INS Vikramaditya
INS Vikramaditya is the newest and largest ship to
join Indian Navy on 16 Nov 2013. The ship was commissioned on 16 Nov 13 by
Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in Russia.
Background
At
the time of attaining our Independence our visionary leaders saw the centrality
of a powerful Navy and set us on the right course by envisaging an Indian Navy
centred on aircraft carriers for sea control in our expansive areas of maritime
interest. INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier was acquired from Great
Britain and commissioned on 04 Mar 1961. INS Vikrant was a Majestic class
CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off but Arrested Recovery) carrier and operated
Sea Hawk fighters, Alize (Anti-Submarine Warfare) aircraft and Seaking
helicopters. Consistent with its vision, India next acquired HMS Hermes, a
Centaur class STOVL carrier and a veteran of the Falkland War. INS Viraat was
commissioned on 12 May 1987 as India’s second aircraft carrier and India’s
first STOVL carrier operating the Sea Harrier aircraft. Soon after the
acquisition of INS Viraat, INS Vikrant was also converted from a CATOBAR
carrier to a STOVL (Short Take-off and Vertical Landing) carrier. INS Vikrant
was decommissioned on 31 Jan 1997, after 36 years of glorious service under the
Indian ensign. For almost a decade India had two aircraft carriers and the
Indian Navy was fully cognisant of the criticality of having an aircraft
carrier available for deployment on each seaboard to fulfil the Navy’s assigned
tasks. In recognition of the importance of aircraft carriers, the Indian Navy had
already started exploring the possibility of indigenously designing and
constructing an Aircraft Carrier, this project took off in right earnest in the
late 90s as the Air Defence Ship was conceived. However, given the long
gestation period of such projects, the search for a replacement for INS Vikrant
gained momentum as its decommissioning drew closer.
It
was at this juncture that Russia offered Admiral Gorshkov to the Indian Navy.
Negotiations over acquiring the 44,500 ton Admiral Gorshkov started in 1994.
Various high level delegations who had assessed the ship had independently
concluded that the ship’s hull was in good material state and would be worth
considering for exploitation in the Indian Navy with a suitable mix of
aircraft.
The New
Avtar ‘Vikramaditya’
An
aircraft carrier carrying potent long range multi-role fighters is a platform
inherently deigned for power projection. In as much as ‘Gorshkov’ was
transformed to create ‘Vikramaditya’, so also Vikramaditya will transform the
face of the Fleet Air Arm of the Indian Navy.
STOBAR
Carrier
Displacement
: 44,500 T
Length
OA : 284 m
Maximum
Beam : 60 m
Speed
: over 30 kts
04
propellers
powered
by 08 Boilers,
Aircraft
component : MiG 29K, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Seaking, ALH, Chetak
Vikramaditya,
the floating airfield has an overall length of about 284 meters and a maximum
beam of about 60 meters, stretching as much as three football fields put
together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from keel to the highest point, the
sheer sight of this 44,500 tonnes mega structure of steel is awe inspiring. The
ship has a total of 22 decks.
With
over 1,600 personnel on board, Vikramaditya is literally a ‘Floating City’.
Associated with this large population is a mammoth logistics requirement - nearly
a lakh of eggs, 20,000 litres of milk and 16 tonnes of rice per month. With her
complete stock of provisions, she is capable of sustaining herself at sea for a
period of about 45 days. With a capacity of over 8,000 tonnes of LSHSD, she is
capable of operations up to a range of over 7,000 nautical miles or 13000 kms.
To enable this 44,500 tonnes floating steel city to
cut through the choppy seas with speeds of up to 30 knots, she is powered by 08
new generation boilers of steam capacity of 100 TPH at a very high pressure of
64 bars, generating a total output power of 180,000 SHP. Vikramaditya heralds
in a new generation of boiler technology with a very high level of automation.
These high pressure and highly efficient boilers power four enormous propellers,
each greater in diameter than twice the height of an average male. Such a four
propeller - four shaft configuration is another first in the Indian Navy.
The
06 turbo alternators and 06 diesel alternators onboard generate a total
electricity of 18 megawatts to power various equipment of the ship, enough to
cater to the lighting requirement of a mini city. The ship also houses 02
Reverse Osmosis plants providing an uninterrupted supply of 400 Tons per day of
fresh water.
An
extensive revamp of sensors including fitment of Long range Air Surveillance
Radars, Advanced Electronic Warfare Suite makes the ship capable of maintaining
a surveillance bubble of over 500 kms around the ship.
The
ship has the ability to carry over 30 aircraft comprising an assortment of MiG
29K/Sea Harrier, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak
helicopters. The MiG 29K swing role fighter is the main offensive platform and
provides a quantum jump for the Indian Navy’s maritime strike capability. These
fourth generation air superiority fighters provide a significant fillip for the
Indian Navy with a range of over 700 nm (extendable to over 1,900 nm with
inflight refueling) and an array of weapons including anti-ship missiles,
Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles, guided bombs and rockets.
Expansive Flight Deck during night
The
ship is equipped with state of the art launch and recovery systems along with
aids to enable smooth and efficient operation of ship borne aircraft. Major
systems include the LUNA Landing system for MiGs, DAPS Landing system for Sea
Harriers and Flight deck lighting systems.
The
heart of the operational network that infuses life into the combat systems
onboard the ship is the Computer aided Action Information Organisation (CAIO)
system, LESORUB-E. LESORUB has the capability to gather data from ship’s sensors
and data links and to process, collate and assemble comprehensive tactical
pictures. This state of the art system has been specifically designed keeping
in mind the essential requirement on the carrier for fighter control and
direction.
One
of the most prominent equipment fitted on the super structure is the Resistor-E
radar complex. Resistor-E is the automated system designed for providing air
traffic control, approach/landing and short range navigation for ship borne
aircraft. This complex along with its various sub-systems provides navigation
and flight data to ship borne aircraft operating at extended ranges from the
mother ship. The precision approach guidance system aids the fighters on
approach to be directed down to a distance of 30 meters short of flight deck.
Vikramaditya also boasts of a very modern communication complex, CCS MK II, to
meet her external communication requirement. Installation of Link II tactical
data system allows her to be fully integrated with the Indian Navy’s network
centric operations.
In Baltic Sea
Once integrated, INS Vikramaditya will bring transformational capabilities to the Indian Navy and will be a ‘game changer’.
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