With the LCA naval prototype landing first on the 45,000-ton INS Vikrant, which was commissioned in September last year, the Navy he said it was a “historic milestone” demonstrating the country’s ability to “design, develop, build and operate an indigenous aircraft carrier with an indigenous fighter aircraft”.
The single-engine naval LCA, a technology demonstrator that cannot operate as optimally from an aircraft carrier as for the Navy, is the forerunner of the indigenous twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF) which will take at least a decade to be ready.
INS Vikrant, the largest warship ever built in India at around Rs 20,000 crore, in turn, will become fully combat-ready as MiG-29Ks complete crucial trials from its flight deck, comparable to two football pitches with a ski jumping corner, by May-June.
“Monday was a basic landing and takeoff of fighters from INS Vikrant. The entire envelope of intricate combat flight testing will take 3-4 months. Most of the helicopter trials and gunfire are, however, completed,” one officer said.
India has been without an operational aircraft carrier for almost three years. The aging 44,500-tonne INS Vikramaditya, acquired by Russia at a cost of $2.33 billion over a decade ago, has yet to become operational after a major round of repairs and maintenance.
The Navy is also hampered by a lack of adequate numbers of fighters to operate from the two carriers. It remains with 40 of the 45 MiG-29Ks introduced by Russia at a cost of $2 billion from 2009-2010 onwards, with their functionality also posing a major problem.
As an “interim solution,” India is now seeking to land a multibillion-dollar mega contract for 26 foreign fighters in a government-to-government deal. In this race, the maritime version of the French fighter Rafale emerged as the frontrunner over the American F/A-18 Super Hornet after trials, TOI reported in December.
The long-standing operational need for a third aircraft carrier, however, is still a pipe dream until now. The Navy is now finalizing the initial case for a “repeat order” of INS Vikrant instead of a more powerful 65,000-ton carrier due to budgetary constraints.
In stark contrast, with already the world’s largest navy at 355 warships and submarines, China is now rapidly building its fourth aircraft carrier after “launching” its third aircraft carrier, the more than 80,000-ton Fujian, in June of last year.
In addition to helping Pakistan build a powerful navy and seek new logistics bases in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), China now deploys seven to eight warships, submarines and spy vessels to the region on a permanent basis. Hence, it is only a matter of time before China too starts deploying carrier groups to the IOR.
