Vikrant Class Aircraft Carrier

[+ghostrider883 526]

Joining an elite club of nations capable of building large warships, India began the construction of its first indigenous aircraft carrier at the Cochin Shipyard here and will go in for 2 to 3 more carriers in the heavier class.

 

Pressing a remote to lower the keel -- the ship's backbone -- into the construction dock of the shipyard, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "The Navy's carrier will showcase India's technological prowess and warships' building capabilities to the world. It will be the largest ever warship to be built in India." The 40,000-tonne carrier will operate nearly 30 aircraft including the Russian MiG-29Ks fighters, Kamov-31 helicopters and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

 

"This is a crucial milestone and an occasion to cherish in the shipbuilding traditions and maritime history of the nation. The culmination of this prestigious project, sometime in 2014, will transform India into an aircraft-building nation," Antony said.

 

He said that India will certainly produce more indigenous aircraft carrier, but in the heavier class category to meet the future challenges and needs of maritime security. "We hope to operate two to three aircraft carriers simultaneously in the not too distant future," Antony said.

 

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Are any going to be equipped with steam catapults, or will they all be ski-jumps? I thought I saw a proposal for a ski-jump carrier with a single catapult on the port side, similar to an old Soviet design (but not nuclear powered).

[+ghostrider883 526]

Are any going to be equipped with steam catapults, or will they all be ski-jumps? I thought I saw a proposal for a ski-jump carrier with a single catapult on the port side, similar to an old Soviet design (but not nuclear powered).

 

Just one ski-jump for launching MiG-29Ks or Naval LCAs.

 

With a 12 to 14º ski-jump, the vessel will have a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) arrangement on an angled flight deck with two aircraft elevators - one before the island and one after. In the STOBAR arrangement, the aircraft lands on the angled-flight deck and is stopped by arrester wires, of which three will be installed onboard. The air group will likely consist of a minimum of 12 combat aircraft such as the Naval LCA, the MiG-29K or the Sea Harrier Mk.51 / Mk.60, along with 10 helicopters likely consisting of the HAL Dhruv and/or the Sea King Mk.42. A pair of Ka-31 AEW helicopters would provide airborne early warning coverage. The vessel is estimated to carry as many as 30 aircraft on board, with 17 parked in the hanger below.

[JediMaster 451]

So it's going to be called the Vikrant? Has every Indian carrier been named Vikrant or Viraat? I mean, I'm sure you want to keep some names in use for tradition sake, but it does seem to be a little repetitive to use the same 2 names only!

[+ghostrider883 526]

So it's going to be called the Vikrant? Has every Indian carrier been named Vikrant or Viraat? I mean, I'm sure you want to keep some names in use for tradition sake, but it does seem to be a little repetitive to use the same 2 names only!

 

So far only two carriers have served with the Navy. First was INS Vikrant which served from 1961 to 1997 and second is INS Viraat which joined the Navy in 1987 and is currently undergoing a refit in Cochin. The re-fitted ex-RU Navy helicopter carrier Admiral Gorshkov was renamed as INS Vikramaditya and will be joining the Navy in 2012. No ship was named as Vikramaditya in the past though.

 

Such re-naming of ships have been done in the past. For e.g. the INS Khukri was a Blackwood class Frigate which was sunk in the 1971 war by a Pakistani submarine. Today, the INS Khukri is a Type 25 ASW Corvette. Most of the ships is active service are repetitions of the past.

 

"It is a tradition in the Navy to name new warships of the same type on decommissioned warships. The idea is no warship ever dies. The new warship continues the legacy and is always referred to as a continuation of the decommissioned warship. In accordance with tradition, the IAC, in all likelihood, will be named INS Vikrant," Navy officers said here on Monday.

 

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-03-04/512085news.html

[Silverbolt 104]

Fulcrum Isn't Stobar and i don't think it would be cheap to convert it on STOBAR.

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Could be worse, the RN traditionally names certain ships of a new class after the monarch. Could you imagine new classes of carrier of each generation being named HMS Queen Elizabeth?

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how these new carriers operate CTOL and STOVL air groups.

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Fulcrum Isn't Stobar and i don't think it would be cheap to convert it on STOBAR.

 

Mig-29KIs are, plus the Mig-29 was designed to use shortened strips in the first place, allowing them to be used on unprepared ground and so on. That's why the earlier models used to have the intake shields. I think later variants discarded these.

[Silverbolt 104]

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthrea...7222&page=2

omg

[+ghostrider883 526]

Fulcrum Isn't Stobar

 

It certianl yis . The 29K & 29KUB will form the fighter wing of INS Vikramaditya( former Admiral Gorshkov) and the number of MiG-2(K squadron will be INAS 303.

[JediMaster 451]

I hadn't heard the Gorshkov was renamed Vikramaditya. At least that's a 3rd name!

 

The odd thing is how many old carrier names we don't reuse. There's no CVN Langley, Saratoga, Ranger, etc.

[+Hinchinbrooke 36]

I hadn't heard the Gorshkov was renamed Vikramaditya. At least that's a 3rd name!

 

The odd thing is how many old carrier names we don't reuse. There's no CVN Langley, Saratoga, Ranger, etc.

 

Naming for American carriers took a decidedly bad turn when they began to be named after people. (I give FDR a break........... four terms, WWII, and died in office.)

 

What about Yorktown, Lexington, Essex, Midway, Enterprise, Coral Sea, Hornet , Wasp, etc., etc................................... Gorgeous!

[+SkippyBing 8]

What about Yorktown, Lexington, Essex, Midway, Enterprise, Coral Sea, Hornet , Wasp, etc., etc................................... Gorgeous!

 

There was a USS Gorgeous?

 

I'll get my coat...

[sugarblues 0]

It certianl yis . The 29K & 29KUB will form the fighter wing of INS Vikramaditya( former Admiral Gorshkov) and the number of MiG-2(K squadron will be INAS 303.

 

Ghost,

 

They will be keeping INS 300 won't they ? The White Tigers are too famous to disappear! As for the re-use of names, etc., don't forget, most of the Navies in the world that started with RN traditions have always re-used names... It's only been in recent times where politics have played a more active role where "non-traditional" names have started cropping up.

 

SB

[+ghostrider883 526]

Ghost,

 

They will be keeping INS 300 won't they ? The White Tigers are too famous to disappear! As for the re-use of names, etc., don't forget, most of the Navies in the world that started with RN traditions have always re-used names... It's only been in recent times where politics have played a more active role where "non-traditional" names have started cropping up.

 

SB

 

INAS 300 "White Tigers" will continue to fly the Sea Harrier off the Viraat and may be even the Vikramaditya. Some of the remaining airframes(FRS.51s) have been upgraded in what was called as "Limited Sea Harrier Upgrade"(LSUH) Programme. They have been fitted with EL/M-2032 radar, making the Harrier capable of firing the Rafael Derby BVRAAM. When the Viraat completes her refit, we could well see these upgraded Sea Harrier FRS.51s on her deck. The White Tigers may even end up fly ing the Naval LCA Tejas, the prototype of which will be flying by middle of this year. There was a painting somewhere of the Naval LCA in White Tigers markings/.

 

As for the renaming tradition, the Indian Navy has Royal Navy roots and was known as the Royal Indian Navy uptil 1950, as was the Air Force. The ships of the RIN were titled HMIS Tir, Cauvery etc.

Edited March 7, 2009 by ghostrider883