Article Posted on : - Feb 28, 2009

Defence Minister AK Antony (R) laying the keel of India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier at Cochin Shipyard Ltd, in Kochi on February 28. The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta is also seen. PIB photo

KOCHI (BNS): Indian Defence Minister AK Anthony laid the keel for the country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) at the Cochin Shipyard here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Anthony said that the first warship would be ready by 2014 and promised the second one soon. With the keel laying foundation, India joined the select group of nations which have the capability of designing and building 40,000 tonne aircraft carriers.

“We are living in a world of uncertainty, conflict, threats from maritime terrorism, piracy, narcotics, smuggling and low-intensity conflict, perpetrated by the state in some cases and with non-state players in others, are on the rise,” Anthony said. He hoped that the country will operate two to three aircraft carriers simultaneously in the near future.

Currently, Indian Navy has just one carrier, INS Viraat, which is almost half a century old and is undergoing overhauling. Admiral Gorshkov, bought from Russia, is expected to join the Indian Navy only in 2012.

Navy Chief Admiral Suresh Mehta speaking on the occasion said a total of 17 classes of ships have been successfully designed and 90 ships have been built in the Indian yards.

“Over the next 10 to 12 years we hope to place orders for something like 60 more platforms including frigates, destroyers, LPDs, another aircraft carrier and several other ships of different types,” the Navy Chief said.

The Government of India sanctioned the design and construction of the IAC in January 2003. This is the Indian Navy’s most prestigious project. Defence official said that the design and construction of this ship is a technical complexity whose dimensions far outstrip any such challenge faced hitherto by the Indian Naval Designers. IAC designed by Navy’s Design Organisation and being built at M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited would be capable of operating different aircraft right from Russian MiG-29K, Ka31 and indigenous LCA.

Giving the details of the ship, the official said that the ship had a length of 260 m and maximum breadth of 60 m. “The ship will be propelled by two shafts, each coupled to two LM2500 Gas Turbines developing a total power of 80 MW, sufficient to attain speeds in excess of 28 knots. The ship has an endurance of around 8,000 NM and complement of 1600. The ship will have two takeoff runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires,” the official said, adding that the new ship could carry a maximum of 30 aircraft with adequate hangarage capacity. The carrier is designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, he said.

The production of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier commenced in November 2006 and large numbers of blocks have already been fabricated, which are under erection. Major equipment to be installed in lower decks of the ship has been ordered, the official said, adding that the Steel Authority India Limited was playing a major part in providing the required steel.

According to the official, the ship construction is planned in two phases. The first phase covers work up to first launch by the end of 2010. The second phase would cover all balance work till delivery of the ship to the Navy by end of 2014. “Assistance for propulsion system integration and aviation aspects have been taken from M/s Fincantieri of Italy and M/s NDB of Russia respectively,” the defence official said.