indian navy strength should increase

A dream is being crafted on the dock in Cochin Shipyard. Groups of workers in red and navy blue are shaping a vessel that will make the Indian Navy atruly blue-water force.They are making India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC).The 22 functional aircraft carriers in the world are owned by nine navies. Only the US, Russia and the UK have built carriers exceeding 40,000 tonnes. India is the fourth country to build a ship in this classWork on the IAC started in November 2006 and 70 per cent of the hull blocks are done. Displacement tests, defining the hull form and structure, space analysis and hydrodynamic modelling have also been completed.

The indigenous aircraft carrier project signifies not only an attempt to modernise the Navy, but also a shift in strategy. In the past, India had planned only to counter threats from Pakistan and China. But now it is aiming  at global reach. International maritime laws recognise aircraft carriers as sovereign territories in almost all of the ocean.

“As long as a carrier does not get too close to a nation’s coast, it does not need permission from host countries for landing or overflight rights” a Navy officer said. “A forward-deployed Navy provides the country with unique strategic options.” Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma said India’s goal for the next decade was to have a fleet of 160 ships and over 300 aircraft.

“The IAC will be a milestone in the Navy’s history,” said former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash. “It is a symbol of power projection, which will simply resonate in other countries as it resonates in India. It [the IAC project] shows India’s seriousness to become a true blue-water Navy.” An accomplished carrier pilot, Prakash had commanded the INAS 300 when it updated to Sea Harriers in 1983.Takeoffs and landings on carriers are a tricky business. Commander P.V. Satish, who served on the INS Viraat, said a night landing on a carrier’s flight deck is the most harrowing exercise in military aviation. Seated at the controls of a fighter that could weigh up to 25 tonnes, the pilot approaches the carrier and all he can see are the tiny lights lining the flight deck. “Imagine that! In the middle of the ocean and he has to land on a 200m-long runway,” said Satish.

Sources said the IAC is designed to support and maintain 30 aircraft including the MiG-29K and the naval variant of Tejas, the indigenous light combat aircraft. The carrier will have two 200m runways, a helicopter deck and a 1,600-strong staff.The team overseeing the project is currently finalising the carrier’s weapons systems. Obviously, the exact details are top secret. Carriers being ‘runways at sea’, the IAC will have systems capable of stopping attacks from enemy aircraft and missiles. There will also be a long-range surface-to-air missile system with multi-function radars and close-in weapon systems. The carrier will have anti-submarine defence systems. All defence systems on board will be integrated through a combat management system. Sources in the Southern Naval Command said the carrier would have “jamming capabilities over the expected electromagnetic environment.”

In a bid to boost its blue-water credentials, the Navy is expected to operate three aircraft carriers by 2017. It is acquiring the Kiev-class Admiral Gorshkov(renamed INS Vikramaditya) from Russia and is planning a 50,000-tonne IAC 2 with CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) capability. CATOBAR will help IAC 2 to launch conventional aircraft. Only three countries have CATOBAR-capable carriers—the US (Nimitz class super-carriers and USS Enterprise), France (Charles de Gaulle) and Brazil (Sao Paulo).

The Navy has another external issue on its hands. The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Tejas, which has to operate from the IAC, is behind schedule. The DRDO is thinking of installing the indigenous Kaveri engine in Tejas. But the engine has had multiple problems and French company Snecma is currently working on it.

The Navy might be forced to test Tejas with the current General Electric F404 engine. The test will ascertain its flight characteristics and whether its structural strength is sufficient for carrier deployment. When Tejas is fitted with Kaveri, the Navy will start operating it from a carrier. Reports said the Tejas naval variant was supposed to be ready for carrier trials by 2013.

Far away from the military planners, strategists and ‘Eyes Only’ files, the worker on the ground seems to have gauged the project’s significance better. Said a steelworker at the shipyard: “What is important for us is that we are doing something nobody else in India has done.”

According to me,”India realized its position in the global stage only after a very long time,but yet to kick start its campaign as a global player.India has to take into account of the business opportunities  produced by the multi-billion dollar defence industry.India is developing in all aspects,it would be great if it explores in the defence manufacturing sector too, rather than looking at the help of the western countries”.