It’s going to take a ‘finite time’ for the maiden indigenous aircraft carrier, set to be inducted into the Navy as Vikrant on September 2, to be fully ready for deployment, according to the ship’s commanding officer (designate) Commodore Vidhyadhar Harke.
Talking to The Hindu on the flight deck of the spanking new vessel, which carries the crest and the pennant number (R11) of India’s first aircraft carrier Vikrant inducted in 1961, Cmde Harke said that the vessel had done exceedingly well in the series of sea trials that were undertaken from August, 2021.
“Its progress has been very encouraging. We achieved full power on the first sortie itself which is a record of sorts for any ship constructed in India or abroad. We followed it up with four more sorties, altogether for over 35 days at sea, to prove the ship’s systems, maneuvering capabilities, engine performance, various machines, sensors, and the like. The ship has been put through the paces to prove herself at sea. And nearly all the systems have matured to such a level that we can confidently operate at sea. So, it’s ready for commissioning and to be put to the sea,” he said.
While helicopter operations were carried out from the deck of the carrier during the trials, integration of the fighter aircraft --MiG 29K, for now -- and the carrier’s integration with the fleet, the Carrier Battle Group (CBG), would be undertaken soon after its induction. “So far, we have been proving our internal machineries. Now, we will see how this behemoth, a potent fighting platform, integrates with the fleet as we do our training, hone our warfighting skills, do drills and conduct aircraft operations. Deployment follows all that,” said Cmde Harke.
“It does take a finite time for the complete realisation of the potential of a carrier. If you take the example of HMS Queen Elizabeth, after commissioning, it was only last year that it undertook a deployment of about six months to the South China Sea,” he added.
Also read:In the heart of the iron beast, INS Vikrant
Asked about the survivability of carriers in times of carrier killer missiles, Cmde Harke said several countries, China, Japan, South Korea and many others, were building carriers which indicated that “carriers have a future and that’s why countries are investing in it”.
The IAC-1, Vikrant, has self-defence capabilities, with its escorts part of the CBG providing a layered defence and the integral fighter fleet providing the long vector offensive. The ship, he said, would have a large ‘surveillance bubble’ around it and shouldn’t ideally face any trouble from missiles.
Meanwhile, Madhu S. Nair, chairman and managing director of the Cochin Shipyard, said that the long-range surface to air missile (LR-SAM) -- Barak 8, jointly developed by IAI and DRDO—and the track and guidance radar MFSTAR, would be fitted on the carrier as per a schedule drawn up for the same.
The close-in weapon system (CIWS) is already up and operational.
