Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
I believe she will be good to go this time around.Yet another test...
Hope nothing breaks !
Last time there was a deficiency in the propulsion "bricks" which was a result of faulty material supplied in the building/construction process which has been corrected now.
Outside of that, last time they worked her up pretty good and everything checked out pretty well. I expect this time will be the same and that they will exercise her propulsion up to flank speed, etc. to check her out.
Then, this fall, off to India she goes. I expect next year we will see Indian Mig-29Ks exercising on her, qualifying the Indian pilots for carrier operations similar to what we are seeing with the PLAN and the Liaoning now. One difference is that the Indians will have more aircraft available which are already in service.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
She will be a very decent carrier for the Indian Navy. Just like the Lioning she basically got a second lease in life. As far as carrier operation she will be lacking compared to the Lioaning because unlike the Kunetzov class, the Kiev was never fully designed to be a true carrier. Even with massive retrofitting the basic frame and shape cannot be altered too much like the island superstructure you spoke about.
The hanger space is also much smaller but we'll see how much the Indians (really Russians) have gutted and redone the insides of her as well. There is do doubt they would've had to increase the internal storage of aviation fuel ( I hope anyway) because the MiG-29s are a lot more thristy than the YAK-38s and certainly the KA-25s especially since there will be more of them.
As much as she is a good ship now, she is also an example of what NOT to do. For the amount of $$$ India had spent on her they would've gotten a much better and brand new ship however that is more to do with corruption and bad management than anything.
Either way she is sailing now, she looks really good and hopefully she will serve the Indian Navy with pride for the years to come. Once the Mig-29Ks are on board she will be a very capable carrier and a serious force to be reckon with. I'll be interested to see what her escorts are made of.
The hanger space is also much smaller but we'll see how much the Indians (really Russians) have gutted and redone the insides of her as well. There is do doubt they would've had to increase the internal storage of aviation fuel ( I hope anyway) because the MiG-29s are a lot more thristy than the YAK-38s and certainly the KA-25s especially since there will be more of them.
As much as she is a good ship now, she is also an example of what NOT to do. For the amount of $$$ India had spent on her they would've gotten a much better and brand new ship however that is more to do with corruption and bad management than anything.
Either way she is sailing now, she looks really good and hopefully she will serve the Indian Navy with pride for the years to come. Once the Mig-29Ks are on board she will be a very capable carrier and a serious force to be reckon with. I'll be interested to see what her escorts are made of.
Last edited:
Well, like so many other carrier projects, this is another one we have watched for a number of years here on SD, back to the time when it was first announced that the conversion would be made.
Now it is happening. She is sailing, the upgrades and fixes have all been made, and if correctly done, in a few months she will begin sailing down to India.
With the Virkamaditya now sailing, the Canberra nearing completion, the 22DDH nearing completion, the Ford nearing completion and the QE nearing completion...this has been a pretty exciting and significant year for carrier development around the world.
And each one of these has another one which will follow it in a few years. Not to mention the Liaoning of course and then the follow on, first indigenous PLAN carrier when it starts building.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
Talking about exiting times in carriers, don't forget the the Brazilian Navy as I see them becoming an even bigger player in aircraft carriers. They are already operating the former Foch and before that the Minas Gerais, it is almost a certainty that they will be replacing the Foch with a brand new CV in the early to mid 2020's which in carrier timeline is soon.
They have been sending out RFPs to a few naval shipyards around the world. With their fast growing GDP and bigger influence in the global economy, I see maybe even 2 or up to 3 CVs in the next 20 years.
Proposed DCNS designed for future Brazilian Carrier in 60-70K ton range.
There has been a lot of talk about the space behind the Vikramaditya's island. This picture here shows you what they have done to turn the Admiral Gorshkov into the Vikramaditya. The orange parts is what they have removed and the green parts is what they have added. So it appears that they have removed 780 tons from the ship and added 8500 tons to it.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
There has been a lot of talk about the space behind the Vikramaditya's island. This picture here shows you what they have done to turn the Admiral Gorshkov into the Vikramaditya. The orange parts is what they have removed and the green parts is what they have added. So it appears that they have removed 780 tons from the ship and added 8500 tons to it.
This is great pic Franklin. I realized they widen the flight deck on the port side but I didn't realized they added so much to the starboard side as well. No wonder on earlier pictures the island looks more 'centered'.
asif iqbal
Banned Idiot
There has been a lot of talk about the space behind the Vikramaditya's island. This picture here shows you what they have done to turn the Admiral Gorshkov into the Vikramaditya. The orange parts is what they have removed and the green parts is what they have added. So it appears that they have removed 780 tons from the ship and added 8500 tons to it.
This carrier will be based at INS Kadamba, home to the Western fleet and as such the carrier that will see action against Pakistan when war breaks out, every carrier is a war machine but this carriers chances of seeing one is the largest, and as such India will have to build a carrier strike group which can screen from all angles and directions, this is serious business
What implications will it have, 16 x Mig-29K although not a war changing force will be of concern to the Pakistan high command, but I'm sure the militray planners have meticulously planned out how to counter this carrier
With permission to station fighter aircraft off the coast of Oman a Sqaudron of JF-17 equipped with anti-ship missiles would be the best chance of getting this carrier flush, bombs on deck is out of the question and a unlikely event so stand off missiles from range is really the best opition to excercise
But before any of that the Mig-29K need to be displaced using a diversionary attack, once the carrier strike group falls for it and goes after its target which could be a the PN surface fleet or a number of aircraft the suprise attack can begin from the unexpected angle, flying in from the West fighter aircraft would have the element of suprise and catch the carrier with very little air cover and and better still without its outer screen, being able to launch from 100-150km away 5 JF-17 can lunch 10 C802 with likely hit probability of 2 hitting and exploding, enough to cause damage to either force a retreat or abandon plan
16 Mig29K is a limited aviation force, with the inherit design flaws the launch and recovery rate as well as the sortie will not be relatively high, weakness that can be exploited well in time of war
And I don't think India can commit two carrier strike group to the Western theatre, one will always be East to counter a Chinese force with one carrier in re-fit at all times
Last edited: