INS Vishal: Will India go Nuclear?

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

INS Vishal: Will India go Nuclear?
PublishedMay 15, 2015|Byadmin
SOURCE: IDRW NEWS NETWORK (INN)

In a meeting of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Rs.30 crore was allotted to carry out a feasibility Study and Draft Design for building the second indigenous aircraft carrier.

Vishal which means “wide, broad, spacious” in Sanskrit will be second Vikrant-class aircraft carrier which also will be built by Cochin Shipyard Limited for the Indian Navy and will be second aircraft carrier to be built in India.

The proposed design of the second carrier marks significant changes from the first Indigenous aircraft which will be 25,000 tons more than first carrier which is still under constructions and will see an increase in displacement of over 65,000 tons.

An interim feasibility study carried out by Indian Navy also explored the possibility of equipping a Nuclear marine propulsion to power INS Vishal. Navy believes current pressurised light-water reactors technology developed by Indian Nuclear institutes to power Naval Platforms are capable enough to power INS Vishal. Navies ” Naval Design Bureau ” is also in talks with Russian Design Bureau to help realises it integrating Nuclear marine propulsion to the new aircraft carrier.

What could be the biggest obstacle for going Nuclear in INS Vishal might be its Cost. On an Average a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier cost 3 times more than Conventional aircraft carrier due to its complex Design and technology involved. There also is a need for Installation of proper Nuclear safety mechanism for the crew which drive up the cost of the aircraft carrier.

INS Vishal which will feature Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery, or CATOBAR System will move away from conventional steam-driven piston Catapult mechanism system and is eying Us made Next generation Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) which can launch a carrier-based aircraft from an aircraft catapult using a linear motor drive .

EMALS causes less wear and tear on carrier-launched aircraft since electric power can be delivered more accurately than steam. It also offers quicker aircraft launches and requires less personnel to operate. EMALS also is capable of launching heavier Airborne early warning aircrafts like Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye which also has caught the attention of Indian Navy.
Has the saying goes Next generation technology relatively does not come cheap and as Per Us media reports the cost of Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and advanced arresting gear (AAG) technology per unit costs are listed as FY08$ 762.9 million (614.7 + 148.2) for CVN 78 (USS Gerald R. Ford) .

EMALS also has its own set of critics who consider it an Expensive system which is untested in operational service. since it is not yet in service anywhere and the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with such advanced launch mechanism will be Ford class Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford which only will be commissioned in US Navy by 2016 .

Indian Navy already has lined up some major projects like Constructions of Indigenous Nuclear Attack Submarines and also the development of next generation of ballistic missile submarine which will require considerable amount of funding from the government in next few years , it will be challenging convincing MOD .



INS Vishal: Will India go Nuclear? | idrw.org

 

[Indian Patriot]

Nuclear carriers are not a joke. The project will take decades to fructify if India wants a nuclear carrier.

 

[Srinivas]

Going for Nuclear propulsion might be costlier initially but for non nuclear AC fuel costs should also be considered.

 

[Providence]

Diesel cannot power such a behemoth. The diesel costs across her lifetime itself would be manifold higher than the entire construction cost.

 

[Beast]

Diesel cannot power such a behemoth. The diesel costs across her lifetime itself would be manifold higher than the entire construction cost.

Kitty hawk?

 

[Takshashila]

It Should be...
I mean we really need a new Nuclear Carrier

 

[Didact]

Diesel cannot power such a behemoth. The diesel costs across her lifetime itself would be manifold higher than the entire construction cost.

Not entirely correct. Diesel, or rather Steam was used to power the Kitty Hawk, which at 86,000 tons is significantly heavier than the proposed INS-Vishal.

Further, the difference between the operational and maintenance costs between a CVN and a CV, over a period of 40 years still cannot justify a nuclear propulsion. I went through the entire GAO report on the US CV and CV fleet to study this.

 

[IND151]

INS Vishal: Will India go Nuclear?
PublishedMay 15, 2015|Byadmin
SOURCE: IDRW NEWS NETWORK (INN)

In a meeting of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Rs.30 crore was allotted to carry out a feasibility Study and Draft Design for building the second indigenous aircraft carrier.

Vishal which means “wide, broad, spacious” in Sanskrit will be second Vikrant-class aircraft carrier which also will be built by Cochin Shipyard Limited for the Indian Navy and will be second aircraft carrier to be built in India.

The proposed design of the second carrier marks significant changes from the first Indigenous aircraft which will be 25,000 tons more than first carrier which is still under constructions and will see an increase in displacement of over 65,000 tons.

An interim feasibility study carried out by Indian Navy also explored the possibility of equipping a Nuclear marine propulsion to power INS Vishal. Navy believes current pressurised light-water reactors technology developed by Indian Nuclear institutes to power Naval Platforms are capable enough to power INS Vishal. Navies ” Naval Design Bureau ” is also in talks with Russian Design Bureau to help realises it integrating Nuclear marine propulsion to the new aircraft carrier.

What could be the biggest obstacle for going Nuclear in INS Vishal might be its Cost. On an Average a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier cost 3 times more than Conventional aircraft carrier due to its complex Design and technology involved. There also is a need for Installation of proper Nuclear safety mechanism for the crew which drive up the cost of the aircraft carrier.

INS Vishal which will feature Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery, or CATOBAR System will move away from conventional steam-driven piston Catapult mechanism system and is eying Us made Next generation Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) which can launch a carrier-based aircraft from an aircraft catapult using a linear motor drive .

EMALS causes less wear and tear on carrier-launched aircraft since electric power can be delivered more accurately than steam. It also offers quicker aircraft launches and requires less personnel to operate. EMALS also is capable of launching heavier Airborne early warning aircrafts like Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye which also has caught the attention of Indian Navy.
Has the saying goes Next generation technology relatively does not come cheap and as Per Us media reports the cost of Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and advanced arresting gear (AAG) technology per unit costs are listed as FY08$ 762.9 million (614.7 + 148.2) for CVN 78 (USS Gerald R. Ford) .

EMALS also has its own set of critics who consider it an Expensive system which is untested in operational service. since it is not yet in service anywhere and the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with such advanced launch mechanism will be Ford class Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford which only will be commissioned in US Navy by 2016 .

Indian Navy already has lined up some major projects like Constructions of Indigenous Nuclear Attack Submarines and also the development of next generation of ballistic missile submarine which will require considerable amount of funding from the government in next few years , it will be challenging convincing MOD .



INS Vishal: Will India go Nuclear? | idrw.org

 

[Optimos Prime IA]

Nuclear carriers are not a joke. The project will take decades to fructify if India wants a nuclear carrier.

No one is joking here except you . Are you saying India can't build Nuclear Carrier ?

On topic : If we want to project our powers across the world spending should not be a concern .

(EMALS) and advanced arresting gear (AAG) technology per unit costs are listed as FY08$ 762.9 million (614.7 + 148.2) for CVN 78 (USS Gerald R. Ford) . Means we could get it for around 1-1.5 billion per unit . Or at the same cost . Its worth to get has it will improve over all operational life of our IAC 2 .

Same goes for Nuclear or conventional debate . Going for nuclear power generation it will pay the way for advanced nuclear powered surface fleet .Navy will get much needed reach and India will get much awaited bargaining chip for global diplomacy .

 

[third eye]

Such vessels have to remain at sea for long durations unencumbered by logistics .

If so, there is no option but to go nuclear .

 

[Guynextdoor2]

the schematic seems to be the QE. But I think a lot of things can be learnt from the QE on what a top line carrier of the future looks like.

 

[anant_s]

In all probability, IAC 2 will be an N powered vessel. The fact that such ships are actually the real projection of power with their range limited only by crew endurance and supplies along with the fact that N propulsion is also mooted for next generation submarines (the reactor for both Sub and ship will be same PWR class, with difference in output rating). So basic engineering and manufacturing capabilities exist in India and this should be applied to IAC 2 and beyond ACs.
We should also take into account that EMALS proposed for IAC 2 is a power hungry system and Nuclear reactors on-board ship can easily fulfill the requirement and with that ship can carry far heavier planes increasing its potency.
I just get a feeling that India's understanding with US on co-operation is beyond supply of some planes and a launching system. There might be some co-operation on propulsion system as well.

 

[Indian Patriot]

No one is joking here except you . Are you saying India can't build Nuclear Carrier ?

Yes you keyboard warrior. India cannot build nuclear carriers right now. India has a 46 billion dollar budget, not 460 billion dollars and how much of the 46 billion dollars go to navy? How much do you think it costs to build and maintain a nuclear carrier?

Don't come with your bullsh1t nationalist jingoism which has no connection to reality.

 

[Archie]

I think before the carrier, we need to ensure that a Proper CBG is in place

a decent Indian CBG will include 2 Kolkata class Destroyers, 2 Talwar/Shivalik class Frigates , 1 Kamorta class Corvette, 1 SSN, 1 Fleet Tanker

at present we can comfortably deploy 1 CBG, without hindering other operational requirements

2 CBGs will require at least a principle surface combatant fleet of 30 warships and 18 SSK/SSN
at present we are at 24 Surface combatants and 14 SSK/SSN

 

[Indian Patriot]

2 CBGs will require at least a principle surface combatant fleet of 30 warships and 18 SSK/SSN
at present we are at 24 Surface combatants and 14 SSK/SSN

CVNs will require SSNs because SSKs cannot keep up with them.