Naval Air: <b>May 26, 2005</b>

May 26, 2005

Indias carrier force is one of only six in service (the others being the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and Russia). This is a powerful force that has served since 1961, when India purchased an incomplete British Glory-class light carrier.

This became the Vikrant, which displaced 15,700 tons, and the first air wing she had in 1961 consisted of Hawker Seahawks and Alize anti-submarine aircraft. The Hawker Sea Hawk was a solid subsonic fighter and attack plane with four 20mm cannon and a top speed of 964 kilometers per hour. It could carry 2000 pounds of bombs and rockets, and had a range of 772 kilometers.

Vikrant served in the 1965 and 1971 wars, earning a solid record of combat performance. Vikrant was the prime target of the Pakistani Navy in those wars. In 1982, she was converted into a carrier for Indias Sea Harriers, which gave India a proven system that could operate on this carrier (the United Kingdom had used the Sea Harrier on the slightly smaller Invincible-class carriers to win the Falkands War). In the end, Vikrant carried six Sea Harriers and nine Sea Kings. She was retired in 1997.

Indias need for a replacement led to another discussion with the United Kingdom, which was retiring the light carrier Hermes. At 23,000 tons, she was turned over to India in 1986 after serving in the 1982 Falklands War. Viraat carries 30 Sea Harriers and six Sea Kings, and is still in service despite the fact she was laid down during World War II. She will soon be retired as Indias new generation of carriers come on line.

The Indians had been considered a potential means of resurrecting the Russian Yak-141 Freestyle VSTOL fighter. This is a faster plane than the Harrier (top speed of 1800 kilometers per hour to the Harriers 1176 kilometers per hour almost 50 percent faster), and a comparable combat radius (690 kilometers to the Sea Harriers 750). However, something better was available due to the fall of the Soviet Union. The Russian navy was rapidly downsized, and this left the carrier "Admiral Gorshkov" on the market. After over a decade of negotiations that began in 1994, India finalized the deal in 2004.

When modified, the Admiral Gorshkov will reportedly be named INS Vikramaditya, and her air group will not be the Yak-38 Forgers used on her near-sisters Kiev, Minsk, and Novorossik. Instead, she will bring India back to the age of operating fixed-wing aircraft, using the MiG-29K. The 38,000-ton carrier will be modified with a ski-jump bow to enable these planes to take off. The MiG-29K has six hardpoints for a wide variety of weapons, including the AA-12/R-77 Adder and the AA-11/R-73 Archer air-to-air missiles. It has a top speed of 2,500 kilometers an hour and a combat radius of 1250 kilometers for an air-to-air mission (almost twice the range of the Harrier or Freestyle).

In addition to air-to-air systems, it can also carry anti-ship missiles and a variety of ordnance for use on ground targets. The Vikramaditya will also carry ten Helix helicopters, a mix of airborne early-warning and anti-submarine helicopters.

Indias also taking another step in enhancing her naval aviation capability by building what is called an Air Defense Ship, the keel of which was laid down earlier this year. This ship is slightly smaller than the Vikramaditya, displacing 33,000 tons. Like the Vikramaditya, she will carry a mix of MiG-29Ks and helicopters, although there is a chance that Indias LCA will also serve aboard this ship.

Indias naval aviation has become one of the better naval air arms in the world, having fought in two wars. It also has quantity. This is a carrier air arm that will be a force to be reckoned with in any fights. Harold C. Hutchison (hchutch@ix.netcom.com)