INS Vikramaditya reaches home

India's largest naval ship, INS Vikramaditya has finally reached its home base at Karwar on India's western sea board, after a 8500 Nautical Miles long, non stop, journey of more than 40 days from Russia. It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on November 16^th 2013 at the North Russian shipyard of Sevmash at Severodvinsk. The top deck of this 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier is as big as three football fields put together. The ship has 22 decks and more than 1,600 personnel are on duty on board. The warship has been inducted into the Navy after a delay of almost five years and a cost over-run of almost $1 billion.

Earlier, on the eve of the new year day, the aircraft carrier, still 1200 nautical miles away from India's shores, was given a grand welcome by Navy. As the ship had sailed from Russia without its protecting cover of aircraft on board and surface to air missiles still to be commissioned, three Indian naval ships, INS Trikand, which is a Talwar class frigate, INS Delhi which is a Delhi class destroyer and INS Deepak, the fleet tanker, were sent from India all the way to Russia to escort the giant ship home.

When INS Vikramaditya, commanded by Captain Suraj Berry and accompanied by three other naval ships, entered into the Indian Navy’s area of operation in north western Arabian Sea, it was welcomed by ships of western naval fleet, consisting of India's older aircraft carrier INS Viraat, two Delhi class destroyers, three Trishul class stealth frigates, a Godavari class frigate and a couple of offshore vessels. It has been reported by the press that the entire scene on high seas was one to watch and behold. The naval guns boomed to welcome the new addition to the fleet. After the ceremony was over, all ships set sail to return to India.

The $2.33 billion ship, escorted by several frontline warships of the Western Fleet, is now anchored off Karwar and is waiting for suitable tidal condition to enter the port for a berth. The MiG-29K fighters that will form the carrier-borne air squadron on the INS Vikramaditya have already arrived in India way back in 2010 ahead of the mother ship and were commissioned in May 2013 in the Navy’s 303 Squadron. The squadron would require some time to perfect taking off from the decks of the new carrier and touching down, using the arrester wire technology. Only after that happens, the ship would be fully operational. The aircraft carrier is expected to take at least three to four months to get fully integrated in the force.

INS Vikramaditya is like a floating city of 1600 personnel. This floating city requires nearly a hundred thousand eggs, 20,000 litres of milk and 16 tonnes of rice every month to sustain. It can be at sea continuously for 45 days and is capable of undertaking operations up to a range of over 7,000 nautical miles or 13,000 km.

When the ship is integrated fully, the Indian Navy would have two operational aircraft including the aging INS Viraat. However INS Viraat has become very old and is likely to be decommissioned in the next few years. Indian Navy hopes that by then India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, that is being manufactured in Cochin, would join the Indian fleet so that the Navy shall continue to have its two carrier fleet for all the times in future.

10 January 2014

 p.s. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Robin Kumar Dhowan announced on 7th May 2014 that the newly inducted aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is now operationally deployed and its integral MiG-29K fighters have been fully integrated with the carrier.

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Sea trials of India's new aircraft carrier. 

A sigh of relief 

The game changer

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

From Casino Royale to an Aircraft carrier

 

On December 6, 1985, the keel of a new ship was laid down at Shipyard 444 (now known as Nikolayev South Shipyard) by the Navy of the former USSR. This shipyard, near town of Mykolaiv, was the largest shipyard of the Soviet Navy with direct access to Black Sea. Designed by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau, the ship was planned to be a multirole Aircraft carrier of Admiral Kuznetsov class. The unfitted ship was launched in 1988 without any name and was named as “ Varyag” in late 1990 after a famous Russian cruiser of a similar name and looked all set to join USSR's Black sea fleet. “Varyag” was planned to be a 1000 feet long warship with a displacement of 65000 tons. She was planned to be a middleweight aircraft carrier with her own fleet of several dozen short- take off, vertical-landing fighter jets and 8 to 10 helicopters. ( In comparison, US Navy Nimitz class super carriers displace around 100000 tons and have fleet of about 70 planes including few long range fighters.) Like Indian Aircraft carriers Virat and new Vikramaditya, the ship had a distinctive inclined ski-jump at one end, meant to help launch aircraft.

Meanwhile, before the ship could be completed, USSR fell apart in 1991 and Shipyard 444 became part of the new republic of Ukraine. Along with the ship yard, it inherited the still unfinished “Vayyag”, which still lacked critical elements like electronics and engines. In 1992, Ukraine finally got rid of communism but found it financially impossible, to go ahead with construction of this ship and complete it. Perhaps Russians tried to negotiate a deal with Ukraine as seen from a dispatch from the Russian news Agency TASS, which said that “the project has already cost the budget a pretty penny, and it would be absurd to scrap the ship.” However deal fell through and “Varyag” just languished and rusted as an engineless and powerless hulk.

In 1997 The National Agency of Ukraine for Reconstruction and Development decided to do what any house owner would do, when faced with heaps of junk. It announced a garage sale for the “Varyag” with a reserve price of US $ 20 Million. There were hardly any takers. Finally in November 1998, a well-connected Chinese entrepreneur named Cheng Zhen Shu made an offer of US $ 20 Million for the ship on behalf of his company Chong Lot Travel Agency. Mr Cheng said that he would tow the ship out of black sea and take her through the Mediterranean all the way to the Portuguese gambling haven of Macau near HongKong. He said that his company would refit the warship as a floating hotel and a real casino Royale. More than happy at this deal, The National Agency of Ukraine for Reconstruction and Development sold off the hulk to Mr. Cheng.

Trouble brew even before “Varyag” could leave the Black Sea port. Mr. Chong-Pin Lin, a Taiwanese national security scholar found out that Mr. Cheng had spent 10 years as a People’s Liberation Army officer of China and his travel agency, Chong Lot Travel Agency might be part of a Chinese military reverse-engineering project. As soon as this became known, Western intelligence agencies went on alert. Military analysts warned that Chinese Navy, mainly a coastal defense force was trying to acquire ‘blue water’ credentials and capability of projecting military power abroad. As a result Western governments pressured Turkey to deny Mr. Cheng permission to pull his unequipped warship through the Bosphorus Strait.

After this, Mr. Cheng and his Chong Lot Travel Agency went into a publicity Blitz. In an interview published in South China Morning Post in November 1998, Mr. Cheng insisted that he had only tourism in mind. He flatly denied that he would hand over the ship over to China’s military. He even claimed that his company would spend $200 million to remake the Varyag into a water-borne resort “with 600 hotel rooms, a conference center and various attractions, including a nightclub and children’s military playground.” He complained to Turkish authorities that the delay would cost him the chance to compete for a casino license. Chinese officials even promised to pay the Turks for any damage caused by the transit through the heavily trafficked straits.

Finally in 2001, Turkey gave consent to tow the “Varyag” out of Bosphorus straits. And on 1st of November 2001 the Bosphorus straits was closed to all shipping traffic and 'Varyag” was finally towed and escorted by a flotilla of tugboats and pilot ship through the Bosphorus Straits near Istanbul. In the Mediterranean, the ship ran into trouble off Greek coat. She was Caught in a powerful autumn storm and broke towlines. The Greek coast guard had to land a helicopter on the deck to help reattach the towlines. In the process, a sailor fell overboard and died. Eventually the warship was secured, and it continued on its journey. In 2002, the Varyag reached her destination and dropped anchor. But as widely expected it was not in Macau but rather in Dalian, a northern China port that is home to the country’s largest shipyard.

After this, all talk of floating hotel and Casino just vapourised in thin air along with Mr. Cheng and his great Chong Lot Travel Agency. Not long after “Varyag” had dropped anchor at Dalian, workers began painting it a naval gray.

The truth was now out. This was China’s first aircraft carrier.

( Even after a decade of continuous modifications and improvements by Chinese Engineers, “Varyag” or “Shi Lang” is yet not fit for its role on sea. Last month she returned to Dalian in northeast China after her ninth sea trial. Defense experts say that it still lacks the strike aircraft, weapons, electronics, training and logistical support it needs to become a fighting warship.)

4^th September 2012

Masala Dosa's, Idli's and Mig 29 Fighters

For Sevmash shipyard in Russia's northern city of Severodvinsk, 8^th June 2012 was a special day as a giant aircraft carrier built by this shipyard for Indian navy, took to the sea for the first time on this day for pre-delivery sea trials. A former Soviet heavy aviation cruiser, 'Admiral Gorshkov' has been converted by this shipyard into a regular aircraft carrier and has been named as 'Vikramaditya'. Originally this Kiev class ship, was a combination of a cruiser and a carrier with an island superstructure and a 2/3 length angled flight deck on starboard. The foredeck was provided with heavy missile armament. This arrangement has now been modified into a full length angled flight deck to make Vikramaditya a full fledged aircraft carrier.

The sea trials, which would take place in the arctic sea would continue for 120 days. The programme of tests, which mainly consists of trials in testing aircraft takeoff and landing, is expected to be very tight as deck aviation can operate only from June to September in the harsh cold conditions of the Arctic seas. For carrying out Test flights, landings and take off procedures, two types of Russian aircraft — MiG-29K and MiG-35 — flown by Russian pilots would be used. Russia has already delivered to the Indian Navy, 12 MiG-29K single-seat aircraft and 4 MiG-29KUB two-seater planes last year. It is planned that these aircraft would be deployed on Vikramaditya. Even for the indigenous aircraft carrier 'Vikrant' which is being built in India, same MIG-29 K deck fighters would be deployed. India has already placed order for these aircraft.

Vikramaditya is being manned by a mixed crew for sea trials. A section of the Indian crew, after completion of their training in Russia has joined the Russian crew for the first sea voyage of Vikramaditya. More sailor would be flown in from India later making total number of personnel on board to 2700. The crew strength required for normal operation of Vikramaditya is only 1350. On successful completion of sea trials, an Indian acceptance team would join the ship for final approval of the ship by India. After making final finishing touches, Vikramaditya is expected to be formally handed over to India on 4^th December 2012.

As the ship was being re-fitted, Indians imported some special equipments from India for installation on Vikramaditya. Six Masala Dosa-making and three Idli-making, fully automated machines, have been imported by Indian Navy along with eight wet grinders for grinding rice and other ingredients for batter,and have been installed on the aircraft carrier. These machines with fully automated technology can achieve assembly-line production of 400 Dosas and 1,000 Idlis in an hour on each machine. This means that 2400 Masala Dosa's and 3000 Idli's can be prepared for ship's 2,000 strong crew within just one hour.

The technology for these machines has been developed by Mysore's Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and manufactured by a private licensee. The technology was developed by the CFTRI in 1998 and is well proven by use in major industries where catering for a large workforce is needed. Such applications require mass production. The machines have been so designed that they carry out of all operations pertaining to making a Dosa such as spreading batter to the requisite size, oiling, cooking and even dispensing curry and chutney. The automated technology also ensures that hygienic norms are observed in the kitchen. No manual labour would be required and Idlis and Dosas produced would be of uniform taste.

A group of engineers from manufacturers of these machines have returned back from Russia after installing these machines on Vikramaditya. It will help serve traditional Indian delicacies to the Indian crew once the ship is commissioned.

So, along with test flying MIG 29 aircraft from the carrier, the crew of the ship also can test whether Vikramaditya Dosa's are crisp or not and Idli's are delicious or a sticky mess.

9 June 2012