INS Vishal
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History
India
Name: INS
Vishal
Commissioned: 2030 (Expected)
[1]
Status: Planned (design phase)
General characteristics
Class and type:
Vikrant-class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 65,000 tonnes
[2][3]
Propulsion:
Integrated electric propulsionSystem(IEPS)
[4][5]
Aircraft carried: 50–55 fixed- and rotary-wing (planned)
[6][7]
INS Vishal (
Sanskrit:
Vishal "giant"
[8]) (IAC-II) is the follow-on class of aircraft carrier currently in its design phase, which will be built by
Cochin Shipyard Limited for the
Indian Navy. It is intended to be the first
supercarrier to be built in India. The proposed design of the second carrier-class will be a new design, featuring significant changes from
INS Vikrant (IAC-I), including an increase in displacement an
EMALS CATOBAR system is also under consideration, and could be used to launch heavier aircraft.
[9][10][11]
Design and development[edit]
In April 2011, Admiral
Nirmal Kumar Verma stated that construction of the second carrier was some years away as there were a number of higher spending priorities for the navy.
[12] The design stage of IAC-II began in 2012, and was undertaken by the navy’s Naval Design Bureau. The navy decided not to seek outside help in preparing the design concept and implementation plans, but might seek help from the Russian Design Bureau later to integrate Russian aircraft into
Vishal. IAC-II is proposed to be a flat-top carrier with a displacement of 65,000 tonnes and might have a
CATOBAR system, unlike the
STOBAR system on IAC-I.
[3][13][14][15] On 13 May 2015, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) allotted Rs.30 crore for initial construction planning process of INS
Vishal.
[16][17]
Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dhowan said: “All options are open for the second indigenous aircraft carrier. Nothing has been ruled out. It could be nuclear powered.”
[9] Indian Government signed an agreement with United States to form a Carrier Working group to identify areas of collaboration and they first met in August 2015.
[18] Initially the carrier was planned to have a nuclear propulsion system but later decided change to Integrated Electric Propulsion System (IEPS) due to the complexities involved in developing a nuclear reactor of 500–550 Megawatts capacity will take 15–20 years.
[10][11]
The Indian Navy has reached out to four international defence companies for suggestions with the design of Vishal. The letters of request (LoR) were sent to British firm
BAE Systems, French firm
DCNS, American firm
Lockheed Martin and Russian firm
Rosoboronexport on July 15, 2015, according to a report in Jane’s Navy International.
[19] The letter asks the companies to “provide technical and costing proposals” for the IAC-II program.
[19]
The Indian Navy evaluated the
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which is being used by the
US Navy in their latest
Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.
General Atomics, the developer of the EMALS, was cleared by the US government to give a technical demonstration to Indian Navy officers, who were impressed by the new capabilities of the system. The EMALS enables launching varied aircraft including
unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV). The carrier was initially expected to enter service by the 2020s but latest reports (as of November 2016) suggests that it will enter service only by 2030 due to the technical challenges involved in assimilating and integrating several advanced technologies for the first time in an Indian carrier.
[8][20][21][22] After the renewal of DTTI between India and the United States, it is possible that the EMALS could be produced in India with the assistance from General Atomics.
[23] As of October 2017, The Trump administration has decided to give assistance to India by releasing the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier INS Vishal, this decision came just ahead of US secretary of state
Rex Tillerson's visit to India on 24 October 2017.
[24]
Carrier air group[edit]
The decision regarding the carrier air battle group still remains unclear because of the lack any official comment regarding the subject but most experts speculate that it may consist of naval variant of
Tejas Mk II as well as future 5th generation fighter jets like
HAL AMCA and
UCAVs like the
DRDO AURA that the Indian Navy may choose to develop. In December 2016, the navy announced that the
HAL Tejas is overweight for carrier operations, and alternatives will be explored.
[25][26] In January 2017, an international offer was made for interest in a new
carrier borne aircraft.
Naval planners believe that, with INS
Vishal likely to enter service in the early 2030s, they should plan on operating UCAVs from that carrier, as well as an AEW aircraft, and medium and light fighters. According to a naval planner, it "could greatly expand our mission envelope with UCAVs, using the pilot-less aircraft for high-risk reconnaissance and SEAD (
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses). Mid-air refueling would let us keep UCAVs on mission for 24–36 hours continuously, since pilot fatigue would not be a factor."
[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INS_Vishal