Indian Navy Showcases Multi-Aircraft Carrier Power, Major Demonstration of Operational Prowess

[NG Missile Vessels]

Days after the Indian Navy’s two aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and the indigenous INS Vikrant were spotted by satellite imagery experts sailing together in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy today unveiled that the mission was part of a multi-carrier operations demonstration involving both carrier groups, including more than 35 aircraft off India’s eastern seaboard.

In a statement, the Indian Navy said, “This demonstration of naval prowess underscores India’s commitment to safeguarding its national interests, maintaining regional stability, and fostering cooperative partnerships in the maritime domain. It also marks a significant milestone in Indian Navy’s pursuit of enhancing maritime security and power-projection in the Indian Ocean, and beyond. The exercise involved seamless integration of two Aircraft Carriers INS Vikramaditya and the indigenously built INS Vikrant- along with a diverse fleet of ships, submarines and aircraft, showcasing India’s technological expertise in the maritime domain.“

The Russian origin INS Vikramaditya turns 10 this year in Indian Navy service, having been commissioned at Severodvinsk in November 2013. The INS Vikrant, India’s most ambitious military shipbuilding effort, celebrates a year in service this September. Both carrier, described by the navy as “centre-pieces of the exercise, serve as ‘floating sovereign airfields’, providing a launch platform for a wide array of aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, MH60R Sea Hawk, Kamov, Sea King, Chetak and ALH helicopters.”

The Indian Navy’s new under-delivery MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters debuted carrier operations with INS Vikrant only a few days ago:

The Indian Navy’s statement continues, “These mobile bases can be positioned anywhere, allowing for increased mission flexibility, timely response to emerging threats and sustained air operations to safeguard our national interests across the globe. In addition, they provide our friends with an assurance that the Indian Navy is capable and ready to support our ‘collective’ security needs in the Region. The successful demonstration of two-carrier battle group operations serves as a powerful testament to the pivotal role of sea-based air power in maintaining maritime superiority. As India continues to strengthen its security apparatus, significance of Aircraft Carriers will remain paramount in shaping the nation’s defence strategy and promoting regional stability.“

Open source intelligence analyst Damien Symon tweeted out this satellite image of INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya together in the Arabian Sea on June 5. See more of Symon’s work here.

The INS Vikrant has had a busy 10 months since its induction, with its commissioning crew comfortably meeting deadlines to get the ship fully operational in all aspects. In February this year, shortly after the first MiG-29Ks operated off her deck, pilots flew in indigenous N-LCA naval fighters to try out the new carrier deck.

Livefist learns that INS Vikrant is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy’s quest for new generation deck-based fighters for its carriers is said to be moving forward. Livefist reported earlier this year that the Indian Navy had greenflagged the Rafale in a face-off contest between the French fighter and the American Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The exercises are clearly designed as a flex at an increasing Chinese attempt to assert in the Indian Ocean region. The twin aircraft carrier group flex comes at a time when the Indian Air Force has been conducting a series of long-range anti-surface operations over the Indian Ocean using frontline fighters. The first mission involved a package of Rafales flying a long range mission for over six hours into the Andaman Sea and southern Indian Ocean. According to the IAF, “The aircraft “fought” their way through a large force engagement en route to their Weapon Release Point.”

The second mission was an even longer maritime mission involving Su-30MKI fighters with mid-air tankers flying an eight-hour mission deep over the Indian Ocean over both seaboards to demonstrate a long range anti-ship or land attack operation.

Indian Navy Flexes Twin Aircraft Carrier Groups - Livefist

Days after the Indian Navy's two aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and the indigenous INS Vikrant were spotted by satellite imagery experts sailing together in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy today unveiled that the mission was part of a multi-carrier operations demonstration involving both...

www.livefistdefence.com

 

[NG Missile Vessels]

INS Vikrant goes for refit, Indian Navy gets ready for Indo-Pacific​

Around June 3-4, the Indian Navy put out its formidable maritime capabilities on display with strike forces headed by INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant wargaming on high seas in Arabian sea with 35 MiG-29K strike aircraft, newly acquired MH 60 R helicopters from US, and a host of warships and submarines. The synchronized war drill was watched by top naval commanders as India projected its dominance in the Indian Ocean.

Even though INS Vikrant is headed for its mandatory “guarantee refit”, the INS Vikramaditya carrier is fully operational after a major overhaul last year and will be charting oceans this year. The Indian Navy will be sending its warships, submarines and P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the Quad Malabar exercises off the coast of Sydney this August with serious multi-level participation from US, Japan, and host Australian Navy.

While INS Vikrant is getting refitted, the Narendra Modi government is also expected to take a decision on acquiring possibly 26 Rafale-Maritime aircraft for the new aircraft carrier to maintain operational synergy and seamless maintenance of its top end fighter platforms with the Indian Air Force. The IAF’s Rafale fighters will be seen in action at the Bastille Day parade on July 14 in France with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance at the show.

The Indian Navy is also expected to get 10 Sikorsky multi-role helicopters from the US by the end of this year with remaining joining the fleet next year.

Given that the Indian Navy has the maritime capability to project dominance in the Indo-Pacific, it is no longer either operationally or doctrinally bound between the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Aden as was projected in the past. While the Indian Navy is projecting demand for a third aircraft carrier, the Navy has plans to deploy one carrier on the east and another carrier on the western seaboard of India with mission specific deployments and no maritime diplomacy.

With China investing in ports and bases in ASEAN, Indian sub-continent and the Middle East the Indian Navy has to also look at new bases to operate in the south Indian Ocean and deter any sub-continental power to host Chinese PLAN warships. India is also seeking investments from oil rich powers in the Middle East to invest in ports in Indian Ocean littoral states so that there is ready infrastructure for future maritime security of the Southeast Asia region. That city state of Singapore has the largest military in the ASEAN does not bode well for countering the challenge of expansionist Chinese Navy.

INS Vikrant goes for refit, Indian Navy gets ready for Indo-Pacific

Even though INS Vikrant is headed for “guarantee refit” at Cochin shipyard, INS Vikramaditya is fully operational and ready to chart Indo-Pacific.

www.google.com

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

INS Vikrant goes for refit, Indian Navy gets ready for Indo-Pacific​

View attachment 933707
Around June 3-4, the Indian Navy put out its formidable maritime capabilities on display with strike forces headed by INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant wargaming on high seas in Arabian sea with 35 MiG-29K strike aircraft, newly acquired MH 60 R helicopters from US, and a host of warships and submarines. The synchronized war drill was watched by top naval commanders as India projected its dominance in the Indian Ocean.

Even though INS Vikrant is headed for its mandatory “guarantee refit”, the INS Vikramaditya carrier is fully operational after a major overhaul last year and will be charting oceans this year. The Indian Navy will be sending its warships, submarines and P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the Quad Malabar exercises off the coast of Sydney this August with serious multi-level participation from US, Japan, and host Australian Navy.

While INS Vikrant is getting refitted, the Narendra Modi government is also expected to take a decision on acquiring possibly 26 Rafale-Maritime aircraft for the new aircraft carrier to maintain operational synergy and seamless maintenance of its top end fighter platforms with the Indian Air Force. The IAF’s Rafale fighters will be seen in action at the Bastille Day parade on July 14 in France with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance at the show.

The Indian Navy is also expected to get 10 Sikorsky multi-role helicopters from the US by the end of this year with remaining joining the fleet next year.

Given that the Indian Navy has the maritime capability to project dominance in the Indo-Pacific, it is no longer either operationally or doctrinally bound between the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Aden as was projected in the past. While the Indian Navy is projecting demand for a third aircraft carrier, the Navy has plans to deploy one carrier on the east and another carrier on the western seaboard of India with mission specific deployments and no maritime diplomacy.

With China investing in ports and bases in ASEAN, Indian sub-continent and the Middle East the Indian Navy has to also look at new bases to operate in the south Indian Ocean and deter any sub-continental power to host Chinese PLAN warships. India is also seeking investments from oil rich powers in the Middle East to invest in ports in Indian Ocean littoral states so that there is ready infrastructure for future maritime security of the Southeast Asia region. That city state of Singapore has the largest military in the ASEAN does not bode well for countering the challenge of expansionist Chinese Navy.

INS Vikrant goes for refit, Indian Navy gets ready for Indo-Pacific

Even though INS Vikrant is headed for “guarantee refit” at Cochin shipyard, INS Vikramaditya is fully operational and ready to chart Indo-Pacific.

www.google.com

There should be at least one more Vikrant class aircraft ordered, but unfortunately, our planners are s##kers.

 

[NG Missile Vessels]

There should be at least one Vikrant class aircraft, but unfortunately, our planners are s##kers.

MF-STAR radar and Barak 8 fitment will commence from June onwards and should take 3-4 months time. During that time, she will also undergo some guarantee refit activity. Thereafter, once the monsoon gets over, she will be operationally ready

INS Vikrant will be fully operational by Nov, 2023: Navy chief - Times of India

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said that INS Vikrant, the indigenously built aircraft carrier, will be based in Visakhapatnam, in Eastern Naval Command and will be fully operational by November 2023.

www.google.com

 

[Muhammad Saftain Anjum]

I do not see anything worthy in our Missile Inventory to handle IN aircraft carriers.we do not know about capabilities P282 AsBM

However, according to some reports,P282 is actually CM401 hypersonic ballistic missile that travels at mach 6 and can maneuver in its terminal stage

(Much like Russian Iskandar BM)
PN's another hope is submarine inventory.
Not talking about CM302 Supersonic Cruise Missile because it will be very limited in range (only 280-300km)

 

[NG Missile Vessels]

India demonstrates naval strength with dual aircraft carrier exercise, a feat China has yet to accomplish

CNN — India’s two aircraft carriers led their battle groups in a combined operation in the Arabian Sea earlier this week, showcasing what the service calls its “formidable maritime capabilities” and ability to project power around the Indian Ocean and beyond.

Analysts say it’s a big accomplishment and one that only the United States Navy has pulled off in recent memory.

“This is not a small achievement and underlines that the Indian Navy is one of very few in the world that operates more than one aircraft carrier,” said Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

The two aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, led the exercise with more than 35 aircraft and an array of surface ships and submarines, according to a press release from the Indian Navy.

“The successful demonstration of two-carrier battle group operations serves as a powerful testament to the pivotal role of sea-based air power in maintaining maritime superiority,” the release said.

India became capable of dual-carrier operations when the $3 billion Vikrant, India’s first domestically built carrier, was commissioned last September, joining Vikramaditya, which was bought from Russia and went into service in 2013.

Upon Vikrant’s commissioning last year, India joined only the United Kingdom and China in commissioning a domestically built aircraft carrier in the previous three years.

But while both China and the UK have more than one aircraft carrier in their modern fleets, neither has yet to perform dual-carrier operations with them, analysts said.

Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said India’s naval history may put it ahead of China, whose People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is the world’s largest, in the current operating environment for aircraft carriers.

“The Indian Navy has had decades-long experience and expertise in aircraft carrier ops and this is probably the key advantage it possesses over the PLA Navy, its key rival in this field, despite the latter’s relative advance in its indigenous aircraft carrier program,” Koh said.

China has two aircraft carriers in service, the Soviet-built Liaoning and the domestically built Shandong, while a third carrier, the Fujian, has been launched but not commissioned.

Hawaii-based analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, said India’s dual-carrier operations this week show “the rejuvenation of the Indian Navy.”

India commissioned its first aircraft carrier in 1961 and added a second in 1987. It has operated two aircraft carriers on two previous occasions, between 1987 and 1997, and between 2013 and 2017.

“It should be remembered that the Indian Navy has always been a highly trained, tightly disciplined and very proficient force,” Schuster said.

The Indian Navy press release called the carriers “floating sovereign airfields,” adding that “they provide our friends with an assurance that the Indian Navy is capable and ready to support our ‘collective’ security needs in the region.”

New Delhi’s forces have been stepping up cooperation with other navies in the Indo-Pacific, including those in the informal Quad partnership – the United States, Japan and Australia – in the annual Malabar naval exercises.

“India’s partnerships and collaborative exercises with other navies have broadened the navy’s operational knowledge and open ocean experiences,” Schuster said.

What the Indian Navy can learn about dual-carrier operations from the United States could be substantial. The US Navy operates the world’s largest carrier fleet – 11 warships – and just last week had two of those, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, operating together in the Philippine Sea.

The US Navy sees China as a “pacing threat” in the Indo-Pacific, and India’s naval operations look toward China too, Schuster said.

But even with the advancements demonstrated by the dual-carrier operation, India’s carrier program still has question marks, said Childs from IISS.

“While an impressive-looking display, there may be some question over what this really amounts to as yet in terms of actual operational capability,” he said, noting that images from the Indian operation showed relatively few fighter aircraft on the decks of the Vikramaditya and Vikrant.

“This may indicate limited aircraft availability, or that the ships’ capacities are somewhat constrained at the moment. It would certainly suggest that the Indian Navy could do with more carrier aircraft,” Childs said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/15/asia/india-navy-dual-aircraft-carrier-operations-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

 

[indushek]

There should be at least one more Vikrant class aircraft ordered, but unfortunately, our planners are s##kers.

I think a parliamentary committee has already recommended a third carrier's development
Navy also has started work on this INS Vishal

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

I think a parliamentary committee has already recommended a third carrier's development
Navy also has started work on this INS Vishal

This is just BS.
You usually ordered the product parallelly and jus finished your 1st product.

Vishal class too old BS story to talk about it.

Two blunders done by them.

No follow up order for scorpion submarines atleast 3.

Too late to decide on 3rd aircraft carrier. Delayed by almost 10 years

 

[Fish]

Their cost alone (billions of dollars a pop) makes them juicy targets against hypersonic cruise missiles like the Chinese DF-21D "Carrier Killer" designed specifically for naval warfare.
Needless to say, even state of the art anti-missile systems struggle to detect - let alone intercept - hypersonic missiles.

And nothing's stopping us from buying a whole bunch of DF-21Ds from China! After all, we are already poised to manufacture Chinese DF-17s in-house in the coming years, which is a more 'general purpose' hypersonic missile system.

So yeah, India pouring literally tens of billions of dollars on these things is a curious choice, to say the least. They'll have to operate these 'darlings' well outside the range of Chinese hypersonic missiles, which is 1,500 kilometers for the DF-21 ASBM (Anti-ship Ballistic Missile) variant.

Long story short, I believe these carriers pose next to no threat, though they do give India some much needed bragging rights, heh!

 

[MH.Yang]

Please pay attention to cleaning the aircraft carrier's toilets in a timely manner and prevent fires. Remember to close the hatch when the submarine dives.

 

[indushek]

This is just BS.
You usually ordered the product parallelly and jus finished your 1st product.

Vishal class too old BS story to talk about it.

Two blunders done by them.

No follow up order for scorpion submarines atleast 3.

Too late to decide on 3rd aircraft carrier. Delayed by almost 10 years

I don't get what you mean by BS

Given the facilities and budget constraints, I don't think we can have three carriers at same time.

I think the delay was because of deciding on the Stobar or catobar type of carrier for follow on order, but Naval Chief did mention they are going for a second Vikrant type carrier to make up for time lost. I don't remember the news but the firm that made Vikrant has said, they can make the next one in seven to eight years.

Scorpene class orders were always 6, and the follow on became necessary or being talked about because of indecision on P75I.

It certainly is frustrating though, that indecision has marred our defense acquisitions always.

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

I don't get what you mean by BS

Given the facilities and budget constraints, I don't think we can have three carriers at same time.

I think the delay was because of deciding on the Stobar or catobar type of carrier for follow on order, but Naval Chief did mention they are going for a second Vikrant type carrier to make up for time lost. I don't remember the news but the firm that made Vikrant has said, they can make the next one in seven to eight years.

Scorpene class orders were always 6, and the follow on became necessary or being talked about because of indecision on P75I.

It certainly is frustrating though, that indecision has marred our defense acquisitions always.

Stobar or catobar - the same kind of discussion will br happening even after 10 years from now.

It is nothing a new such drama's.

When they planned vishal aircraft carrier?
Started with design drama from purchasing from Russia to England..

Than nuclear engine etc etc..

Than further Stobar or catobar -

Once it will get completed, will come with nee drama's - radars, SAMs etc.. It is kind of never ending drama's.

The same they did with submarines programs... Yet after 20 years, not decided to go with which project after scorpion class.

SSN submarines program allowanced by this ch@@@tiya ministers.... What the progress status? Yet on the paper..

 

[NG Missile Vessels]

Their cost alone (billions of dollars a pop) makes them juicy targets against hypersonic cruise missiles like the Chinese DF-21D "Carrier Killer" designed specifically for naval warfare

They're ballistic missiles bro. Every modern ballistic missiles achieves hypersonic speed at terminal phase.
As far I know, the Zircon is the only scramjet powered hypersonic cruise missile in active service today and rest of them are under development

If you want to talk about carrier killer missiles, even Indians have them in their inventory
Agni Prime can be manoeuvred at the point of entry into the earth’s atmosphere, a feature that is usually not available in a ballistic missile. This makes the Agni Prime more difficult to intercept.The ring-laser gyroscopes are more accurate.

 

[NG Missile Vessels]

After all, we are already poised to manufacture Chinese DF-17s in-house in the coming years, which is a more 'general purpose' hypersonic missile system.

The last year test of Agni V was suspected to have included a Hypersonic glide vehicle due to the low velocity of the projectile as seen in the camera-shot images although DRDO and SFC remained silent on the issue. A familiar source described that "it may not be a test of Agni 5 and something much bigger

https://twitter.com/x/status/1604031924304957440

 

[indushek]

Stobar or catobar - the same kind of discussion will br happening even after 10 years from now.

It is nothing a new such drama's.

When they planned vishal aircraft carrier?
Started with design drama from purchasing from Russia to England..

Than nuclear engine etc etc..

Than further Stobar or catobar -

Once it will get completed, will come with nee drama's - radars, SAMs etc.. It is kind of never ending drama's.

The same they did with submarines programs... Yet after 20 years, not decided to go with which project after scorpion class.

SSN submarines program allowanced by this ch@@@tiya ministers.... What the progress status? Yet on the paper..

I feel your pain, its frustrating. LOL our babus are like this, what can we do.