INS Vikramaditya
Rs 75,000 cr deal: Navy carries out
simulation trials of new aircraft for INS Vikramaditya, Indigenous Aircraft
Carrier
The 57 new planes would be used for
operations from the INS Vikramaditya and the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)
being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi.
New Delhi, July 29, 2017 | UPDATED 12:39 IST
Looking to buy 57 fighter aircraft to augment its fleet,
the Indian Navy recently invited foreign vendors to carry out trials to see if
the planes could operate off the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
French Rafale, Swedish Saab Sea Gripen, Russian MiG-29K
and American F-18 are the contenders for the over Rs 75,000 crore mega deal of
the maritime force.
"The foreign vendors were asked to prove that their
aircraft would be able to operate off our Russian-origin aircraft carrier INS
Vikramaditya," a senior Navy source told MAIL TODAY.
Aircraft manufacturers, including the French Rafale and
American F-18, had taken part in the trials and were asked to provide more
inputs on their respective plane's capabilities to be able to take off and land
at the Vikramaditya, the sources said.
The trials were held at INS Vikramaditya's home-base in
Karwar in Karnataka. The 57 new planes would be used for operations from the
INS Vikramaditya and the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) being built at the
Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi along with the 45 MiG29Ks already imported
from Russia.
DIFFERENCE IN TAKE-OFF SYSTEMS
There is a huge difference in take off systems on board
the aircraft carriers of Russian and Western origin. While the aircraft on
Western carriers are launched using a steam-powered catapult while on the
Russian platforms, they take off from an angled ski-jump - the launch mechanism
on both the Vikramaditya and the under construction IAC.
The need for buying new super expensive aircraft came up
after the Navy rejected the naval version of the indigenous light combat
aircraft as it wanted a twin-engine fighter with a stronger airframe and
landing gear to operate from a flight deck with high-tempo flying cycles.
As per the requirement projected by the Navy, it wants to
manufacture these planes in India as the Request for Information had asked the
original equipment manufacturers to respond to it.
It also sought to know at what level of Transfer of
Technology (ToT) and deep repair expertise the company is willing to share with
India.
It also asked the vendor to specify critical technologies
required and comment on its ability to absorb the aircraft manufacturing
technology at the levels of sub vendor/supply chain elements in India through
ToT from OEM and its partners.
DELIVERY
As regards the delivery schedule, the first lot of jets
have to be delivered in three years after inking of the contract and all the 57
have to be delivered in the next three years.
The existing fleet of the MiG-29K planes has been
creating a number of problems for the maritime force as they are not yet
ruggedised enough for aircraft carrier operations as was reported by MAIL TODAY
recently.
The planes have also been facing engine problems and the
Navy had taken up the issue with Russia whose engineers and technicians are
working to address the issues as the planes are still in warranty period.
With two aircraft carriers and over five squadrons of
maritime strike aircraft, the Indian Navy would be emerging as a very strong
force to reckon with.
750,000,000,000 INR is equal to 11,698,825,438 USD @
64.11 Indian rupees to 1 US dollar..........Wow the price went up quick last time it was quoted at $7.8 billion........
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