INS Vikramaditya to be handed over to Indian Navy in November 2013
It is without doubt the largest warship ever to be operated by the Indian Navy. But if there is a record for the longest time spent by an Indian warship in a shipyard, the INS Vikramaditya would hold that too. After a long a painful process of renegotiations, price escalations and delays, India's new aircraft carrier finally seems to be on its way home.
The refurbished ship — it was originally the Gorshkov, launched in 1982 — is currently undergoing an exhaustive series of trials in the Barents Sea to test its weapon systems, flight operations, propulsion and communications.
If things go well — they did not last year when its steam boilers malfunctioned during what were then considered to be final tests — the warship will be ready for handing over to the Indian Navy on November 15, after which it begins its long journey to India for the formal commissioning. This, nine years after the order was placed in 2004.
Its designers and refurbishing engineers are confident that it will exceed expectations during the trials, with the head of the Sevmash shipyard — where it underwent the refit — going as far to say that it will achieve a top speed of 30 knots, against the required 28.
In a series of exclusive interactions with The Indian Express, Russian shipbuilders and designers who worked on the project for a decade give a detailed picture on what is driving the warship, the problems of the past and what the future holds for the Vikramaditya.
Price fix
After protracted negotiations that went on for several years, India signed a deal for the conversion of the retired Admiral Gorshkov aircraft cruiser into a modern aircraft carrier for the Navy that would be able to operate new-generation MiG 29 K fighters. Signed in the final months of the NDA government, the contract was unique in many ways.
It stipulated not only a redesign of the mothballed ship by removing its massive array of weapons and fitting of a ski jump, but also the designing of a new class of carrier-borne fighter aircraft to operate from it deck. These new fighters were the MiG 29 K — derived from the Air Force version of the aircraft but remodelled to suit naval operations.
Besides, the contract was very lucrative for the Indian side. For $974 million, it was to get a modern aircraft carrier with the latest weapon and defensive systems on board. This at a time when there was no other nation willing enough to sell a ship of this class to India. Russia promised to deliver it by 2008.
As it turned out, the price was deceptive. Now, nine years after the contract, officials in Russia who negotiated it have opened up a bit on how those negotiations were conducted. "The Indian side had been inspecting the ship since 1996 and was very keen on it. The one thing they kept insisting on was price. They wanted the rock-bottom price and they wanted a competition for that," says an official with Rosoboronexport, the prime arms export body of the Russian government.
What ensued was a race for the lowest price to refurbish the carrier. It was a race in which several shipyards of Russia participated, hoping to cash in on the Indian contract. The rule that India applied was L1 — the vendor that bids the lowest wins. However, in a Russia whose economy was then in the doldrums, shipyards were willing to do anything to bag contracts. The original shipyard where the Gorshkov was constructed was not in contention as it is now located in Ukraine, following the USSR breakup.
"The Indian side then was not concerned about the capabilities or expertise of the shipyard to be selected for the work. Price was the only deciding factor," the official said.
The shipyard that quoted the lowest price by far was Sevmash, located in Severodvinsk. A renowned shipyard established in 1937 for the construction of large surface ships, it had one drawback. Since 1953, it had been concentrating mainly on nuclear submarines. Since that year, it has commissioned 129 nuclear submarines for the Russian Navy but not a single surface ship the size of the Gorshkov.
However, by virtue of being L1, Sevmash bagged the contract. Others, such as the St Petersburg-based Admiralty shipyard that had some experience in large surface ships, lost out. "We agree that there was a major fault from our side in estimating the costs," the official says.
The first hint that things were very wrong came in 2007, the year before the ship was to be delivered, with Russia conveying that it could not complete the work on time or within budget. "The contract that was proposed for the modernisation called for a very specific amount of work to be done in Sevmash. But when we did the third inspection of the ship in dry dock and looked at the condition of the superstructure and other things, it became clear to everyone that for this to be up to standards, a large amount of work was required," Michael Budnichenko, general director of Sevmash, told The Indian Express.
His predecessor, who signed the contract and prepared the bid for the Indian order, had retired within months of January 2004, the month when New Delhi formally presented the order. As it became clear that a large amount of work was required, the Russian side conveyed that a massive price escalation was inevitable and that delivery would be delayed by at least four years.
"We replaced 100 per cent of the wiring even though the initial contract had suggested that the old wiring could stay on the ship. This was a massive cost," he says, admitting that work on the ship started in earnest only in 2008, after India made interim payments (see box) to expedite its progress.
"The main cause of the delay was the improper system of the financing of the contract. That's due to the fact that a big mistake was made during the initial negotiations. The contract was signed by the Russian side even with the understating that the price quoted was way too low. That in practice led to a situation when my enterprise was overloaded," he says.
It was after several rounds of negotiations, which lasted two years, that the Indian side agreed on a revised contract with Russia. Cleared in 2010, it put the new price of the ship at $2.34 billion and the new delivery date as December 2012. Things picked up at Semash after this, with the shipyard employing several hundred new workers to expedite work. And it seemed to be going on track for the scheduled delivery, until an unforeseen block emerged in 2012.
Hiccup AT trials
With the money in and all new systems ordered, the ship was ready for sailing and sea trials in 2012. The trials were the most crucial part, the time when the ship is tested to its limits. Be it repetitive landing of aircraft, engaging of enemy assets, going up to the maximum speed or testing the engines to maximum power, the Indian Navy had to be satisfied that all parameters had been met.
The big setback came in the summer of last year when the ship was undergoing high speed trials in the Barents Sea. Inching towards the targeted 28 knots, it had reached 27.8 when warning bells went off. The eight steam boilers that are the main propulsion of the ship started overheating, causing damage to surrounding equipment. The insulation around the boilers, these having been designed to prevent this very overheating, had failed and melted away.
While a bulk of the trials was successful, the ship went back to the yard to repair the damage and find a solution. As it turned out, the fault has been rectified by using asbestos as the insulation. This had been the original material on the boilers but rejected by the Indian Navy as it has banned the use of the material aboard its future warships. However, with the alternative material malfunctioning, asbestos lining has again been used on the boilers.
"There was a mutual fault from both sides. The Indian side insisted on rejecting asbestos on the ship. And it then was replaced by another material by us. The new material was not good enough and failed," Nevskoe design bureau general director Sergey S Vlasov, the chief designer of the refurbished Vikramaditya, told this newspaper.
Other faults in systems — including the air-conditioning plant that is manufactured by York and the reverse osmosis plant provided by an Indian manufacturer to generate water — too were rectified during the winter to get the ship ready for trials in July this year.
The carrier is currently undergoing a series of tests in the White and Barents seas that will include extensive flight testing, high-speed runs and testing of the electronic equipment on board. Budnichenko said several aircraft will be involved in the extensive rounds of testing, including the SU 33 that will act as an "aggressor" , IL 38 that will assist in testing radio and electronic equipment, and the A 50 early warning aircraft.
At present there are 2,500 people aboard, including the Indian Navy crew, as all systems are being tested to the limit.
"There will be a lot of flying and fine-tuning of radio and electronic equipment. Systems that detect the flight of hostile aircraft need to be tested. We will also test the equipment on board the Ka 28 and 31 choppers," the Sevmash director says. "On completion of the acceptance trials, the ship will go back to Sevmash on 15 October. We will then do the final work on furnishing of the ship and restoration of the paint. On November 15, it will leave for its permanent base in India."
On the way
The designers of the ship also assure that no more hiccups are likely and the ship would be ready for delivery on November 15.
"The carrier is scheduled to be delivered on November 15. All concerns regarding the boilers have been resolved and now it will be tested, checked and loaded at sea and will demonstrate its reliability," Vlasov says.
The well-know warship designer has also said that while the planned life of the aircraft carrier is 25 years, the construction quality and design will ensure that it can remain in service for as long as 40 years, as long as refits and maintenance work are done on time. "The Indian contract says that it should serve for at least 20 years. It is a very high-quality ship and I think that given the correct treatment, it can serve for even 40 years. Or own carrier that is of a similar design stayed working for 20 years without any major refit."
However, the Vikramaditya may not be able to operate heavier fighter aircraft that may be procured by India in the future, given the limitations of its design. Asked if the fifth-generation fighter that is currently being developed and has been ordered by India can fly off the carrier, the designer says it would not be possible, given the weight constraints.
On the inevitable question on how the ship compares with the under-development Chinese aircraft carrier that is also based on a Russian design, the designer smiles. "The Vikramaditya has all its weapons and aviation complex complete. As far as I am aware, the Chinese are not ready with this yet," he says.
India is planning a commissioning ceremony for the warship in December when it sails to home shores.
Choppy voyage
January 2004
Deal signed by NDA government to purchase the carrier and complement of MiG 29 K fighters for $974 million
April 2007
Russia says cannot deliver carrier on time, stresses need to increase price as its shipbuilders had underestimated amount of work required to refurbish warship
November 2007
Russia officially conveys the deal will cost $1.2 billion more, taking the total to more than twice the original cost
February 2008
Team headed by defence secretary inspects the Vikramaditya. Russia says price escalation inescapable, cannot complete work before 2012
June 2008
Russia puts additional workers on warship, says work cannot proceed unless more advance payments are made
December 2008
Cabinet committee on security gives MoD approval to renegotiate. By now, India has paid $500 million extra.
March 2010
Cabinet committee clears a $2.34 billion contract for the refit of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier. Signed during Vladimir Putin's visit, it assures that the carrier will be ready for induction in two years. Committee also clears another $1.2 billion deal to procure 29 addition naval fighters to supplement the 16 MiG 29 Ks that will operate from the INS Vikramaditya
July 2012
Vikramaditya heads out for extensive sea trials to test all its systems and carry out flight trials
September 2012
Setback as defects emerge in boilers after insulation system fails. Ship fails to reach top speed, sent back to shipyard.
July 2013
The ship heads out for a final round of sea trials to test all systems. Faults with boiler rectified
Nov 2013
INS Vikramaditya to be handed over to the Indian Navy
