Indian Navy is expected to get delivery of 45,000-tonne indigenous INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and 7,500-tonne Visakhapatnam class stealth guided-missile destroyer by end-2021, according to Hindustan Times.
The indigenous aircraft carrier and INS Visakhapatnam will be formally commissioned into the Indiana Navy next year. “Contractual clauses come alive once the warship is handed over to Indian Navy but commissioning takes times as the vessel is to be tested by the Naval personnel for its capability,” said a former Western Navy commander.
The Indian Cochin shipyard will start final trials of INS Vikrant as a precursor of handing over the carrier to the Indian Navy. The Mazagon Dockyards will complete trials of INS Visakhapatnam and deliver the stealth destroyer close to the Indian Navy Day (December 4).
INS Vikrant
INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1), is an aircraft carrier constructed by Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala for the Indian Navy. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. The name Vikrant (Sanskrit vikrānta, literally “stepping beyond”) means “courageous”.
Work on the ship’s design began in 1999, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011 and was launched on 12 August 2013. The basin trials were completed in December 2020.
Powered by General Electric turbines, INS Vikrant will carry two squadrons of MiG-29K fighters and 10 Kamov Ka -31 helicopters.
| Displacement: | 45,000 tons |
| Length: | 262 m (860 ft) |
| Beam: | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.4 m (28 ft) |
| Depth: | 25.6 m (84 ft) |
| Decks: | 2.5 acres (110,000 sq ft; 10,000 m2) |
| Installed power: | 4 × General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines 2 × Elecon COGAG gearbox |
| Propulsion: | Two shafts |
| Speed: | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range: | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi |
| Crew: | 196 officers, 1,449 sailors (including air crew) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Elta EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA multifunction radar. Selex RAN-40L 3D L-Band Air Surveillance Radar |
| Armament: | 2 x 32 cells VLS for a total of 64 Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles 4 × Otobreda 76 mm (3 in) dual-purpose cannons 4 × AK-630 CIWS |
INS Visakhapatnam
The Visakhapatnam class (Project 15B) is a class of stealth guided missile destroyers currently under construction for the Indian Navy. The class comprises four ships – Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Porbandar all of which are being built by the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in India, and will be the largest destroyers to be operated by the Indian Navy. The destroyers are an improved version of the Kolkata-class (Project 15A) and will feature enhanced stealth characteristics. The first ship is expected to enter service in 2021.
| Displacement: | 7,500 t (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) |
| Length: | 163 m (535 ft) |
| Beam: | 17.4 m (57 ft) |
| Draft: | 6.5 m (21 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Combined gas and gas system: Twin Zorya M36E gas turbine plants with 4 × DT-59 reversible gas turbines and 2 × RG-54 gearboxes 2 × Bergen/GRSE KVM-diesel engines, 9,900 hp (7,400 kW) each 4 × 1 MWe Wärtsilä WCM-1000 generator sets driving Cummins KTA50G3 engines and Kirloskar 1 MV AC generators |
| Speed: | In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Crew: | 300 (50 officers and 250 sailors) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | IAI EL/M-2248 MF-STAR S-band AESA multi-function radar Thales LW-08 D-band air search radar BEL HUMSA-NG bow sonar |
| Armament: | Anti-air missiles:4 × 8-cell VLS, for a total of 32 Barak 8 missiles (Range: 0.5 km (0.31 mi) to 100 km (62 mi))or Barak 8ER (Range: 0.5 km (0.31 mi) to 150 km (93 mi) Anti-ship/Land-attack missiles:2 x 8-cells UVLM for 16 BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles Guns:1 × BAE 5 inch 62-calibre Mk 45 naval gun 4 × AK-630 CIWS Anti-submarine warfare:4 × 533 mm Torpedo tubes2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers |
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