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Defence & Security
Mahesh

29/04/24 14:19 PM IST

The significance of carrier aviation

In News
  • Recently,both aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, showcased “twin carrier operations” with MiG-29K fighter jets taking off simultaneously from both and landing cross deck.
Significance of INS Vikrant
  • A carrier is a floating city.
  • The design work on the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-I, later christened Vikrant, began in 1999; however 2005-2006 were probably the most crucial years for the carrier and for India’s war shipbuilding.
  • The crucial decision was on the warship grade steel, which till then was procured from Russia.
  • After much brainstorming, it was decided that it would be developed and produced in India, a collaborative effort between the Steel Authority of India, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy.
  • The construction also ushered in several new processes and spin-offs benefiting the shipbuilding industry at large.
  • For instance, in 2002, 3-D modelling was introduced for the first time in India and a joint team of 200 personnel from the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and CSL began work.
  • The keel of Vikrant was finally laid in 2009, launched into water in 2013 and went through extensive user acceptance trials between August 2021 and July 2022 before its eventual commissioning.
Composition of INS Vikrant
  • Delays notwithstanding, Vikrant is an engineering marvel. It has a total area in excess of 12,450 m2 which equals to about two and a half hockey fields.
  • The 262m long and 62m wide ship is powered by four General Electric LM2500 engines generating 88 MW of power giving it a maximum speed of 28 Knots and an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles.
  • Built at an overall cost of around ₹20,000 crore and 76% indigenous content, the ship has around 2,200 compartments, for a crew of around 1,600 that include specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.
  • Vikrant houses two galleys which cater to all onboard, preparing upto 4,500-5,000 meals every day.
  • The galleys start operation at 3 am every morning and continue for almost 20 hours a day.
  • It is equipped with state of the art automatic chapati making machines, capable of making 6,000 chapatis per meal, large cooking boilers capable of preparing 4,00 kgs of rice, dal, vegetables and other dishes.
  • Additionally, in order to cater for a variety of items on the menu, it is also fitted with combi-steamers, a dosa machine and ovens for preparing, idlis, dosa, breads and other bakery items.
  • Noting that among manufacturing activities, shipbuilding has one of the highest employment multipliers of 6.48, the economic Survey 2022-23 said that Vikrant alone engaged approximately 500 MSMEs, 12,000 employees from ancillary industries, and 2,000 CSL employees.
  • Vikrant can operate an air wing of 30 aircraft comprising MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters and Light Combat Aircraft (Navy).
  • It uses the STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Recovery) method to launch and recover aircraft for which it is equipped with a ski- jump to launch aircraft, and three ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery.
  • About 200 men start the day by preparing the flight deck for flying operations.
  • First we clean the entire flight deck of any debris or left overs.
  • Simultaneously, the pilots are briefed for the missions in the briefing room,” one official onboard explained.
  • After all the aircraft are started up, the entire deck vibrates and generates noise in excess of 200 decibels.
  • The flight deck has an independent lighting system to assist for bad weather and night operations.
  • Once the aircraft finishes the mission, they are safely vectored back to the ship and guided for a precision landing, the official stated.
  • The fighters which have a hook under the belly pick up one of the three arresting gear wires on flight deck.
  • The aircraft with a speed of more than 250 kmph is stopped within a distance of just 90m in just 2-3 seconds.
Source- The Hindu

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