Nation’s biggest warship to dock in three weeks

Bangalore: INS Vikramaditya, India’s largest aircraft carrier will soon be entering Indian waters. It is currently on its way from Russia, where it underwent a complete refit, to the port of Karwar.

It can accommodate 30 fighter planes and a fleet of helicopters. It has 2,000 Russian and Indian Navy officers on board and is expected to dock at the INS Kadamba at the end of January.

“The INS Vikramaditya is the largest and tallest warship that we have. It’s a refurbished version of the Russian Admiral Gorshkov. It has the Resistor-E radar complex, an automated system designed to provide air traffic control, approach/landing and short range navigation for ship-borne aircraft. Tall cranes are required to maintain these systems,” said a naval officer.

Depth in jetty area need to be increased to accommodate 45,000 tonne vessel. “Besides this, the power supply and fuel supply connection to the vessel are being finalised. We are also looking for residential accommodation for the 2,000 crew,” the officer said.

An assortment of MiG 29K, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters will form the airborne armoury of the Vikramaditya. “The MiG 29K swing role fighter is the main offensive platform and provides a quantum jump for the Indian Navy’s maritime strike capability. These fourth generation fighters provide a significant fillip for the Indian Navy with a range of over 700 nautical miles (extendable to over 1,900 nm with midair refuelling) and an array of weapons including anti-ship missiles,” the official explained.

Know Your INS Vikramaditya

It’s being considered a ‘game-changer’ for the Indian Navy. The largest floating airfield of India has an overall length of 284 metres and a maximum beam of 60 metres.

Standing about 20 storeys tall from keel to the highest point, the vessel weighs 44,500 tonnes. The ship has a total of 22 decks.

The vessel can speed up to 30 knots as she is powered by eight new-generation boilers of steam capacity of 100 TPH.

The Vikramaditya also boasts of a modern communication complex, CCS MK II, to meet her external communication requirements. Installation of Link II tactical data system allows her to be fully integrated with the Indian Navy's network centric operations.