INS Vikrant is Reborn in Atmanirbhar Bharat
The commissioning of India’s first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, by the prime minister, on 2 September, at Chochin Shipyard, marks the dawn of a new era for the Navy. Befittingly, INS Vikrant is named after its predecessor, which had played a key role in the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The old carrier, which was bought from the UK, was decommissioned in the 1990s.
The 45,000-tonne vessel – “a floating airfield and a floating town” – will carry a crew of 1,600 and a fleet of 30 aircraft will operate from it. It was built at a cost of over Rs 20,000 crore.
The carrier was designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Cochin Shipyard. It has over 75 per cent indigenous content, which includes the higher-grade steel used for warships. Some critical technology was imported but the building of the aircraft carrier will give the country the confidence to set bigger targets in defence manufacturing and achieve them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it bore testimony to the government’s ‘atmanirbhar’ programme.
The designing of the ship began in 1999 and its keel was laid in 2009. It was floated out of dry dock in 2011 and launched into the sea in 2013. That it took nine years from then to commissioning now is a cause for worry. It is still not fully operational as a warship. Even berthing facilities are yet to be created in Vizag, which will be its home port.
Vikrant will help project naval power
With Vikrant, India joined the elite group of nations – the US, Russia, France, the UK and China – who are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers. Also, with a displacement of 43,000 tonnes when fully loaded, INS Vikrant is set to be the seventh largest among the carriers or carrier classes in the world.
INS Vikrant, the country’s second aircraft carrier now will, along with INS Vikramaditya, help raise the strength, reach and profile of Indian Navy and project its power far from the country’s shores. It is very relevant and significant when the Chinese navy is increasingly active in the Indo-Pacific region.
INS Vikrant is expected to put India’s naval force, now gifted with a new ensign, on a firm footing in the choppy waters. India’s stature as a responsible naval power is buttressed by its commitment to ensuring a ‘free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific’ and helping out IOR nations under Mission SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
Old INS Vikrant
INS Vikrant, with pennant number R11, was the first-ever aircraft carrier that was operated by the Indian Navy. The ship was officially laid down in 1943, and was being built for the Royal Navy as HMS (Her Majesty’s Ship) Hercules when the constitution was put on hold after World War II ended.
Like many other ships at the time, the under-construction HMS Hercules was put up for sale by the United Kingdom, and was purchased by India in 1957. The construction work was completed and the ship was commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Vikrant in 1961.
The ship operated its aircraft fleet with a catapult assisted system and ski-jump during its service.
Compared to the new INS Vikrant, the old one had less than half its displacement and was over 210 metres in length against 260 metres of the present one.
R11 saw significant action during the 1971 war with Pakistan when it led the Naval blockade of East Pakistan. The ship was decommissioned in 1997 after 36 years of service. Over the next 15 years, it was preserved as a museum ship before being finally sold to be dismantled.
The Name Vikrant
The Sanskrit word Vikrant, which means courageous, finds its origins in various scriptures including the Bhagwad Gita. The sixth shloka in the first chapter of the Gita, while describing the valour of some Generals from the army of Pandavas, uses the adjective ‘Vikrant’.
As far as the origin of the word goes, the ‘Vi’ prefix in the Sanskrit word denotes something that is distinctive or extraordinary, and the ‘krant’ suffix means to move or advance in a direction.
The word Viraat which means magnanimous, can also be found in the same chapter of Gita in a later verse and is the name of the now decommissioned and dismantled British-origin Centaur-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.
Along with the pennant number R11, the newly commissioned INS Vikrant also carries forward the motto of its predecessor – “Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprudhah” – from the Rigveda which means: “I conquer those who fight against me”.
Indigenous design and construction
The first major milestone for IAC – also referred to as Project 71 (P71) – was ceremonial steel cutting in April 2005. Other ceremonial events followed soon.
In any ship’s life there are four key ceremonial occasions – keel laying, launching, commissioning and decommissioning.
Keel laying ceremony originates from the tradition of laying one central timber that forms the backbone of the ship. For modern ships, keel laying is marked by placing the first of the modular components of the ship being placed in the dock. The keel of the IAC-I was laid on February 28, 2009.
The IAC was launched on August 12 in 2013 and by that time, 80% of its structure had been fabricated and all the major machinery including turbines, alternators and gearboxes were installed.
The readiness of IAC’s propulsion and power generation equipment and related systems was tested in harbour as part of basin trials in November 2020.
The sea trials were delayed because of the second COVID-19 wave.
Finally on August 4 last year, the first phase of sea trials kicked off with the IAC sailing on its first open sea voyage from Kochi, and returning four days later.
This was followed by second and third phases of sea trials in October 2021 and January 2022, respectively.
These three phases tested the propulsion machinery, electrical and electronic suites, deck machinery, life-saving appliances, ship’s navigation and communication systems. Fourth and final phase of sea trials for the IAC was completed on July 10 after conducting integrated testing of the majority of the equipment and systems onboard, including some of the Aviation Facilities Complex equipment. The ship was delivered to the Navy on July 28.
The equipment, amenities and apparatus onboard
The INS Vikrant is 262 metres long and 62 metres wide, making its flight deck bigger than two football fields. The aircraft carrier displaces around 4,3000 tonnes when fully loaded, with a maximum designed speed of 28 knots with endurance of 7,500 nautical miles, which is equivalent to around 14,000 km.
The 18-floor high ship has close to 2,400 compartments, designed to house 1,600-strong crew. It also has specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors. The aviation hangar is as big as two Olympic-size pools that can accommodate around 20 aircraft. There is a well-equipped kitchen that can serve a diverse menu. It also has a unit that makes 3,000 rotis per hour.
Its medical complex has a 16-bed hospital along with modular emergency operation theatre, physiotherapy clinic, Intensive Care Unit, pathology set up, radiology wing with a CT scanner and X-Ray machines, a dental complex, isolation ward and telemedicine facilities.
In its fully operational mode, the carrier will have an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of Russian-origin, carrier-capable MiG-29K fighter jets and airborne early warning control helicopter Kamov-31 helicopters, US origin MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to homegrown Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy). Vikrant uses the Short Take Off but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) model with a ski-jump for launching aircraft, and a set of three arrester wires for their recovery onboard.
The path ahead after commissioning
Flight Trials
Flight trials aboard indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant will start in November and the warship is expected to be fully operational along with its air wing by June 2023.
The flight trials will involve the Russian-origin MiG-29K fighter jets that will use the ‘ski-jump’ to takeoff from Vikrant’s deck and will be recovered by arrester wires, known as STOBAR – short takeoff but arrested recovery.
12 MiG-29Ks are likely to be deployed on Vikrant along with a new deck-based fighter that the navy is looking to buy as an interim measure to meet its requirements before the indigenous twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF) is ready. The navy’s existing aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya operates MiG-29K fighters.
India plans to buy 26 new fighters for Vikrant through a government-to-government deal to meet the navy’s requirements, with US firm Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet competing against French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M for the order.
Vikrant, which has an indigenous content of 76%, will operate an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft including the new fighters, MiG-29Ks, Kamov-31 choppers, MH-60R multi-role helicopters and advanced light helicopters.
Boeing, one of the two contenders for an Indian order for deck-based fighter jets, is pitching to equip the navy with its F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft and dovetailed its offer with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) strategy.
The French side stresses that the Rafale-M brings commonality with the Indian Air Force’s 36 Rafale fighters, thus offering advantages related to training, maintenance and logistics support. While the Super Hornet operates from all 11 US Navy aircraft carriers, the Rafale-M is deployed on the French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
Questions have been raised about the serviceability of the MiG-29K fighters (India has imported 45 of these jets from Russia) that the existing aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya operates, and the Russia-Ukraine war has not helped matters.
Like INS Vikramaditya, the fighters on board Vikrant will also use the ski-jump to takeoff and will be recovered by arrester wires or what is known as STOBAR (short takeoff but arrested recovery) in navy parlance.
Comments
In playing this larger role, the Indian Navy is currently stretched due to limited assets. A few years back, it operated from the east coast of Africa to the Malacca Strait. But now, it regularly deploys in distant regions, and frequently operate in the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Hence, the induction of INS Vikrant is significant, to sustain such deployments. It will also increase the combat capability of the Navy, once the carrier air wing is integrated onboard over the next few months.
INS Vikrant will help contribute to India’s long-range deployments. It will enhance deterrence and combat capabilities once its integral air is operational. As the second aircraft carrier, it enhances the Navy’s flexibility, reach and sustainability in maritime operations. It will also enable availability of integral air at sea, when one of the two carriers is undergoing refit or routine maintenance.
Improved naval capabilities also allow stepping up partnerships, exercises and deployments with other friendly countries, which in turn contribute to regional stability. Within the Quad, Japan and Australia largely operate in the Pacific. The acquisition of Vikrant will strengthen the Indian Ocean segment of India’s partnerships. Further, it needs to be noted that India cannot be a net security provider without adequate and suitable naval capabilities.
