INS Vikrant Aircraft Carrier (IAC)

[abingdonboy]

Mig-29K for two aircraft carriers have been bought already.
Seems INS Vikrant is ready. Trials commence once ship is ready. Acceptance period can be reduced too if ops need arises. It is big news.

No. For 2 carriers the navy needs 5-6 fighter SQNs, they have 2.5 (2+ an OCU)

They would’ve ordered more (remember talks of 90 MIG29Ks?) but they’ve been very unimpressed by the 29K and don’t want anymore of them

I guess they’re just waiting for the NLCA at this point

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

No. For 2 carriers the navy needs 5-6 fighter SQNs, they have 2.5 (2+ an OCU)

They would’ve ordered more (remember talks of 90 MIG29Ks?) but they’ve been very unimpressed by the 29K and don’t want anymore of them

I guess they’re just waiting for the NLCA at this point

Each Carrier carries 18-20 planes for combat & 10-15 helicopters for ASW and surveillance

 

[abingdonboy]

Each Carrier carries 18-20 planes for combat & 10-15 helicopters for ASW and surveillance

Nowhere near that many helos. When they deploy they should have 2 SQNs worth of fighters on board (with some on shore for spare/training) this is how the carriers are designed to operate and what the navy wants

 

[Armand2REP]

Nowhere near that many helos. When they deploy they should have 2 SQNs worth of fighters on board (with some on shore for spare/training) this is how the carriers are designed to operate and what the navy wants

Since it doesn't have AWACs they need a helicopter squadron for AEW.

 

[shuvo@y2k10]

Talks of British offering QE 65k ton design for IAC2 is nothing new. Earlier the Russian were offering their Storm AC design which is 100k ton.

But I think the Navy wants its own design especially with the experience gained from IAC-1 design. It will most likely be 65-70K ton displacement and it will feature CATOBAR and a conventional propulsion system just as iac-1.The design is in final stages and prduction is to commence in about 3 years as per Navy Cheif.

 

[abingdonboy]

Since it doesn't have AWACs they need a helicopter squadron for AEW.

Yes about 3-4 KA-31 operate from them and 2-3 SAR helos (Chetaks). Remember that the carriers operate as part of a battle group so
ASW and such are provided by other assets in the CBG.

 

[abingdonboy]

Talks of British offering QE 65k ton design for IAC2 is nothing new. Earlier the Russian were offering their Storm AC design which is 100k ton.

But I think the Navy wants its own design especially with the experience gained from IAC-1 design. It will most likely be 65-70K ton displacement and it will feature CATOBAR and a conventional propulsion system just as iac-1.The design is in final stages and prduction is to commence in about 3 years as per Navy Cheif.

It’s an unsolicited offer. The navy has been designing IAC-2 for almost a decade now. Why would they want to pay millions for someone else’s design at this point?

IAC-1 was 100% designed by NDB

 

[Armand2REP]

Yes about 3-4 KA-31 operate from them and 2-3 SAR helos (Chetaks). Remember that the carriers operate as part of a battle group so
ASW and such are provided by other assets in the CBG.

The Vikramaditya air group includes INAS 339, a squadron of Ka-31s. Without a long endurance AWACs you need many AEW helicopters to maintain 24hr coverage as the eyes of the fleet. INAS 330 provides ASW with Sea Kings.

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

Nowhere near that many helos. When they deploy they should have 2 SQNs worth of fighters on board (with some on shore for spare/training) this is how the carriers are designed to operate and what the navy wants

The biggest threat for Aircraft Carrier is Submarine and incoming enemy ships and missiles. So, it needs large number of helicopters to do the job of AEWACS & ASW.

INS Vikramaditya has maximun 26 planes and 10 helicopters. Of these the number of helicopters will be close to maximum while number of planes will be 18-20. I would say that 3-4 helicopters for AEWACS and 6-7 for ASW role will be needed to give 24x7 coverage with some spares in case of damage.

 

[Armand2REP]

I would say that 3-4 helicopters for AEWACS and 6-7 for ASW role will be needed to give 24x7 coverage with some spares in case of damage.

You need 3-4 to provide full radar pickets of the fleet, but the Ka-31 only has a 2.5 hour mission time so it will need twice that many to keep it on station as it goes back to refuel. Viki will never carry 26 MiG-29s, the load out is sub 20 to make room for more helicopters which are vital for fleet defence. It is not like CdG that only needs two E-2Ds that can fly 12 hour missions and actually a full 24hrs with refueling if need be thanks to Rafale buddy tanker ability. You can expect Viki to carry 6 Ka-31, 6 Sea King and 2-3 SAR.

 

[binayak95]

You need 3-4 to provide full radar pickets of the fleet, but the Ka-31 only has a 2.5 hour mission time so it will need twice that many to keep it on station as it goes back to refuel. Viki will never carry 26 MiG-29s, the load out is sub 20 to make room for more helicopters which are vital for fleet defence. It is not like CdG that only needs two E-2Ds that can fly 12 hour missions and actually a full 24hrs with refueling if need be thanks to Rafale buddy tanker ability. You can expect Viki to carry 6 Ka-31, 6 Sea King and 2-3 SAR.

Yes. Operationally, I would expect 15-20 MiG29Ks on either ship at the same time. If one of the ship is nonops (refit/repair/etc) then number would swell to no more than 36.

The remainder of the airgroup - Seakings, KA31s, soon to be MH60Rs.

 

[rone]

Yes. Operationally, I would expect 15-20 MiG29Ks on either ship at the same time. If one of the ship is nonops (refit/repair/etc) then number would swell to no more than 36.

The remainder of the airgroup - Seakings, KA31s, soon to be MH60Rs.

ins virat will have MIg29kub it will be in numbers new rafels and fa18 will be for ins vishal class

 

[scatterStorm]

Yes. Operationally, I would expect 15-20 MiG29Ks on either ship at the same time. If one of the ship is nonops (refit/repair/etc) then number would swell to no more than 36.

The remainder of the airgroup - Seakings, KA31s, soon to be MH60Rs.

IMHO the new carrier should deserve F18-Super Hornets. Operating two different types of jet will allow us to assess them both. Then we can order more once we know which aircraft suits better, unitl we inject N-Tejas as support aircrafts and later upgrading to take over F18s.

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

IMHO the new carrier should deserve F18-Super Hornets. Operating two different types of jet will allow us to assess them both. Then we can order more once we know which aircraft suits better, unitl we inject N-Tejas as support aircrafts and later upgrading to take over F18s.

This has been discussed many times. F18 is rejected outright due to simple fact that it can't take off from 200m runway. No question of considering planes which can't even take off

 

[Snowcat]

This has been discussed many times. F18 is rejected outright due to simple fact that it can't take off from 200m runway. No question of considering planes which can't even take off

Well Boeing did say that super hornets are compatible with Indian ski jump carriers with a significant load. I think IN really need to give them or rafale M a chance. INS Vikrant seems like a great platform to test them and make for an efficient transition to INS Vishal in the future .

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

Well Boeing did say that super hornets are compatible with Indian ski jump carriers with a significant load. I think IN really need to give them or rafale M a chance. INS Vikrant seems like a great platform to test them and make for an efficient transition to INS Vishal in the future .

It was said that F18 can be modified to fly from 200m runway but such a model is not ready. Unless you want India to fund $10 billion for modifications of F18 and wait for 6-7 years, there ia no question of discussing F18 on Vikrant

 

[scatterStorm]

This has been discussed many times. F18 is rejected outright due to simple fact that it can't take off from 200m runway. No question of considering planes which can't even take off

I had my fair doubts with the short runway. What about the third AC in pipeline?

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

I had my fair doubts with the short runway. What about the third AC in pipeline?

That will be 2026-27 for completion and commissioning in 2028. By that time Naval MWF (Tejas MK2) will be ready. No point buying planes 9 years ahead now

 

[garg_bharat]

I had my fair doubts with the short runway. What about the third AC in pipeline?

There is news that America has approved sale of EMALS system for Indian carrier. If this is true, next Indian carrier will be flat-top.

 

[Aaj ka hero]

There is news that America has approved sale of EMALS system for Indian carrier. If this is true, next Indian carrier will be flat-top.

Cost is the problem,what I know it was approved way back in the early 2010s.