Indian carrier Viraat 'de-operationalised'

[Zarvan]

INS Viraat, pictured during the Indian Navy's International Fleet Review in February. The carrier is now no longer operational and will soon be decommissioned. Source: Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) has 'de-operationalised' INS Viraat(ex-HMS Hermes ), its 57-year-old 23,900-tonne Centaur-class aircraft carrier, ahead of decommissioning it "soon".

IN spokesman Captain D K Sharma said Viraat is currently at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai awaiting "cannibalisation". It arrived there after participating in the IN's International Fleet Review (IFR) that concluded in Visakhapatnam on 8 February.

Capt Sharma said a large proportion of the ship's complement of 1,500 officers and ratings would be imminently transferred to INS Vikrant , the 40,000-tonne carrier under construction at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), southern India.

Vikrant is scheduled to begin sea trials in 2017 before being commissioned into service in late 2018.

The six partially upgraded single- and dual-seat Sea Harrier fighters that served on Viraat - what is left of 30 aircraft acquired from 1984 onwards - are being transferred to INS Hansa, the navy's shore facility at Dabolim in Goa on the west coast, to train naval pilots, although these aircraft will also soon be retired, according to Capt Sharma, as keeping them operational poses logistic and financial issues.

The future of Viraat remains uncertain, although recent media reports have indicated it could be converted into a 500-room floating hotel off the country's southeastern coast by the Andhra Pradesh provincial government.

Viraat underwent four major refits and one minor refurbishment after joining IN service in 1987, following its deployment during the Falklands (Malvinas) war with the UK Royal Navy. Its most recent INR70 million (USD1.07 million) overhaul was in late 2012, while its retrofit in 2014 was abandoned in view of the carrier's impending retirement.

The Sea Harriers were partially upgraded in 2008-09, with their Sea Fox radar replaced with the Israeli Elta EL/M-2032 multimode fire control radar featuring a 100 km operating range. They were also armed with matching Rafael Derby beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, which officials said would now be transferred onto the locally designed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

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Indian carrier Viraat 'de-operationalised' | IHS Jane's 360