〖This article mainly inventories and introduces the service use of the four aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy, and the full text is divided into 4 main texts and 1 summary. 〗
The third: "Vikramaditya"
Brief introduction:
The aircraft carrier "Vikramaditya", also known as "Chaoriwang", was originally the No. 4 ship "Baku" of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier of the Soviet / Russian Navy (renamed "Gorshkov" after the collapse of the Soviet Union), Baku was built in 1978 at the Mykolaiv Shipyard in Ukraine, launched on March 31, 1982, and entered service with the Northern Fleet of the Soviet Navy in December 1988. A boiler explosion occurred in 1994, was scheduled for sale in 1996, and was transferred to India in 2004 and a large-scale renovation project was carried out, from a vertical take-off and landing aircraft cruiser to a conventional takeoff and landing aircraft carrier. It was delivered to the Indian Navy on 16 November 2013 and officially renamed INS Vikramaditya.
Vikramaditya originally referred to the third monarch of the Gupta dynasty in ancient India, Chandra Gupta II (also known as King Chaori), so it was also translated as the aircraft carrier King Chaori.
Vikramaditya basic parameters:
Length: 284 m Beam: 60 m
Displacement at full load: 45,400 tons Draft depth: 10.2 meters
Cruising range: 13,500 nautical miles/18 knots
Powertrain: 4× steam turbine / maximum 140,000 hp
Shipborne weapons: Barak short-range anti-aircraft missile and Russian-made CADS-N-1 Kashtan gun/shell combined short-range defense weapon system
Carrier-based aircraft: 16 MiG-29K, 4 MiG-29KUB, 10 helicopter combinations (Ka-28, Ka-31, Skylark III helicopters), the flight deck of which can accommodate up to 13 MiG-29Ks during operation.
Soviet Russian naval period
Baku was built in 1978 at the Nikolaev Shipyard in Ukraine, built with the code 104, which was called by the Soviet Union at that time as the 1143 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser / heavy anti-submarine cruiser, in addition to carrying carrier-based aircraft, it is also equipped with anti-ship, air defense, all-round anti-submarine and other weapons assembly with powerful fire strike capabilities, which is the unique style of the Soviet aircraft carrier, which is completely different from the American aircraft carrier style.
Armed and tough
Baku 1988
Due to the use of many new technologies and improvements in the construction process, it was not launched until March 31, 1982, and officially entered into service after passing acceptance in December 1987. The internal structure of the hull, weapon systems, and electronic equipment have changed greatly from the first three Kiev-class ships, and many new technologies and equipment have been tested for the next generation of Kuznetsov-class aircraft carriers.
In December 1988, the Baku arrived in Severomolsk and was incorporated into the Northern Fleet of the Soviet Navy.
The left "Kiev" Tianjin aircraft carrier theme park, the right "Baku", the two are very different overall
A total of 4 Kiev-class ships were under construction at that time, namely "Kiev", "Minsk", "Novorossiysk" and "Baku". The first two ships we should all be familiar with, the "Kiev" was converted into a theme park in Tianjin, and since May 2011 has been converted into an aircraft carrier hotel. "Minsk", bought by CITIC from South Korea's Daewoo Group in 1998, was transformed into a military theme park "Shenzhen Minsk Aircraft Carrier World" in Shatoujiao, Yantian, Shenzhen.
Shenzhen Yantian Minsk aircraft carrier world
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, because "Baku" was the capital of independent Azerbaijan and the ship had been transferred to the Russian Navy, it was renamed "Gorshkov" (the name of Marshal Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War).
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the social situation in Russia, the deterioration of the economic situation, the reduction of naval military spending, and the poor maintenance of ships led to the "Gorshkov" being repaired at the dock in 1992, the stern mechanical compartment caught fire and damaged the engine room, and has been in maintenance ever since.
In February 1994, another accidental boiler explosion completely incapacitated, at that time Russia was short of economy, lack of maintenance funds and had to abandon maintenance, only served less than 9 years before being forced to retire, and finally scheduled to be sold in 1996.
Fancy by the Indian Navy
In the 90s of the 20th century, the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been in service with the Indian Navy for 30 years, and it has been 48 years since it was launched in 1943.
With India's level of science and technology and national strength at that time, it was simply unable to build its own aircraft carrier, and in order to continue its position as the hegemon of the Indian Ocean, it was eager to find a replacement ship for the INS Vikrant (R11) aircraft carrier.
Originally, it was to wait for the French "Fuxi" aircraft carrier to be retired before purchasing, but the "Fuxi" is also more than 30 years old, and the technical status can only be guaranteed.
At this time, a large tonnage and young aircraft carrier appeared on the international arms market, which immediately attracted the attention of the Indian Navy. In 1995, Admiral Ramdas, then Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy, visited the Gorshkov.
In 1998, when then Russian Prime Minister Primakov visited India, he proposed that the "Gorshkov" be given to India free of charge, provided that Russia would modify it, and the two sides immediately began negotiations.
Under the personal facilitation of the then Russian Putin (and still is), in 2004, the two sides reached an agreement, the aircraft carrier "Gorshkov" was sold to India for $1, renamed "Vikramaditya", and India paid 970 million US dollars for the refit to carry out ski-jump takeoff and block landing structure modification at the Severodvinsk shipyard, with a construction period of 52 months and planned to be delivered in 2008. Another $530 million was spent on 12 MiG-29K carrier-based fighters, 4 MiG-29KUB trainers, 6 K-31 helicopters and weapons systems.
MiG-29K
Ka-31 AWACS aircraft
The Severodvinsk Shipyard is a secret factory dedicated to the construction of nuclear submarines during the Soviet era, and the largest submarine manufacturer in the world. There is no experience in aircraft carrier construction and the geographical location is located within the Arctic Circle, and the season is cold. The Russian side chose to carry out an open-air aircraft carrier modification at the Severodvinsk shipyard, seriously underestimating the impact of the climate and the amount of work on the modification.
The cold climate severely affects the progress
Unexpected circumstances and significant cost overruns led to project delays and rising costs, triggering diplomatic quarrels between the two sides to the top. In 2008, then-Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even removed the manager of the Northern Machinery Plant.
Costs continued to rise during the renovation process, and the construction period was repeatedly delayed due to worker experience and weather
In 2009, the two sides negotiated and agreed to a $2.3 billion contract for the ship, and the construction period was delayed until 2013, and like many military purchase projects, a scandal broke out the following year, and the Indian project leader, Brigadier General Singh, was bribed to affect the Indian side negotiations and was ordered to retire.
On June 8, 2012, "Vikramaditya" went to sea for pre-delivery tests. During the high-speed test, there was a serious power system damage accident, in which 7 of the 8 boilers could not continue to operate and required barges to be towed back to the shipyard.
The Kiev-class boiler has also failed many times in the past, but the Russian counter-accusation is that the Indian side insists on using low-grade refractory bricks that do not meet the design requirements instead of asbestos as the insulation layer, resulting in problems when the boiler is running at full power, and the delivery date is delayed again.
The modification of the "Vikramaditya" is very large, except for the ship island that cannot be changed due to the theme structure, most of the rest have basically been changed; The bulbous bow was modified, the extension of the front end of the island and all weapons systems were removed, the bow was changed to a 14.3° ski-jump deck, the flight deck was expanded to the entire foredeck, a 5.5-degree angled deck was installed, and the starboard deck was widened to increase the parking bay; 1,750 of the ship's 2,500 cabins were rebuilt. After the modification, the full load displacement has been increased to 45,400 tons, the length has been increased by 11 meters, the flight deck width has been increased to 60 meters, and it can carry 16 MiG-29K, 6 Ka-28 and Ka-31 helicopters, and the combat efficiency is greatly improved compared with the previous two aircraft carriers and the Sea Harrier fighter.
Yellow shows the demolished parts, green shows the remodeled and newly added parts
The upper is before the modification, and the lower is the post-modification
All damaged stoves were replaced, new Italian-made diesel generators were replaced, and most of the Soviet-era radars and other electronic equipment on the bridge were removed and replaced. The modified aircraft carrier Vikramaditya resembles a scaled-down version of a Marshal Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier.
INS Vikramaditya (left) and USS Kuznetsov (right)
In July 2013, the Vikramaditya went to sea again to begin pre-delivery tests. The power unit exerted maximum power during the sea trials, with a maximum speed of more than 29 knots per hour. Then aviation take-off and landing tests were carried out separately to verify the performance of its radar, air defense, communications and control systems.
Indian crews were also involved in sea trials, 1,700 of which were conducted under the command of Indian Navy officers as captains of the 8,600-mile voyage.
Sea trials
On November 16, 2013, the Indian Defense Minister presided over the inauguration ceremony in Severodvinsk, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was also present. "Vikramaditya" was officially delivered to the Indian Navy, ten years have passed since the purchase agreement was signed, and the cost of the change has risen from the initial $970 million to more than $2 billion, which is the so-called ten years to grind a "ship".
On December 26, 2013, HMS Vikramaditya, accompanied by the British frigate HMS Monmouth, crossed the English Channel and returned to India.
After 26 days, it sailed 10,000 nautical miles back to the Indian mainland, and the ship also carried 177 Russian experts, which will be supported by the ship for one year.
In February 2014, the 303rd Regiment (Panther Regiment) of the Indian Naval Aviation conducted a MiG-29K simulation ship operation at its first shore base. On the 8th of the same month, Indian pilots landed on board for the first time. In May of that year, the new flagship of the Indian Navy deployed for the first time and participated in exercises organized by the Western Fleet.
Since then, the "Vikramaditya" is busy with the number of visits and participating in various exercises, in use, the Indian Navy found that the MiG-29K has many defects, among which the structural strength of the airframe is insufficient, almost every time it blocks the ship, it will cause damage to the wheels, brake discs and other components, and the purchase contract does not contain a free warranty clause, all spare parts have to rely on the Russian side, and the pressure of logistics maintenance is extremely high.
Walking side by side with the Nimitz and Izumo
India's twin aircraft carrier formations "Vikramaditya" and "Virat"
On January 11, 2020, India's indigenous carrier-based version of the Tejas made its first landing on the INS Vikramaditya, and the ship took off for the first time the next day, performing 20 ski-jumps and landing in 10 days. It is expected that by 2026, the Tejas will replace the existing MiG-29K (by then it is not certain whether it can actually replace it).
"Vikramaditya" has had frequent safety accidents since its service in India, and there have also been fires and boiler explosions in Russia, with incomplete statistics, at least 4 accidents have occurred since its service, such a high accident rate, but also reflects the insufficient logistics support capability of the Indian Navy.
A poison gas leak on June 10, 2016, killed one Indian Navy serviceman and a civilian employee, and hospitalized two others.
On 26 April 2019, an officer died in hospital after entering the port of Kava in Karnataka province after a fire broke out while entering the port of Kava, Karnataka province
On May 8, 2021, a small fire broke out
On July 1, 2022, a fire broke out during the test voyage and no casualties were reported.
"Vikramaditya" and "Liaoning"
Both came out of the Soviet Union, and the prototype ship of the "Liaoning" was the "Varyag", which is the third generation of Kuznetsov-class aircraft carriers in Soviet Russia and the first real aircraft carrier in Soviet Russia (the previous two generations were aircraft-carrying cruisers)
Its design concept and overall layout have been greatly improved over the previous two generations. The tonnage is a whole order of magnitude larger than the previous two generations, and the third-generation Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier has a full load of about 60,000 tons.
Comparison of the plan view of the Vikramaditya and the Liaoning
Judging from the parking mark on the deck, the "Vikramaditya" can park and dispatch 16 MiG-29Ks at one time, while the "Liaoning" ship because of the J-15's much larger size, the maximum sortie under normal operating conditions is only 18 (up to 25), but the latter's deck continuous operation capability is much stronger than the former.
The short take-off line is too close to the ship island
Due to the limitations of the original design of the Kiev-class, the position and size of the forward ship island could not be changed, so the ship could only arrange 2 take-off points quite reluctantly on the port side of the flight deck, with a short run length of 105 meters and a long point of 180 meters. The two take-off lines are almost attached to each other, and the short point is too close to the ship island, and there are unsafe factors and are rarely used. Moreover, the ship is not equipped with flame flaves, and only after the previous aircraft takes off can the subsequent aircraft slide up the take-off point, and the continuous sortie speed is very low.
The "Liaoning" ship has three take-off points, the first two short points have a large run distance of 105 meters, the long point running distance of the back is 195 meters, the three points can be prepared for takeoff at the same time, and the standby aircraft can be parked after the flame shield, and the takeoff efficiency is 2.5 times that of the "Vikramaditya".
The special island location wasted 1/5 of the width of the deck
The special position of the island of the "Vikramaditya" wasted about 1/5 of the deck width on the right side, and the deck operation space was quite embarrassing, and the takeoff and landing operations interfered with each other seriously and could not be carried out at the same time; The Liaoning can take off using the starboard forward point when landing.
At that time, the Indian military originally wanted to carry the Su-33 as a carrier-based aircraft, but the predecessor of the "Vikramaditya" "Gorshkov" itself was designed for vertical/short takeoff and landing fighters such as the Yak-38, unable to take off and land the Su-33 with a large weight and size, and had no choice but to choose the MiG-29K; Compared with the Su-33, the MiG-29K has lower performance such as range, bomb load, and time in the air.
The J-15 is China's reference to obtain the Su-33 fighter prototype T-10K-3 from Ukraine, and based on the domestic J-11 fighter and then developed and developed, in the avionics equipment, power system and weapon configuration, are using the latest contemporary technological achievements, the overall combat efficiency exceeds the level of the Su-33, compared with the MiG-29K advantages are more obvious.
On the "Vikramaditya" and under the "Liaoning"
The Indian Navy plans the Vikramaditya to serve for about 40 years, and although the procurement process has been tortuous and there have been multiple fires after commissioning, it is actually a win-win situation for Russia and India.
India has actually acquired a fairly new medium-sized aircraft carrier, which is many times more effective than the past two small aircraft carriers that can only use Sea Harriers, and continues to dominate the Indian Ocean.
For Russia, this project has gained valuable huge funds and aircraft carrier construction experience, maintained the declining aircraft carrier construction and carrier-based aircraft industry, and was able to renew the fleet of the "Kuznetsov", which not only saved the face of the navy of a major country, but also laid the foundation for the future development of a new generation of aircraft carriers. It also indirectly led to a number of subsequent arms purchase contracts with India, providing a large amount of foreign exchange for the meagre Russian economy.
The next article continues to introduce India's fourth aircraft carrier, but also India's first self-made aircraft carrier, the first three aircraft carriers are purchased old aircraft carriers, subject to people everywhere, "others can do it" India began to plan domestic aircraft carriers as early as 1999.........