Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

Jeff Head said:

IMHO, the race is on to see whether China or India complete their airwings and their training forst to make theior former Russian aircraft carriers operational with the aircraft they were intended to carry. I believe it is going to be a close race in that regard.

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asif iqbal said:

well no because when the boiler issue was first reported it was said it would cause a 6 month delay

but you know what the funny thing is, there was a time when it was clear cut, 2008 or 2009 and India was sure to get its carrier out and sailing while Liaoning was in port nowhere near complete, who would have thought that China will almost trump India in the carrier procurrment even just a few years ago, now its neck and neck, actually start of last year people were saying Liaoning is 5 years behind Vikramaditya, ahem the difference 2 years makes

as far as im concerned i will believe it when i see the carrier commissioned in the Indian Navy, who knows what else will break down this year to delay the carrier even further this is a ongoing saga, the original date for INS Vikramaditya was August 2008!!!!

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Jeff Head said:

Even with the bricks for the boiler, the Virkam conducted very successful trials...getting up to good speed, 28 knots or so for extended periods, but not able to reach or maintain their 30+ flank speed.

But they did a lot of landing and take-off trials with the Mig-29Ks, even with loadouts.


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asif iqbal said:

but true said about Mig-29K, they were delivered are serving from Goa under going lots and lots of tests, all 16 of them, the one good thing about the delay is that as soon as the carrier is commissioned its air wing will have been flying for a few years which will give them a advantage in terms of operational requirments

on the other hand the air wing for the Laioning is not as advanced in its development, so yes carriers maybe close but the respective air wing theres a bigger gap, J-15 regiment isnt in full swing yet whereas Mig-29K is is further down the line

with that in mind makes you think maybe China should have delivered a full J-15 Regiment a few years ago prior to Laioning sailing this way they would have speeded up the integration process,

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Jeff Head said:

In the case of the Liaoning, the fomrer Varyag and sister ship to the Kuznetsov, I believe the Liaoning will ultimately, once it is completely operational with two full squadrons of J-15s, be a better and more capable aircraft carrier than the Kuznetsov.

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asif iqbal said:

yeah i mean in terms of overall capabilitys in weapons and electronics for sure Liaoning is far better off, and eventaully in overall effectiveness and efficiency they probably will be better off too if the initial deck opps is anything to go by

i dont even think Kuz has a full air wing, did it not have something like 11 Su-33 only operational? but its going in for a long overhaul and refit and will come back out in 5 years time so we will see how capable it will be, then it will also have the Mig-29K too , but by then we will have newer more capable indigenous Chinese carriers on thier way, either way the Pacific and Indian Ocean for that matter will have carrier of many nations operating

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Jeff Head said:

Amen to that.

It will be interesting to see what the Russians end up with after a five year refit. I mean think of it...that's long enough to build a completely new carrier and they are investing that money in a carrier that is over 25 years old. Longest mid-life update I've heard of...but I am sure they have it all planned out.

They will have a larger airwing...and potentially more diverse too by that time.

And yes, with 3 American carriers, 1-2 Chinese carriers, 2 Japanese 22DDH carriers, and by that time 2 Indian carriers, the 2 Canberra Australian carriers. the Kuznetrsov at that time possibly making a foray into the Pacific..and if you include the Korean Dokdo and the Thai carrier...that makes for 14 carriers regularly present. And if you include the Dokdo, you probably ought to include the 2 Japanese Hyugas, and at least 2 US LHDs or LHAs, so in reality, 18 carriers out in the Pacific and Indian Ocean at any one time.

That's a large number.

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No plan to pay the ship off for now, says Capt. Biswajit Dasgupta

The Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat, staging trials following a four-month refit at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at present, will remain in service for a few more years, affirms Captain Biswajit Dasgupta, who took over command of the flagship of the Navy in December last.

“There’s no plan to pay the ship off at the moment. It will have life left for a few more years,” Capt. Dasgupta told the media aboard the vessel, docked outside the shipyard, on Saturday.

Hardly 100 metres away, in the yard’s building bay, construction was apace on the country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), which will be named INS Vikrant on commissioning.

TWO-PHASE REFIT

Capt. Dasgupta said the ship’s current round of refit was undertaken in two phases. With the first nearly over, it would sail to Mumbai “maybe a couple of weeks from now for some essential repairs of its machinery and equipment at the Naval Dockyard, a specialised organisation,” before returning to active service by the middle of the year.

“Ever since its service with the Indian Navy, its dry-docking [11 in all] has been done here [at the CSL] essentially for hull and machinery work and minor jobs. [The] CSL is a capable shipyard. And, certain things are common to both merchant vessels and naval ships,” he said.

India acquired the British commando carrier HMS Hermes in 1987, renamed it INS Viraat and placed it under the Western Naval Command in Mumbai.

The steam-propelled ship, displacing 28,000 tonnes, would have its propulsion, sensors and armament done up at the Naval Dockyard, said Capt. Dasgupta.

SEA HARRIERS

On the vintage Sea Harrier jump jets forming the air complement of the carrier, he said the service of the aircraft, which had undergone limited upgrade a few years ago, was being utilised optimally. “Yes, it is true that the Harriers are ageing, but we’ve operated with foreign navies and the jets have done well.”

While the Viraat remained in refit, the Harriers continued to operate from naval air station INS Hansa in Goa. “We get them on board when we sail into the sea.”

On aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, which India is buying from Russia, he said there had been some delay in inducting the platform “which would hopefully join us in a year.”

The Navy’s original plan of retiring the Viraat and the old Sea Harrier fighters suffered a jolt as timelines slipped inordinately on the price negotiations and refurbishment of INS Vikramaditya. As the 44,500-tonne carrier looked ready for induction in June last, a boiler accident threw the induction schedule off-gear all over again.

The Navy is pinning its hopes on inducting the platform before the end of the year.View attachment 7641

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