The Hindu : Kerala News : Work on aircraft carrier begins tomorrow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 10, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Work on aircraft carrier begins tomorrow

By John L. Paul

KOCHI, APRIL 9. India will become the fourth nation that possesses the capability to build aircraft carriers on its own, with the steel cutting for the first indigenous carrier being held at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on Monday.

A spokesperson of the Indian Navy said that this was the most prestigious project that the Indian Navy had taken up so far. "The Central Government sanctioned the design and construction of the indigenous ADS with a displacement of 37,500 tonnes in January 2003. The cost will come up to Rs. 3,261 crores. The other countries - the U.S., the U.K. and France - have built such large aircraft carriers in the past," he said.

The Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, T. R. Baalu; the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, and the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, will be present at the steel cutting function on Monday, with which work will begin on the biggest vessel of its kind in the country. The keel of the ship will be laid on October 7.

The work is scheduled to be over by 2013 and will be inducted into the Navy to replace the ageing INS Viraat, which will be decommissioned in 2010. INS Vikrant, the other aircraft carrier being operated by the Navy, has now been converted into a museum in Mumbai.

Admiral Gorshkov, the aircraft carrier that India intends to buy from Russia, is undergoing refit in Russia. INS Viraat underwent refit twice at the shipyard here, said highly-placed sources in the CSL.

General features

The new carrier to be constructed at the CSL will have a length of 252 m, a breadth, 58 m, draft, 8.4 m and depth, 25.6 m. It will be propelled by four LM 2,500 gas turbines, generating a total power of 80 MW (approximately 1.2 lakh horse power). The vessel can cruise at a maximum speed of 28 knots and has an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles at 18 knots speed, with a logistic endurance of 45 days.

"It can carry 1,600 officers and sailors and can accommodate 30 aircraft, 17 of which can be put up in the hangar. The air operations can take place up to `sea state 5' (represents the condition of the sea). There will be two runways and a landing strip, with three `arrester wires' (used to decelerate and stop war planes). The vessel is being designed to operate a mix of MiG-29K, Light Combat Aircraft/Sea Harrier, Advanced Light Helicopter and Ka31," the Navy spokesperson said.

Design

The Indian Navy's design bureau and CSL have jointly undertaken the design. The preliminary design is over. The ship will be built using Integrated Hull Outfit and Painting (IHOP) method. High-strength ABA-grade steel, developed in-house by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), will be used. The vessel will require 20,000 tonnes of steel, and 450 tonnes have reached the shipyard.

Italian help

The CSL has selected Fincantieri, the Italian ship design and construction yard, to assist them in integrating the main propulsion system, making the main engine room layout and in preparing the build specification of the ship.

Russia will pool in with inputs for the Naval version of MiG 29K and for aviation facilities like flight deck, hangar, aircraft lifts, ammunition lifts, aircraft launch and recovery system, etc.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala