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Russian tanker Chaika has pumped 3,600 tons
of fuel into INS Vikramaditya, and sea trials
should be held any time in the White Sea off the
naval base near Murmansk under both Russian and
Indian supervision. The indicated date is May
25.
The fast firing boilers are alive, and steam
has set the ship and its machinery on track to
prepare for the journey to the White Sea.
An Indian Navy team is stationed at the Sevmash
Shipyard for training and monitoring the progress
of the rebuilding of the vessel, formerly Admiral
Gorshkov. But Vice Admiral Ganesh Mahadevan, the
retiring Chief of Material (COM) who paid close
attention to the modernization of the aircraft
carrier as well as other projects, visited the
ship in April and cleared the way forward for
sea trials as well as aircraft landing and takeoff
trials.
He was accompanied by Vice Admiral NN Kumar,
Controller Warship Production and Acquisition
(CWPA), and members of the Warship Overseeing
Team (WOT). INS Vikramaditya’s first Commanding
Officer designate, Captain Suraj Berry, is already
there.
The team has inspected the vessel’s flat
top, ramp, crew quarters, machinery and weapon
locations. A minor problem with one of the boilers
was rectified after a faulty expansion joint component
was replaced. There are several Indian-made systems,
supplied by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Electronics
Corporation of India (ECIL) and others on board
to ensure connectivity with Indian naval and air
assets. INS Vikramaditya has a 14-degree ski ramp
with arrestor wires. Russia has supplied the automatic
landing and the Luna optical landing systems and
they are working well in conjunction with Indian-made
Deck Approach Projector Sight and ship-aircraft
data exchange system already installed on board.
Interestingly, Indian pilots took training for
deck landing with the US Navy. The process is
tough, and a pilot has virtually to crashland
an aircraft at 3/4th of power and hit the deck
to hook one of the three wires, and be ready to
put full throttle for takeoff if he misses them.
Vice Admiral Mahadevan indicated in an informal
chat that the capabilities of INS Vikramaditya
would be many times more than initially planned
and that every system on board is being tested
to determine any problems or improvements and
necessary action taken. Shipbuilding contractors,
the Severnoye Machinery-building Enterprise (SMP),
have changed the steel plates, rewired thousands
of miles of wiring and fitted all the equipment
including new radars and CIC operating systems,
EW and communications systems, arrestor wires,
hangars and lifts, and put them to work.
Flight trials on board INS Vikramaditya would
be conducted by Russian Navy’s two Mig 29K
aircraft.
India is paying US$ 2.3 billion for the modernisation
of the aircraft carrier, and the mooney includes
trials by the Russian Navy for sea, radar and
weapon systems. As on any other ship, it is also
to be ensured that there is no electronic mutual
interference between one system on board and another.
Russia is delivering the ship before or on 4
Dec 2012, the Indian Navy Day, in Russian waters,
and some time early 2013, INS Vikramaditya will
be on the Indian shores.
Vladimir ‘Vovick’ Karnozov andLeonov,
the construction managers of Project 11430 aircraft
carrier at Sevmash have confirmed that the sea
trials will commence 25thMay, and will be extensive
as INS Vikramaditya is the first of class refitted
to Indian Navy’s specifications.
Two critical issues, i.e. startup of refrigerating
machines and fixture of search-and-rescue equipment,
will be completed in the final stages. Indian
naval officers and sailors are also undergoing
training at SMP and special facilities have been
set up in the town of Pushkin. The crew in Severodvinsk
embark the Vikramaditya every day to get accustomed
with the ship and familiarise themselves with
the installed systems.
The training programme for the ship’s company
has been extensive and detailed for 632 out of
the total 1400 on board.
The key training modules have been kept at 27
for the Commanding officer and air element officers,
23 for engineering and 15 electrical officers,
12 NBCD specialists, 118 weapons senior and junior
sailors, 280 mechanics, and 157 maintenance and
automation maintainers.
The rest will be provided ‘on board training’
to operate and maintain the Vikramaditya after
commissioning.
Notably, the Indian Navy has a vast experience
of commissioning ships in Russia and recently,
it commissioned and inducted INS Chakra and then
the first of Project 11356 Krivack ships, INS
Teg. A test firing of the supersonic BrahMos was
part of the Teg’s trials.
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