vikraal, why not ? bigger is always better. talwars are the mostly heavily armed ships for their size probably in the world. one of their drawbacks is a low aft deck that will be awash in heavy seas. that should be fixed in the new series.
and 2 ASW helos are a must ofcourse.

Five ships of the Western Fleet and one submarine under the tactical command of the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Rear Admiral RF Contractor are on an overseas deployment to the Gulf of Aden for Indo-French naval exercise Varuna. The group consists of aircraft carrier Viraat, guided missile destroyer Mysore, guided missile frigates Talwar and Godavari and tanker Aditya. From the French side, La Fayette (guided missile frigate), Jacoubet (ASW corvette), Perle (nuclear submarine), shore based Atlantique (MRASW) and Mirage 2000 (fighter) aircraft are taking part in the exercise.

The ships except Vir! aat and Talwar are visiting Djibouti from 19 to 22 Nov. The visit to Djibouti, apart from reaffirming our friendship would also witness professional interaction with the French Navy based at the port. IN-FN joint exercise, being conducted from 22 and 24 November, is the seventh of the series since 2001 and the second this year. The joint exercises have grown in scope and complexity over the years and facilitated mutual learning and interoperability. During this exercise, the thrust would be on dissimilar air combat between Sea Harriers and French Mirages, air defence exercises, intermediate and advanced level anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction operations and compliant and non-! compliant boarding operations. Another highlight is the professional interaction of the naval marine commandoes and Army troops with French Special Forces. Incidentally, one platoon of Army personnel and four IAF pilots are embarked on IN ships for interaction with their French counterparts. This is the first time that the Indian aircraft carrier Viraat is participating in Varuna series of exercises. Last year in April 2004, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had formed part of their task force.

Wednesday November 23, 05:33 PM

India, France conduct naval drill in Gulf of Aden

By Indo Asian News Service

New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) India has sent five major warships and a submarine for a wargame with the French Navy in the Gulf of Aden that is aimed at building joint capabilities for anti-terror operations and interdiction on the high seas.

‘This is the first time we are exercising with the French Navy far away from Indian waters and it is also the first time that our aircraft carrier INS Viraat is being used in manoeuvres with the French,’ Indian Navy spokesman Commander Vinay Garg told IANS.

A platoon of Indian Army paratroopers has joined the Indian Navy’s elite Marine Commandos – or Marcos – to train with French Special Forces for missions to interdict ships at sea, Garg said.

The French forces taking part in the exercise – the seventh in the Indo-French series of wargames codenamed Varuna and the second such drill this year – are drawn from a detachment based at Djibouti, a former French colony. All previous exercises in the Varuna series have been held off the Indian coast.

Four pilots from the Indian Air Force (IAF) are also part of the Indian forces taking part in the exercise, and will interact with their French counterparts flying Mirage 2000 jets from the base at Djibouti.

‘The Indian and French forces interacted for three days at harbour, followed by the three-day exercise in the Gulf of Aden,’ Garg said.

The drills at sea – including air defence exercises, advanced anti-submarine warfare, dissimilar air combat between India’s Sea Harriers jets and French Mirage-2000 fighters, and maritime interdiction and boarding operations – will end Thursday.

‘The Indo-French joint exercises have grown in scope and complexity over the years and facilitated mutual learning and interoperability,’ Garg said.

The Indian detachment, commanded by Rear Admiral R.F. Contractor, flag officer commanding of the Western Fleet, comprises the Viraat, guided missile destroyer INS Mysore, guided missile frigates INS Talwar and INS Godavari and tanker INS Aditya.

The French warships taking part in the exercise are guided missile frigate La Fayette, anti-submarine corvette Jacoubet, nuclear submarine Perle, and shore-based Atlantique patrol aircraft and Mirage-2000 jets.

In April 2004, the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was part of a task force that conducted a wargame in Indian waters.

‘The Indian Navy lays great emphasis on enhancing bilateral ties and improving interoperability with developed navies through professional and operational interaction,’ Garg said.

Ship visits build ‘bridges of friendship’ and such exercises also provide India an opportunity to showcase its shipbuilding capabilities through indigenously built warships like Mysore and Godavari, he said.

situation is getting very tight in indian airports due to delay in new terminals and runways. iirc heavies like Newark (EWR) handle around 1000 flights a day but have
two runways and huge concourses with tens of aerobridge gates. delhi is nowhere
near that scale yet traffic is surging 🙁

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1549283,000600010001.htm

Record flights stretch airport

On Wednesday, Delhi Airport was stretched to its limits. Its solitary runway made a dubious record. The Air Traffic Control handled arrivals and departures of as many as 525 flights. By late evening, the rush at the conveyor belts was such that passengers had to wait for nearly an hour to get their baggage.

Airport officials are shuddering at the prospect of handling such a huge number of flights during December and January fog when delays are frequent. The 525 flights included domestic, international, cargo and unscheduled flights. This was against the daily average of 410 flights till barely a month back.

On Wednesday, Delhi airport’s infrastructure got thoroughly exposed for what it is – geared for year 1985 instead of 2005. The situation has worsened ever since the winter schedule came into effect on October 28 with more flights coming into Delhi. Traffic has increased 25 per cent since last winter. Several new domestic and international flights have been added.

Approval for some more flights like Jet Airways’ London flight has been given. Continental Airlines has started its flights as has American Airlines. The situation is little different at the domestic Terminal IB with more domestic operators being added every quarter.

The promised second runway is a year away. “Sadly, all these international airlines have been given permission to land between the peak 10 pm to 2 am slab.

“Take Wednesday, for instance. There were 6000 passengers fighting for 2000 trolleys. We are grossly under-prepared,” said an airport official.

Then there is the non-availability of Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) counters – contributing to the jam. Jet Airways has been moved to a non-CUTE counter, and has written a letter of protest to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

perhaps they adjusted and tuned the ships siren ? can be mighty powerful.

next time pirates will have earplugs so they need something better.

Leon, here:

http://www.acig.org/exclusives/viraat/PICS/mysore_barak.jpg

no photos of rajput class with barak released yet.