India would be having two aircraft carriers patrolling the high seas from January 2023 onward when INS Vikramaditya resumes her service after two years and combat jets take off from homegrown Vikrant that will be inducted in the service on September 2.
But when the indigenous aircraft carrier receives her commissioning from Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week at Kochi, she would not be having any of her most potent weapons – the MiG-29K fighter aircraft – on board.
“The aviation trials will start sometime in November and will continue till the middle of next year,” Vice Admiral S N Ghormade, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff said here on Thursday.
Though Vikrant can house 30 aircraft, the plan is to equip her with at least a dozen MiG-29K as the aircraft has low serviceability. In addition, there would be choppers including the new MH-60R that are coming from the USA.
While India purchased 45 MiG-29K from Russia nearly a decade ago for the two carriers, not all of them are available for deployment as three aircraft had crashed in the recent past and others suffer from serviceability issues.
From the available pool, the navy would make arrangements so that both carriers can have deck-borne fighter jets.
With the LCA-Navy not anywhere close to the trial, the Indian Navy plans to buy 26 deck-borne fighter aircraft for which F-18 of Boeing and Rafale-M of Dassault Aviation are in contention. Both companies participated in flight trials and trial results are being evaluated.
Asked about INS Vikramaditya, navy officials said that the Russian-origin aircraft carrier was undergoing a major refit at Karwar after 10 years and it would take another three-four months for the work to complete.
“From next January, INS Vikramaditya is expected to sail while Vikrant will leave Kochi after the commissioning and will be sailing for the aviation trials that would continue till the middle of next year,” he said.
Constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited, the gigantic (262 mt long and 62 mt) Vikrant displaces approx 43000 tonnes when fully loaded, having a maximum designed speed of 28 Knots with the endurance of 7500 nautical miles – the distance between India and Brazil.
The ship has around 2200 compartments, designed for a crew of nearly 1600, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.