The game changer

The long awaited news finally came this week. Indian Navy's Flag officer commanding in chief, Western Naval Command, vice admiral Shekhar Sinha, has announced that INS Vikramaditya, the refurbished 44750 tonne aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov,will join the Indian Navy's combat fleet on 16^th November 2013, when it would be commissioned by India's defence minister A K Antony at Severodvinsk in Russia.

No defence deal signed by India so far, has had such a long and tortuous journey. The Soviet Naval fleet inducted this ship Gorshkov in 1987 but decommissioned it in 1996 after it found that it could no longer affiord the high costs in the post-Cold War era. Russia then offered the partly damaged ship to India as a free "gift" in 1994. India was expected to arrange funding towards the costs for refit and fighter planes on board. In January 2004, a deal was signed for US$ 1.5 Billion consisting of $974 package for refitting and rest amount for 16 Nos. of MiG-29K aircraft. The ship was supposed to be delivered by August 2008.

Then the Russians found out that the refitting costs have been grossly undervalued and wanted the contract to be renegotiated. What followed were series of negotiations, amid bitter wrangling, which brought distinct chill in the bilateral ties and the relations between two countries. Finally, a fresh deal was done in 2010. The refit costs were now agreed to $2.33 billion and another $2 billion as cost for 45 MiG-29K aircraft was agreed. The ship was to be delivered by December 2012.

The ship yard completed the refitting job well in advance for the sea trial of the ship starting September 2012. However there were more hiccups to follow. In first week of October 2012, Indian media reported that the sea trials were not satisfactory. There were reports of ship's boilers malfunctioning and some other gear on board like nitrogen generators, refrigerators and boilers found defective. This was a huge embarrassment for the Russians, as the delay in commissioning the ship had reached to the level of the Russian president and he had intervened personally to get the much delayed project back on rails.

After the ship returned to the yard it was found that the reports of the defects found, were much exaggerated. The malfunctioning of the boilers that occurred during high-speed tests has been pinned down to a new insulation material placed between the boiler steel casing and the outer firebricks, instead of conventional asbestos lining. This was done at India's request. Slight deformation was observed in this replacement material. No replacement or removal of the boilers was required. India agreed to replace the new insulation lining materials with conventional asbestos materials.

However, boiler insulation modification work at this stage, meant a further delay in handing over the ship by about six months. The Flight trials or landing of fighter aircraft on the ship’s deck, were suspended due to the onset of near-Arctic conditions in the Russian north. The trials resumed only in April 2013, when the weather improved. The sea trials were completed in July 2013, when the ship achieved its top speed of 32 knots. Later, by September end, coming as a big relief to Indian Navy, even aviation trials were successfully completed. A team of 20 officers of the Indian Navy were present for observation as fighter jets, flown by the Russian pilots, landed and took off from the deck and performed all other exercises, like touch-and-go, and flight profiles. The extensive sea trials of INS Vikramaditya were now totally completed in all respects.

The aircraft carrier is expected to arrive in India by middle of December or about a month after it is commissioned and is expected to be based in Karwar Naval base on west coast of India. Once it arrives in India and becomes fully operational with MiG-29K aircraft being flown by Indian pilots from its deck, "INS Vikramaditya surely will be a game-changer.

In the geostrategic game, everything depends on how a country projects its potential power. An aircraft carrier capable of moving 600 nautical miles in a day and ready to unleash its fighters, helicopters, missiles to take the battle to an enemy's shores, is perhaps the best way to project the country's power. The US has as many as 11 Nimitz-class "super-carriers" deployed around the globe. Each is over 94,000-tonne, powered by two nuclear reactors and capable of carrying 80-90 fighters. Therefor INS Vikramaditya is very much likely to be in the forefront of Indian military diplomacy as it patrols the seas to guard the country's strategic interests.

15^th November 2013

A sigh of relief

Sometime in early 1960's, my father decided to buy a car. In those days, only three models of cars were available in India. We all liked the Fiat 1100 for its looks and performance, though considering today's cars, it was kind of ramshackle stuff. So my father went to the showroom, paid some advance and booked the car. Surprisingly, the dealer was rather silent about when he would be able to deliver the vehicle. My father decided to wait hoping for an early delivery. However days passed into months and then months passed into years, still nothing happened. No car was delivered. After waiting for about 6 years, my father got so much frustrated that he canceled the booking.

I am very much reminded of my fathers frustration and predicament, as I follow the news about India's new aircraft carrier to be delivered by Russia. As per initial contract, INS Vikramaditya was to have been delivered five years ago. However, things started going wrong from day one. Hull of this ship, known as Admiral Gorshkov, was abandoned by the Russians as they had no funds to complete the ship. India signed a contract with Sevmash shipyard to refurbish the ship at a cost of $947 million in 2005. However Russians soon realised that the price they had quoted was so low, that the ship could never be completed. There were protracted negotiations in several stages and the final cost has gone up to $2.3 billion.

Finally, the extensively refurbished aircraft carrier from Soviet Russia era, sailed out of the shipyard for its first comprehensive sea trials in the summer of 2012. Some of the trials were quite successful. MiG-29K fighter jets successfully completed take-offs and landings on its deck. But then, when the crew tested the aircraft carrier for its top speed, it could not go beyond 30 knots because boiler insulation frayed in extreme temperatures and the ship had to return to shipyard. There were extensive consultations and it was decided to replace the insulation with asbestos insulation. It took several months to fix the glitch and send the vessel for sea trials again. The sea trials could be completed in July 2013, when the ship achieved its top speed of 32 knots.

During all this time, Indian Navy, has been anxiously waiting the arrival of the carrier. It is operating INS Viraat, an old ship almost near the end of its life. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, s being built by the Cochin Shipyard in India has been just launched and is unlikely to be ready for commissioning before 2017-18.

Fortunately for Indian Navy, aviation trials were successfully completed on INS Vikramaditya this week. A team of 20 officers of the Indian Navy were present for observation as fighter jets, flown by the Russian pilots, landed and took off from the deck and performed all other exercises, like touch-and-go, and flight profiles. INS Vikramaditya would now steam to the Sevmash shipyard for getting the finishing touches and a fresh coat of special paint before its delivery to the Indian Navy in mid-November.

The 45000 Tonne ship INS Vikramaditya is 284-metre-long and 60-metre-high. It can easily carry 30 fighter jets and helicopters, and is fitted with latest communication systems, protective coating, a telephone exchange, pumps, hygiene and galley equipment, lifts and many more facilities. It would be manned at any given time by a 2,000-strong staff. The carrier has an extended flight deck and a full runway with a ski jump and arrestor wires.

Indian Navy must have heaved a sigh of relief, as they had no choice but to wait for the carrier. As I have mentioned in the beginning, my father could cancel his order for a Fiat 1100 car, for non delivery, Navy had no such choice. (HaHa)

21 September 2013

Sea trials of India's new aircraft carrier.

Just 2 days back, India's print media had reported that sea trials of India's new aircraft carrier, purchased from Russia, were not satisfactory. There were reports of ship's boilers malfunctioning and some other gear on board like nitrogen generators, refrigerators and boilers found defective. The reports of unsatisfactory sea trials is a huge embarrassment for the Russians, as the delay in commissioning the ship had reached to the level of the Russian president and he had intervened personally to get the much delayed project back on rails. The delivery of the ship has been delayed by more than four years and the refurbishment costs of this once partly burnt ship, even though received as a free gift to India as a goodwill gesture, has almost doubled.

For the Indians, this news was a huge disappointment as INS Vikramaditya (as the ship is now known) is a huge aircraft carrier capable of operating most modern aircraft. With only few years left for aging INS Virat: India's only operational aircraft carrier, this ship is badly needed in the Indian fleet. The reports mentioned about a further delay in handing over the ship of about six months. It was also feared that the Flight trials or landing of fighter aircraft on the ship’s deck, which had started late would have to be suspended later this month due to the onset of near-Arctic conditions in the Russian north. The trials could be resumed only when weather improves around March next year. It is now reported that someone, somewhere had goofed and the fact is that the sea trials have been actually very successful. Though news about the delay in the date of arrival of the ship to India is unfortunately true. The real reasons for this delay are not the defects in the ship but rather the harsh arctic winter of Russia's north.

The ship returned to the “Sevmash” shipyard in Russia a week ago after the trials. Indian Navy’s overseeing team, who closely monitored the sea trials, has actually came to the conclusion that the ship had overall done extremely well and the programme of tests had been largely fulfilled. A protocol was signed this week by Vice Admiral Nadella Niranjan Kumar, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition (CWPA), which analysed the results of the trial and detailed the remaining work. As per observations made by India team;

The main conclusion from the trials is that the INS Vikramaditya has stood the test as a full-fledged highly capable aircraft carrier The ship displayed excellent seaworthiness and manoeuvrability and performed flawlessly during aircraft takeoff and landing. It’s sophisticated radio-electronic, navigation and other systems demonstrated high efficiency and reliability. Indian Navy officers were particularly impressed by the flight programme. A MiG-29K and a MiG-29KUB 4++ generation fighters performed 41 impeccable take-offs and landings with full arms payload and additional fuel tanks. The combination of Russia and India-made optical and electronic landing systems enabled the Russian pilots in 70 percent of the landings to hook the second out of three arrestor wires, which is considered a perfect result. The 44000-ton vessel also displayed superior maneuverability, performing a 360-degree turn at a minimum radius equal to one-and-a-half hull length at a speed of 18 knots.

The reports of the defects found, it seems are much exaggerated. The malfunctioning of the boilers that occurred during high-speed tests has been pinned down to a new insulation material placed between the boiler steel casing and the outer firebricks, instead of conventional asbestos lining. This was done at India's request. Slight deformation was observed in this replacement material. No replacement or removal of the boilers is required. India has now agreed to replace the new insulation lining materials with conventional asbestos materials. The defects in other gear on board also would be rectified.

Russian shipbuilders have promised to complete all repairs by the beginning of next year. It is expected that the Indian flag-raising ceremony on the gigantic ship will be held on some designated date in December and an Indian crew will start taking over operations instead of in October 2012. Unfortunately, this 2 month delay would mean that the ship can leave for India only by next October. Because of the near arctic conditions in the White Sea, the pre-delivery trials can be resumed only in late May 2013, when sea ice melts away.

(This blog post is based on a news item in The Hindu)

4^th October 2011