The Vikrant [ earlier known as Project 71 Air Defence Ship (ADS) or Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)] is a class of two aircraft carriers which are being built for the Indian Navy. The two vessels are the largest warships and the first aircraft carriers to be designed and built in India. They are being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
Preparations for building the lead vessel of the class, INS Vikrant was started in 2008, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011, and was launched on 12 August 2013.
The scale and complexity of the project caused problems and it delayed the commencement and timeline of construction for the carrier. The aircraft carrier is now scheduled to be fully completed and deployed in service in 2018.
Preparations for building the lead vessel of the class, INS Vikrant was started in 2008, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011, and was launched on 12 August 2013.
The scale and complexity of the project caused problems and it delayed the commencement and timeline of construction for the carrier. The aircraft carrier is now scheduled to be fully completed and deployed in service in 2018.
History
In 1989 India announced a plan to replace its ageing British-built aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant [R11] and INS Viraat [R22], with two new 28,000 ton Air Defence Ships [ADS] that would operate the BAE Sea Harrier aircraft.
The first vessel was to replace INS Vikrant, which was set to decommission in early 1997. Construction of the ADS was to start at the Cochin Shipyard (CSL) in 1993 after the Indian Naval Design Organization had translated this design study into a production model. Following the 1991 economic crisis, the plans for construction of the vessels were put on hold indefinitely.
In 1999, then Defense Minister George Fernandes revived the project and sanctioned the construction of the Project 71 ADS. In 2001, CSL released a graphic illustration showing the 32,000-ton STOBAR [ Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery ] design with a pronounced ski jump.
The aircraft carrier project finally received formal government approval in January 2003. By then, design updates were called for a 37,500 ton carrier to operate the MiG-29K. India opted for a three-carrier fleet consisting of one carrier battle group stationed on each seaboard, and a third carrier held in reserve, in order to continuously protect both its flanks, to protect economic interests and mercantile traffic, and to provide humanitarian platforms in times of disasters, since a carrier can provide a self-generating supply of fresh water, medical assistance or engineering expertise to populations in need for assistance.
In August 2006, then Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash stated that the designation for the vessel had been changed from Air Defence Ship [ ADS ] to Indigenous Aircraft Carrier [ IAC ]. The euphemistic ADS had been adopted in planning stages toward off concerns about a naval build-up. Final revisions to the design increased the displacement of the carriers from 37,500 tons to over 40,000 tons. The length of the ship also increased from 252 metres [ 827 ft ] to over 260 metres [ 850 ft ].
INS Vikrant Carrier Discription
Displacement: INS Vikrant 40,000 tonnes
Length: 262 metres (860 ft)
Beam: 60 metres (200 ft)
Draught: 8.4 metres (28 ft)
Depth: 25.6 metres (84 ft)
Decks: 2.5 acres [ 110,000 sq ft; 10,000 m2 ]
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines,2 shafts 80+ MW
Speed: 28 kn [ 52 km/h ]
Range: 8,000 nmi [ 15,000 km ]
Complement: 1,400 [ including air crew ]
Sensors and processing systems: 1 x Selex RAN-40L L-band early warning
Electronic warfare & decoys: C/D band early air-warning radar.
The first ship of the class, INS Vikrant, displaces about 40,000 metric tons [ 39,000 long tons ], is 262 metres [ 860 ft ] long and has a tailored air group of up to thirty aircraft. The IAC-I features a STOBAR [ Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery ] configuration with a ski-jump. The deck is designed to enable aircraft such as the MiG-29K to operate from the carrier. It will deploy up to 20 fixed-wing aircraft, primarily the Mikoyan MiG-29K and the naval variant of the HAL Tejas Mark 2, besides carrying 10 Kamov Ka-31 or Westland Sea King helicopters. The Ka-31 will fulfill the airborne early warning [ AEW ]role and the Sea King will provide anti-submarine warfare [ ASW ] capability.
The carrier is powered by four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines on two shafts, generating over 80MW of power. The gearboxes for the carriers were designed and supplied by Elecon Engineering.
The carrier is powered by four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines on two shafts, generating over 80MW of power. The gearboxes for the carriers were designed and supplied by Elecon Engineering.
Selection of the carrier air group
India considered a number of aircraft for operation from its INS Vikramaditya and the planned indigenous aircraft carrier. India evaluated the Russian Sukhoi Su-33, but chose the lighter Mikoyan MiG-29K as the Vikramaditya was smaller and lacked an aircraft catapult. On 18 January 2010, it was reported that India and Russia were close to signing a deal for 29 MiG-29K fighters to operate from IAC-I. In addition, the navy signed a deal for six naval-variants of the HAL Tejas. In June 2012, Flight Global reported that the Indian Navy was considering the use of Rafale M [ Naval variant ] on the IAC. The Rafale M is almost the same size as the MiG-29K.
Construction
Amongst the first construction problems experienced was the lack of supply of carrier-grade steel due to the inability of Russia to supply the AB/A grade steel. Finally, the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory [ DMRL ] worked with the Steel Authority of India Limited [ SAIL] to create suitable production facilities for the steel in India. The SAIL Steel Plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur and Bokaro has manufactured 26,000 tonnes of three special steels being used for the hull, flight deck and floor compartments of the carrier.
