Wait over: INS Vikramaditya set tojoin Indian Navy on Nov 16

Defence Minister, A.K. Antony, will induct the long-delayed aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya,
designed to boost India’s maritime capabilities, at a shipyard in Russia on Saturday. Antony will leave for Russia tomorrow with a high-level delegation, including Defence Secretary, R.K. Mathur, on a four-day visit during which, apart from commissioning the aircraft carrier, he will also co-chair the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoigu.

Contracted for in 2004, during the NDA regime, the vessel has been delayed by over five years
and has seen several time and cost-overruns in the last nine years. “The commissioning ceremony will take place at Sevmash Shipyard, Severodvinsk, on Saturday and the IRIGC-MTC meeting will take place in Moscow on Monday,” a Defence Ministry release said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin will be attending the commissioning along with
Defence Minister Shoigu. For the IRIGC—MTC, Antony’s delegation includes Secretary (Defence Production) GC Pati, DG (Acquisition) SB Agnihotri, and senior officers of the armed forces. At the meet, the two sides will discuss a broad spectrum of issues related to ongoing and proposed defence projects and defence cooperation between the two countries. The two sides will also exchange views on bilateral concerns related to regional and global issues, the release said.

Naval LCA set for Carrier Compatibility Tests

Source: TNN

The naval variant of India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is gearing up for carrier compatibility tests at the shore-based INS Hansa in Goa, according to sources in the Aeronautical Development Authority (ADA) which is developing the aircraft. The first prototype completed its maiden flight on April 27, 2012. 

The ADA has floated tenders inviting expression of interest (EoI) for the design, development, procurement, testing, integration, installation, commissioning and operation of shore-based telemetry facility, an essential component to test LCA-Navy. “The last date to receive EoIs is October 24,” a source said.

LCA-Navy is the second Ski Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR ) carrier-borne aircraft in the world, after the Russian deck-based aircraft. However, it’ll be the only carrier-borne fighter aircraft in the light category.

A senior ADA official said a US Navy Carrier Suitability Test Team will audit the test findings and its experience in developing and maintaining carrier-borne aircraft will be useful.

Technical features

* Operate from aircraft carrier using Ski-jump Take off But Arrested Recovery. Aircraft gets airborne over a ski jump in about 200 m and lands in 90 m

* Derived from air force version, it’s an agile war machine

* Flight control system augmented with Leading Edge Vortex Controller which aids reduced approach speeds for carrier landing

* Fuel dump system enables safe landing by reducing weight in emergencies after launch from carrier

Refurbished INS Vikramadityato Join Indian Navy in January2014

        Indian Navy will soon have its second aircraft carrier warship by January 2014. The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, renamed as Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikramaditya, will be joining the Indian fleet after a delay of five years. “It will be accepted by the Defence Minister on November 16. On November 30, the ship will leave our waters for India,” Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said during a meeting with his ministers, reported Voice of Russia.

India’s Defence Minister A K Antony is scheduled to visit Russia between 15-17 November. India and Russia signed a 4,500 crore deal in 2004 and the war ship was sent to Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk port city in northern Russia for refurbishing. The deal was later revised to 13,000 crore in 2010. According to the initial plans, the 45,000-tonne Kiev class warship was scheduled to be delivered in 2008 and was later pushed to December 2012. During sea trials, it was found that the boilers of the warship were not fully functional and had to be fixed. Indian Navy will soon have its second aircraft carrier warship by January 2014. 

Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya finishes trials in Russia, delivery to India in mid-November

After a long running saga of hard-nosed negotiations since the late-1990s, cost escalations, refit delays and mishaps, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya has finally completed its extensive sea trials in Russia. The 44,570-tonne warship, or the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov, is now all set to be handed over to India in mid-November. 


Defence ministry sources on Tuesday said INS Vikramaditya has "now successfully" finished its series of "sustained full-power and aviation trials" in the White and Barents Seas. "The carrier will now head back to the harbour at Severodvinsk. It will then be made ready for the commissioning on November 15. It will reach Indian shores, with an Indian crew commanded by Captain Suraj Berry, in early-2014," said a source. 

India has paid $2.33 billion for Vikramaditya's refit, instead of the original $974 million earmarked in the January 2004 contract under which the carrier was to be originally delivered by August 2008. India is also spending another $2 billion to induct 45 Russian MiG-29K naval fighters to operate from the decks of INS Vikramaditya and the under-construction INS Vikrant, which too has been delayed at the Cochin Shipyard till at least end- 2018. 

Given the huge delays in both the projects, the Navy will continue to flog its old warhorse, the 54-year-old INS Viraat, which is left with just 11 Sea Harrier jump-jets to operate from its deck, till 2018. The delays have also derailed the Navy's long-stated aim to operate two full-fledged carrier battle groups (CBGs) anytime soon, as was earlier reported by TOI. 

INS Vikramaditya was to be inducted into the Indian Navy by last December, as per the then re-revised time-frame  but serious engine and boiler malfunctions during the trials delayed the delivery by another year. 

With the Mumbai harbour not capable of handling INS Vikramaditya, the mammoth warship will be based at the Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka, which has undergone its Phase-I development at a cost of Rs 2,629 crore. The government recently also approved the Phase-IIA expansion of Karwar, which gives India both strategic depth and operational flexibility, at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore.

Anthony to commission MIG-29 K fighter planes into Navy

 Union Defence Minister A K Anthony will commission MIG-29 K fighter planes into the Indian Navy on May 11 in Goa. The squadron, named INAS 303 Black Panthers, will be commissioned on May 11 by the Defence Minister at INS Hansa Naval base in the state, Indian Navy PRO said. 


         The MIG-29K (K stands for ‘Korabelny’ meaning “Carrier Borne” in Russian) is a potent carrier borne fighter, which, once integrated with ‘INS Vikramaditya’ will bolster the Navy’s punch with its multi-role capability, the PRO said. The aircraft, armed with its arsenal of weapons, including advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, precious bombs and sophisticated systems to support weapon delivery, will not only be able to dominate the air in all spectrum of conflict but simultaneously project power to meet the nation’s military objectives.        
     Source:TheHindu