INS Vikrant Aircraft Carrier (IAC)

Rajaraja Chola

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Should invest in a base in Mauritius, Reunion rather than aircrafts carriers. We can base 3-4 squadron plus coastal battery and anti ship missiles there. We don't definitely need 5-6 carriers. The govt is right now concentrating on Nuke Ballistic and Attack subs. So AC are not going to get funding anytime soon.
 

Haldilal

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Should invest in a base in Mauritius, Reunion rather than aircrafts carriers. We can base 3-4 squadron plus coastal battery and anti ship missiles there. We don't definitely need 5-6 carriers. The govt is right now concentrating on Nuke Ballistic and Attack subs. So AC are not going to get funding anytime soon.
As per some report a secret base already exist. But that's all it's a rumors but who knows.
 

Rajaraja Chola

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As per some report a secret base already exist. But that's all it's a rumors but who knows.
Today's time no one could hide an base from sight. Definitely not India. Too many loud mouths and our parliamentary oversight is kinda strict.

Even our so called secret base in Turkmenistan turned out to be a hospital for Afghan Northern Alliance and we never had any air assets except some rare heli sightings. Most we may have is some arrangements with the French in Reunion. Nothing much. We don't have enough fighters even to defend Indian mainland.
 

silentlurker

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‘Aircraft Carrier Trials To Begin Soon’
Despite pandemic, Cochin Shipyard has returned to 75% capacity: CMD

October marks a watershed month for Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL), a Mini Ratna PSU, as India’s maiden indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-I) being built by the company is starting basin trials in preparation for the sea trials and subsequent induction into the Navy.

The shipyard has plans to augment shipbuilding and repair capabilities and to foray into emerging segments such as urban mobility, CMD Madhu S. Nair said in an interview. Excerpts:

What is the status on the aircraft carrier?

Basin trials of the carrier [that displaces 40,000 tons] are set to begin this month. This is when its propellers are being turned for the first time using the vessel’s own power. In fact, along with this is the activation of a gamut of allied systems and controls.

For a ship of its size and complexity, it’ll be a major milestone that also signals that the sea trials are not far away. But that depends on a number of factors including the opening up of international travel as commissioning engineers are to arrive from various overseas locations.

How has the firm fared during the pandemic?

Working in two shifts since April, we have been able to return to about 75% of capacity. We have orders worth ₹14,000 crore. Last year, we bagged an order from the Jindal group for four mini bulk carriers and another from the Union Home Ministry for nine floating border outposts for the BSF. Then the pandemic struck, but we were able to get this order for autonomous vessels from Norway.

From a value point of view, it’s just about ₹125 crore, but this contract, signed amidst the pandemic in July, is significant for us because of its technology and because it offers us a strong learning curve. We think there’s a market in India for boats and vessels that aren’t very large but where technology will stand out.

With appropriate partnerships, we can build for the world too. This autonomous vessel, for instance, was developed by Kongsberg Maritime in Norway. It has a 1,800 KWh battery system and it is not easy to integrate and prove such systems in a marine environment. We are already building hybrid electric ferries for the Kochi Water Metro.

Have your off-campus ventures begun to look up?

The ship repair facility in Mumbai, in the dock leased from the port trust, had done well last year doing business worth ₹55 crore. We were bolstering the infrastructure when the pandemic hit the city hard, which hit our work too. It’s just a matter of time before it gets into a stable phase, though.

In Kolkata, unlike Mumbai, there was no developed ship repair ecosystem. But it was better than what we expected. We are handling the fifth project there now, a dredger of the DCI. In Port Blair, there are people on ground, but the COVID-19 situation remains bad which will further delay the maiden project by a few months.

These apart, we have taken over Tebma Shipyard in Karnataka and are going to build some fishing vessels there. We want to begin operations in January, 2021, and are in the process of recruiting hands. The Hooghly Cochin Shipyard in Kolkata where we intend to build inland vessels should be ready for commissioning by the end of this year or early next.

What does the shipyard’s strategic plan for 2030 comprise ?

It’s an ongoing evolutionary vision plan called CRUISE 2030 prepared in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group. It’s multi-pronged and is intended to strengthen our core areas of shipbuilding and repair and to venture into adjacencies and emerging spheres targeting manifold growth. Construction of smaller, hi-tech platforms to contribute to sustainable, modern urban mobility, to cite an instance. And the orders are in large numbers.

Also part of the long-term strategy are systems to improve internal efficiencies, to unlock value. It’s some time since we have introduced full digital movement of files.

Now we are creating a digital centre of excellence in which various things are looked at: maybe a chat bot to assist, a handheld app to guide contractors and people’s entry into the shipyard etc.

Sensor-based tracking of material movement, digital access control and the like are all being looked at. The processes are being digitally realigned. Concurrently, we have just replaced a 25-year-old life cycle management platform, a benchmark then, with a new manufacturing excellence system developed by Dassault Systems, which will also interlink all processes.

As part of your infrastructure expansion, there’s this large dry dock being built in Kochi and an international ship repair facility (ISRF) on land owned by the Cochin Port Trust. Are these projects on schedule?

Both were moving fast. We had a predominantly migrant labour force and the pandemic slowed down the work, as social distancing protocols and the ban on working at night kicked in. But we are hopeful of completing the ISRF by the end of 2021 and the dry dock in the latter part of 2022.
Any pics of Basin Trials? (what does that mean? ship moving around in port?)
 

WolfPack86

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Sea Trials of India's First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant Set To Begin In Jan 2021
The Indian Navy is set to begin sea trials of its new aircraft carrier named after the erstwhile INS Vikrant which was decommissioned in January 1997. The new INS Vikrant which is yet to be commissioned will be India's first-ever Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) which is expected to begin sea trials in January 2021 along the coast of Karwar or Visakhapatnam as these two places are the only ones with facilities to accommodate it. The aircraft carrier is being constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Kerala.

"Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah"

Earlier news reports quoting sources claimed that the sea trials of IAC-1 Vikrant are to begin from December 2020. PRO Defence informed Republic Media Network that the Harbour trials of the ship are yet to finish as it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRO further informed that the sea trials are expected to begin in January 2021 provided things go as planned.

The Vikrant was initially supposed to be completed in 2010 and commissioned in 2016 but was later postponed multiple times due to several reasons ranging from construction delays to sea trial and warship trial delays to COVID-19 outbreak. In 2016 the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) published a project plan from 2014 from the Cochin Shipyard Limited which suggested that the completion was expected in 2023 but the Indian Navy had hopes of early delivery and planned to partially commission the ship before the expected date. In 2019, the Indian Navy had announced that IAC Vikrant would be fully operational by the end of 2022. While the media reports have suggested that the IAC-1 Vikrant is to be commissioned towards the end of 2021, no confirmation of the same was provided by the PRO.

More On IAC-1 Vikrant

The namesake Indigenous Aircraft Carrier will be commissioned under the same name and motto of INS Vikrant which is taken from Rigveda. The motto is 'Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah' which roughly translates to 'I defeat those who dare fight against me' while the name 'Vikrant' means 'Courageous'. IAC-1 Vikrant has a capacity to carry a total of 40 aircraft and is expected to carry MiG-29K fighter jets. The ship is also expected to carry Kamov Ka-31 or Westland Sea King helicopter.

The work on the design of the ship began in 1999 but the formal recognition of the commencement of the construction of Vikrant was laid down in February 2009. The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier was floated out of the dry dock for the first time in December 2011 and launched in August 2013. IAC-1 Vikrant is 262 metres long and 62 meters wide and displaces about 40,000 metric tons. The deck is designed with all facilities required to enable a combat aircraft like MiG-29K.

The ship has a combat management system which was developed by Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division in partnership with Weapon and Electronics System Engineering Establishment and MARS, Russia. This Combat Management System is the first one to be developed by a private company and was handed to the Indian Navy in March 2019. IAC Vikrant is expected to have about 160 Indian Navy officers and 1,400 sailors onboard after being commissioned.
 

silentlurker

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Will possible second wave of infections further push back Vikrant sea trials? How likely is January trials in your opinions?
 

FalconSlayers

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Bro your Aircraft Carrier is CATOBAR while our is STOBAR. Hence I don’t think Navy will go for Rafales and may end up buying more MiG-29s.
 

BON PLAN

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Bro your Aircraft Carrier is CATOBAR while our is STOBAR. Hence I don’t think Navy will go for Rafales and may end up buying more MiG-29s.
SH18 was tested this summer on ski jump.
Dassault say for long time that Rafale can be used on ski jump. Trials made? I don't know.
So Mig29K (and SU33KUB) is not the sole solution.
 

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