INS Viraat heads for 5-month long refit, setback for Navy plans It looks as if India's plan to have three carrier battle groups, centred around INS Viraat, INS Vikramaditya and an indigenously built aircraft carrier in Cochin shipyard, has suffered a huge setback, reports RS Chauhan The Indian Navy will be without an operational aircraft carrier for over four months between November and March 2013 as the lone and ageing INS Viraat heads for a longer refit to Cochin very soon, top sources in the naval headquarters say. The naval HQ has told the defence ministry that the delay in delivery of INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) from Russia has made it imperative for the Navy to prolong the lifespan of India's lone aircraft carrier, INS Viraat. INS Viraat, formerly HMS Hermes, a British ship, is over half a century old and has undergone several upgrades and life extensions, as India has been unable to either build its own carrier or get the Russians to deliver one for the past eight years. With the latest schedule for a longer refit to be carried out at the Cochin Shipyard, INS Viraat will be out of action till late March-early April, the sources said. Meanwhile, India is likely to seek clarity from Russia about the revised delivery schedule of INS Vikramaditya this week since media reports have been contradictory. The Hindu newspaper, reporting from Moscow, said the sea trials were not a failure as initially reported. Its Moscow reporter said: 'The controversial sea trials of the INS Vikramaditya in Russia, initially described as an embarrassing failure, appear to have actually been a success, while propulsion problems developed by the aircraft carrier are not nearly as serious as reported in the media.' 'After the ship returned to the Sevmash shipyard a week ago, the Indian Navy's overseeing team, who closely monitored the sea trials, came to the conclusion that the ship had overall done extremely well and the programme of tests had been largely fulfilled. 'The results of the trials were analysed and the remaining work was detailed in a protocol signed by Vice Admiral Nadella Niranjan Kumar, controller, warship production and acquisition (CWPA). 'The main conclusion from the trials is that the INS Vikramaditya has stood the test as a full-fledged highly capable aircraft carrier converted from the former hybrid missile-cum-aviation cruiser Admiral Gorshkov. The ship displayed excellent seaworthiness and manoeuvrability and performed flawlessly during aircraft takeoff and landing. Its sophisticated radio-electronic, navigation and other systems demonstrated high efficiency and reliability,' the newspaper reported. The Times of India, on the other hand, said: 'The delivery of the already much-delayed Vikramaditya was to take place on December 9 as per the re-revised timeline, but crippling engine-boiler malfunctions during the carrier's recent sea trials have put paid to the plan... and now, it's certain the 44,570-ton Vikramaditya will not be ready for induction anytime before end-2013 at the earliest.' Against this backdrop, it looks as if India's plan to have three carrier battle groups, centred around INS Viraat, INS Vikramaditya and an indigenously built aircraft carrier in Cochin shipyard, has suffered a huge setback following these developments.
No UK decommission its carrier and also sold, we are talking it for refit.. 5 months is small time for a refit..
used ship, it appears is just like used car, it needs repare more or less, it is better that problem is identified now, then after it was delivered to us, then it would have caused more delay, ship would have been return to Russia and whole exercise fo boilder would have carried out. Lets not rush into induction as China did in hurry, look at ths with Russia and all its experience in making and operating AC is taking time, same was case with France they didnt gor their nuke power AC right in first attmpt.
It is however....the work should be completed on time...that is a big IF......whenever a ship goes for a refit and you repair a particular item you either don't find the right spares or you find another problem...the same is true for any machinery.....however I do hope that the Cochin Shipyard delivers the ship on time...
There were talks of sending GRSE engineers to assist the workman shortage Russia is facing in fixing the Vikramaditya. Wonder if the government is really upto it, it would be a ray of hope. Otherwise we might end up seeing Vikramaditya and Vikrant II both coming in together.
Why the GRSE engineers and not the Cochin Shipyard guys, personally i feel that the Cochin Shipyard guys would have a better knowledge of an aircraft carrier as they themselves are building one and hence would be of more help rather than GRSE.
It doesn't really matter if Viraat is brought back or not. Her combat capability is based on her air-wing which is in a sore state of disrepair. There are only a handful of operational Sea Harriers and no means to sustain them except cannibalisation. It is an exercise of flag waving and if I may say so, a waste of money. It serves no purpose for combat and no advantage in training VTOL pilots who need to switch to conventional aircraft. Keeping this 60 year old rust bucket operational is several times more expensive than newer ships, where is Gorshkov?
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