Express News Service
NEW DELHI: In a change of plans, the Indian Navy has suspended its plans for a larger aircraft carrier. Instead, decks for another aircraft carrier of a similar size to the recently commissioned INS Vikrant are almost clear with all the paperwork being complete. According to sources, the new ship is planned to be better equipped and will have added indigenously manufactured content.
Defence sources told this newspaper, “The Navy has completed all the documentation work and it is expected that the approvals from the government will come very soon.” The new aircraft carrier is also expected to be of 45,000 displacements and will have the STOBAR technology for the onboard combat aircraft. “Short take-off but arrested recovery” is a mechanism to launch and recover aircraft from the aircraft carrier. The Navy’s second operational aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya also has this mechanism onboard.
“The timeline will suite our push for self-reliance as we aim to indigenise the aviation complex and it might match up with the production of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF).” added the sources. “Keeping in mind our pace, even if we take a decision on the carrier today, it will take over a year to begin the process of manufacturing,” a defence source has told this newspaper earlier.
The INS Vikrant has 76 percent indigenous content which includes the equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. “We have gained expertise and an ecosystem is set thus it will bring down the construction period,” the sources added. TEDBF is being designed for the Navy and officials of the HAL have been claiming it to be ready for commissioning by 2032.
The keel of INS Vikrant was laid in February 2009 and it was commissioned in September. It is designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited; a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Vikrant has been built with state of the art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
The process for the larger aircraft carrier has been kept in abeyance, the sources. The Navy has been maintaining the three carriers-based force structure so that it can operate two of them in maritime zones on each side of the Indian coastline’s eastern and western coasts. This can only happen when the Navy has three carriers as one can be used as a substitute when either of the first two undergoes maintenance.
Aircraft carriers are known to have long maintenance schedules. The cycle of maintenance can lead to an absence of a carrier for years. The push to maintain credible force levels is keeping in mind the threat perceptions and the changing international dynamic. China has been successful in beating deadlines in adding to its military might. It started manufacturing its first aircraft carrier in 2012 and commissioned its third indigenous one, Fujian, in June this year.
Stealth missile destroyer inductedMUMBAI: The stealth guided missile destroyer Mormugao, the second of the four Visakhapatnam class destroyers, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Sunday. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said INS Mormugao is evidence of India’s excellence in warship design and development. INS Mormugao is among the most powerful Indigenous warships and is the most technologically advanced warship, he said. The Navy chief said the commissioning of the warship, on the eve of the Goa Liberation Day, is indicative of the large strides taken by the Navy.
NEW DELHI: In a change of plans, the Indian Navy has suspended its plans for a larger aircraft carrier. Instead, decks for another aircraft carrier of a similar size to the recently commissioned INS Vikrant are almost clear with all the paperwork being complete. According to sources, the new ship is planned to be better equipped and will have added indigenously manufactured content.
Defence sources told this newspaper, “The Navy has completed all the documentation work and it is expected that the approvals from the government will come very soon.” The new aircraft carrier is also expected to be of 45,000 displacements and will have the STOBAR technology for the onboard combat aircraft. “Short take-off but arrested recovery” is a mechanism to launch and recover aircraft from the aircraft carrier. The Navy’s second operational aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya also has this mechanism onboard.
“The timeline will suite our push for self-reliance as we aim to indigenise the aviation complex and it might match up with the production of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF).” added the sources. “Keeping in mind our pace, even if we take a decision on the carrier today, it will take over a year to begin the process of manufacturing,” a defence source has told this newspaper earlier.
The INS Vikrant has 76 percent indigenous content which includes the equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. “We have gained expertise and an ecosystem is set thus it will bring down the construction period,” the sources added. TEDBF is being designed for the Navy and officials of the HAL have been claiming it to be ready for commissioning by 2032.
The keel of INS Vikrant was laid in February 2009 and it was commissioned in September. It is designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited; a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Vikrant has been built with state of the art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
The process for the larger aircraft carrier has been kept in abeyance, the sources. The Navy has been maintaining the three carriers-based force structure so that it can operate two of them in maritime zones on each side of the Indian coastline’s eastern and western coasts. This can only happen when the Navy has three carriers as one can be used as a substitute when either of the first two undergoes maintenance.
Aircraft carriers are known to have long maintenance schedules. The cycle of maintenance can lead to an absence of a carrier for years. The push to maintain credible force levels is keeping in mind the threat perceptions and the changing international dynamic. China has been successful in beating deadlines in adding to its military might. It started manufacturing its first aircraft carrier in 2012 and commissioned its third indigenous one, Fujian, in June this year.
Stealth missile destroyer inducted
MUMBAI: The stealth guided missile destroyer Mormugao, the second of the four Visakhapatnam class destroyers, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Sunday. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said INS Mormugao is evidence of India’s excellence in warship design and development. INS Mormugao is among the most powerful Indigenous warships and is the most technologically advanced warship, he said. The Navy chief said the commissioning of the warship, on the eve of the Goa Liberation Day, is indicative of the large strides taken by the Navy.
