INS Vishal ("Immense") is the second of two new indigenous Indian Navy carrier designs. The first, INS Vikrant was expected [as of 2012] to be commissioned sometime after 2017 due to ongoing project delays. The Indian Navy has relied on second-hand British or Soviet/Russian origin ships refitted for Indian Navy. So these Indigenous Aircraft Carriers will stand as a huge symbol of national pride.
The INS Vishal project under the direction of the Naval Design Bureau, with vessel requirements expected to be finalized by the end of 2012.
The indigenous initiative began in 1989, to provide the Indian Navy with "Air Defence Ships" (ADS). Construction was to consist of two 28,000 ton vessels for the launching and recovery of the British BAe Sea Harrier Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) strike aircraft. But economic stringency caused the project to come to naught.
By 1999, improved economic prospects allowed the revival of the indigenous carrier initiative. By this time, the prospective service life of the Sea Harrier inventory was too limited to be the focus of the new effort. So a more flexible aircraft carrier design was provided for under the new "Indigenous Aircraft Carrier" initiative. The class would include the initial 40,000 ton INS Vikrant (not to be confused with the original R11) and her sister, the 65,000 ton INS Vishal. Both would be capable of launching the more powerful Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum navy fighters and navalized helicopters as required. The Vikrant was assigned a STOBAR configuration (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) with a "ski jump" ramp was affixed to the bow end of the ship for the required short-take off requirement.
The INS Vishal, however, would be drastically different in scope and function, having a CATOBAR configuration (Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) - a "flat top" deck more in line with American Navy designs. This
configuration would support
heavier and dimensionally
larger mission-minded fixed-wing aircraft such as
Airborne Early Warning (AEW) types, and giving the Indian Navy an edge in the South Asian-Pacific Theater - particularly against China and Pakistan.
According to one widely cited account,
INS Vishal will be a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier fitted with 4 x General Electric LM2500+ series gas turbine engines delivering to two shafts. Top speed would be 28 knots in ideal conditions, with a range of 7,500 nautical miles. The vessel will be defended by a 4 x 76mm Otobreda guns, surface-to-air missile launchers and a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) such as the 20mm American "Phalanx". A selex RAN-40L L-band early warning radar (EWR) will be part of the extensive and advanced sensor and processing system. The crew complement, according to this source, is expected to be 1,400 officers, sailors, service personnel, airmen and mechanics.
Dimensions are reported to include a running length of 860 feet with a 200 foot beam and 28 foot draft.
But these dimensions are those of the 40,000 ton IAC-1, and are rather too small for a 65,000 ton ship. With a similar displacement, the British Queen Elizabeth CVF has a length of 283m / 920 feet [275-290 meters], a flight deck width of 69-75m / 224-230-240 feet], a beam of 39m / 127 feet, and a draft of 36 ft. Upon inspection, it must be clear that all these specifications are for the 40,000 ton IAC-1 Vikrant, presently under construction, rather than the 65,000 ton IAC-2.
The centerpirece of INS Vishal will be the air wing of some 30 or more fixed-wing aircraft and 10 rotary-wing helicopters.
[ As I expected] The
fixed-wing aircraft is
expected to be the Russian Mikoyan
MiG-29K Fulcrum, or the a navalized form of the land-based lightweight fighter. These would be supplemented or replaced by the indigenous delta-winged HAL Tejas aircraft (navalized). However, the Indian Navy is also interested in heavier aircraft, such as the Sukhoi Su-33, Boeing F/A-18 Hornet or French Dassault Rafale. The Rafale was selected in 2012 by the Indian Air Force to replace its stock of outdated Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed fighters.
The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye has been mentioned for the fixed-wing AEW role as has a modified AEW version of the Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor helicopter.
Helicopter types expected include the Russian
Kamov Ka-31 series (Airborne Early Warning (AEW)) or the British Westland
Sea King (Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)) - both navalized for operations at sea/over water.
With a CATOBAR carrier, the Navy will have to learn an entirely new set of procedures, presumably with a new generation of aircraft, in the next decade. Reports have suggested that the
Indian Navy has shown interest in implementing the use of the EMALS system developed for the United States Navy, rather than outfitting the INS Vishal with a conventional steam-powered catapult, but this seems improbable, given the technical complexity of EMALS. Northrop Grumman, which has spent the better part of a decade trying to sell its E-2 Hawkeye to the Indian navy, had offered to help the navy with concept and integration of a steam catapult on the new carrier.
By mid-2012, India had started working on this second indigenous aircraft carrier, even as the construction of the first one had been marred by delay of over two years. The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-II would be the largest ship in terms of the weight and size to have ever been built by the Navy. Asked by Press Trust of India about the specifications of the IAC-2, Navy sources said the work was going on and a number of design options were being explored. Navy sources expressed hope that by the time the IAC-II would be ready, the indigenously-built Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) would also be fully mature for operating on it.
Initial design plans were drawn up in 2001, with funding secured in 2003 and initial work on INS Vishal begining in 2012. In an information session in Parliament, on 16 May 2007, Defence Minister A K Antony stated that induction of a third aircraft carrier [that is, a second unit of this class] is envisioned by 2017. He added that a decision to construct another vessel can be made only after the construction of the first ship has progressed beyond a certain state. This would suggest a keel laying date of post October 2010, which is the tentative launch date of the first ship. In an interview to the Times of India, dated 01 December 2007, the Chief of Naval Staff - Admiral Sureesh Mehta - stated that the second IAC is already on the drawing board and at least three such vessels are planned.
A second unit will also be built, although likely not delivered until around 2018. A third new carrier could be built, but realistic funding and construction dates are too far into the future to determine.
In 2009, the service invited information to support a purchase of aircraft for deck-based operations, which did not specify launch type but had been presumed to be Stobar. Several companies were asked for information: Russia’s MiG and Sukhoi for the MiG-29K and Su-33, respectively; Dassault Aviation with the Rafale (noting that the Rafale could be modified for Stobar operations); Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; and two aircraft concepts—Saab’s Sea Gripen and Eurofighter’s Naval Typhoon. The Typhoon can be modified for Catobar operations, but it is unlikely that the economies of such a modification will work out.
By mid-2012, the Naval Design Bureau, which oversees design and implementation of all indigenous warship building efforts, is expected to freeze its requirements by year-end. As of December 2012, it was reported that India was stille "in the process of deciding whether its second indigenous aircraft carrier will be equipped with catapults." As of 2012, the launch date for the vessel was tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2017 with sea trials to be undertaken in 2020, and commissioning in 2022. The commissioning year is probably closer to 2025, due to the ambitious nature of the program. This may result from the focus on finding local solutions without foreign assistance. This pushed existing carriers such as the INS Viraat into service beyond 2014. The INS Vikramaditya - a converted ex-Soviet/Russian Kiev-class carrier - was scheduled to be commissioned in 2013 as an interim solution for the Indian Navy until the arrival of the INS Vikrant and INS Vishal.
The navy chief, Adm. Nirmal Verma, remained circumspect, saying in August 2012: “It is too early to talk about the [second carrier]. There are other priorities right now, particularly the first carrier. Our designers are working toward the second.”
R 22 Viraat
In that case choice of EMALS is logical
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