations are naturally camouflaged fixed installations which would receive targeting and terminal guidance from the Air Defense Network and would not have independent guidance systems to prevent them being targeted due to their radiation parameters. These fixed RCAF defense batteries would be reinforced by the mobile SAM batteries maintained by the Border Guard Brigades for tactical low level air defense.

The Outer Area Defense is reinforced by the Inner Area Defense which defines Air Defense in the interior zones of the Kingdom. IAD involves 60 km range XL27 radars which would be installed every 2500 square kilometers in the Kingdom. This network again involves a design such that any specific land area would be covered by at least 2 XL27 radars to facilitate triangulation and redundancy. The XL27 radars are automated facilities that would be remotely controlled by Zonal Air Defense Commands in each Province of the Kingdom. The operation of these radars would also be governed by Air Defense Network. These uniform radar concentration is reinforced by concentrated radar coverage in certain Air Attack Corridors determined by RCAF which are atmospherically and strategically optimum for an air attack on a territory. This includes mountain passes, mountain ranges, strategic hills near cities etc. IAD also involves Aerostat mounted radars for special protection of high density population regions, such as cities, towns etc.

The offensive form of IAD consists of Surface to Air Missile batteries located around every major city and town, power stations, power grid components, major industrial, scientific and commercial facilities, vital logistic and transport corridors and vital defense establishments. High population centers and above mentioned target types would also have automated CIWS batteries arrayed around them in ringed defensive perimeters. IAD includes defense of Astra rail gun batteries.

The third layer of Air Defense is the Strategic Defense Network consisting of HAWK Over the Horizon radars installed at 5 locations in the Kingdom of Cochin, the 5 Bright Star locations and the Anti Ballistic Missile Batteries located around major population, industrial and defense centers.

The concentration of these large number of radars and Air Defense systems would be imperfect without the Air Defense Network. This is a high bandwidth information pathway that connects every single radar and every single offensive weapon platform in the Kingdom. This highly automated protocol has been developed by Strategic Command, Royal Cochin Air Force and Varma Institute of Fundamental Research. This communication network depends on a physical layer consisting of optical fiber cables in reinforced pathways, secure satellite burst communications and Integrated Military Communications Network. Air Defense Network is a form of cloud computing whereby every single radar is a node and an integrated air defense status is created by the network. It is not necessary for all the radars to be online at any time. The information gained by any single radar is simultaneously passed on to the ADN grid by which every radar gets the picture. The protocol is an intelligent system which randomly activates and deactivates radars in the network so that any single radar may not lend itself to be targeted by a hostile force. The random switching nature of ADN also lends it a pulsating nature. The multiple layered defenses means that the redundant defenses would be activated only when the primary defenses in the sector has been destroyed. This destruction would in any way alert the Air Defense Network which can call in reinforcements from RCAF's fighter regiments assigned to the Air Defense Zone.

Threats detected are engaged by the the SAM batteries whose missiles receive targeting information not from a single radar but from the communication network itself. This communication with the missile is maintained either through the launcher itself or through MILCOM network which exists independent of ADN. Thus even if one or more radars in the region is shut down, the missile would continue to be tracked and receive targeting from the other defense communication infrastructure in the Kingdom. The Air Defense Network can also work with airborne and maritime radar platforms with ease. To prevent its incapacitation during EMP attack, all ADN assets have been protected by Class A Silver Shield Protocol and only Silver Shield rated switching gear and hardware have been used.

While XL class of radars use Ionosonders, and Phased Array technology with electronically controlled wave guidance, Hawk Radars use 12MW powered multistatic radar, creeping waves and electromagnetic surface waves for its operations.

Ultimately Anti Air Defense Doctrine is created not to defend against an overwhelming airborne attack on its own, but to provide warning that such an attack is taking place to RCAF Command and provide as much attrition as it can. The Air Defense Network has proven its robustness in several air defense exercies and simulations and survivability against wide spectrum EMP attacks conducted by High Energy Research Institute. 

The doctrine and its components are available for sharing with the valued allies of the Kingdom of Cochin.