A related article on the visit and these are the best words…. long live!

May you shine like the Aditya (the sun). May you outshine everything that comes your way.

Modi sees what no PM has in 30 years

SUJAN DUTTA

On board the INS Vikramaditya off Goa, June 14: In the seconds that the Dhruv helicopter hovers before landing, the downwash from its rotors scatters the waves on the water, and the vastness of the Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s newest aircraft carrier acquired after decades of toil, suddenly becomes real.

As the chopper, suspended above its flight deck, aligns itself to land, one can see through its cockpit windshield and over the ski-jump at the far end of the deck that another carrier, the INS Viraat, has just begun manoeuvring to line-up for a steam-past of the Western Fleet.

Such is the view that Narendra Modi commands as he lands in his Seaking 48 Charlie helicopter minutes after the Dhruv, which has ferried journalists from the naval air station at Dabolim, Goa. No other ruler of an Asian country today can command such a sight.

For a powerful Prime Minister, the view is stunning: not in 30 years has an Indian Prime Minister assumed office when India’s navy is operating two aircraft carriers, each capable of multiplying fire-and-surveillance power by over a thousand miles.

The moment is barely lost on Modi. On landing, he heads straight to a MiG29K fighter aircraft – the main combat arm of the Vikramaditya – that is lashed to the deck with its canopy open.

The chief of naval staff, Admiral Robin Dhowan, and a pilot brief him as Modi, his kurta, pyjamas and blue waistcoat contrasting with the pilot’s G-suit, climbs up a ladder into the cockpit without assistance.
Modi onboard the INS Vikramaditya. (PTI)

He takes off the naval cap he is wearing, looks at the cameras and waves the cap. It’s power projection’s snapshot moment: a brand new PM in a brand new fighter aircraft on a brand new aircraft carrier. Pose over, he goes for another: he pats the pilot.

The Prime Minister’s actions did the talking. A scheduled media interaction was cancelled. But Modi used a meeting with the ship’s company to emphasise what had brought him here.

Even if this meeting was barred to the media, the navy used its new communications satellite -– the Rukmini -– to beam its pictures through government broadcaster Doordarshan to the homes of viewers. (Also a first. As one naval officer put it: “You’ve seen action from land in your drawing rooms; now you can see action in water too.”)

In his brief speech to the officers and sailors, Modi began by underlining the importance of his visit. “I came directly to you after assuming office. This shows my priority and the government’s priority of doing something for the sacrifices you have made.”

The Prime Minister’s day at sea here today was not only his first visit to a field military establishment, it was also his first business trip outside the capital after assuming office.

Tomorrow, he begins his first foreign trip –– to Bhutan. On Friday, he spent more than two hours in the military operations directorate –– or war room -– of the defence ministry in South Block.

In cheating the media of pictures, Modi’s military tour has showcased a Prime Minister with soldierly intent. But one who has missed, for reasons of weather and wherewithal combined, the main purpose — the raison d’etre —– of an aircraft carrier.

Fighter aircraft are meant to take off from the Vikramaditya’s flight-deck, carry out operational missions of offence and defence, and land and shelter in it. No such thing happened onboard the VKD (the navy’s short form of the name). The nearest it came to simulating such missions were two touch-and-go sorties by MiG29K aircraft, difficult naval flying manoeuvres in their own way.

The event was marred by rain. Also, not enough naval pilots have been trained yet to be “carrier qualified”. Only 12 pilots have been certified to land and take off from the ship so far. Earlier this month, one made a “hard-landing” that damaged the nose wheel of the plane.

Modi was given a demonstration, though, of the assets of the navy’s Western Fleet (barring submarines) –– its “sword arm” —- when 14 ships steamed past as he took a salute from the flag deck after two warships, the Tegh and the Tarkash, had fired four anti-submarine missiles to mark the beginning of the show.

Among them were the Viraat, of course, Delhi-class destroyers, four frigates and surveillance aircraft — including the most recently acquired, US-made P8i — that flew past.

Inside the VKD, speaking to the sailors, Modi said: “Hum vaade nahin, iraade leke aae hain (I’ve come not with promises but with intent).”

Part of his intent, he said, was to look after the welfare of soldiers by implementing a long-demanded “one rank, one pension” scheme and by finding job opportunities for skilled soldiers who retire early (often as early as 40 years of age).

Much of his intent, he said, though, was to upgrade the technology of the military. One senior naval officer who was at the meeting said he was impressed “with the way Modi linked the importance of maritime security with economic growth”.

Modi emphasised that India’s sea lanes of communication depended on the security of maritime trade that the Indian Navy must guarantee.

“I believe that a country’s security should be at its best for the people to live in ease. New technologies have come, which would add to the strength of the psyche of the defence personnel. INS Vikramaditya is an example of that,” Modi said.

He emphasised too the need to reduce dependence on imports. Nearly 80 per cent of India’s military equipment is imported. The Vikramaditya still has Russian crew on board who have to certify that the Indians are maintaining its systems well and certify the carrier qualification of the MiG29K pilots.

“We are not here to give challenges to anyone, but we will also not take challenges casually. Our defence mechanisms would be the best in the world,” Modi said, referring to delays in procurement and complaints that the armed forces were using outdated technology.

The Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, and before that the Baku, was originally designed as a helicopter carrier. Contracted during the tenure of the Vajpayee-led NDA government on January 20, 2004, it was delayed and its price doubled to $2.33 billion before it was finally commissioned in Russia in November last year. The vessel sailed through December, reaching Indian waters in January this year.

The naval base where the VKD is to be home-ported -– Karwar, also called “Project Seabird”, on the north Karnataka coast —- is also a work in progress, more than 30 years after its execution began. Seabird has yet to conclude its Phase I. Last week, the Centre said it was granting it the approvals for Phase II.

The 44,500-tonne Vikramaditya -– named not after the kings who ruled in ancient and medieval India but because of the word’s Sanskrit meaning, “brave and powerful as the shining sun” — can be berthed only in Karwar because no other naval dockyard has enough space for a warship its size.

Modi told its crew: “May you shine like the aditya (the sun). May you outshine everything that comes your way.”

Another contender in the contest for an amphibian is Be-200

Be-200Chs first employed/demonstrated its SAR and fire-fighting capability during Kaliningrad 2004 exercise. Picture lined in order of action

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^ A Be-200Chs coming in for fire fighting lands and unload its inflatable to rescue the survivors in the sea.

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^ Picks up the survivors and take water in its belly

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^ 12t water-bombs douses the fire on the offshore platform in one go and off goes the amphibian…

In 2004 Russia conduced an exercise which I personally & any Indian can truly relate to as India’s own very need. Strangely even after nearly 10 years India have not conducted anything even close to this exercises. If such a rescue ops is likelly to happen in any place other than Russia, it is in Indian seas and I would rate the chance for an off-shore platform to meet an ‘accident’ much higher than what Russia is facing at this moment. This 2004 exercise would have been a reality if the terrorists attack in Mumbai had instead taken place on the offshore assets off Mumbai.

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little more to add… will do later.

Some news on future/WIP armament for MiG-29Ks, courtesy Austin.

Brahmos-M (for Mini)

BrahMos to showcase a mockup of a new missile at DEFEXPO-2014 held in India
Russian Aviaton » Thursday February 6, 2014 15:58 MSK

The joint venture BrahMos Aerospace between Russia and India to showcase a full-scale mockup of a new BrahMos-M missile at DEFEXPO-2014 Land, Naval & Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition. It is a smaller version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, ITAR-TASS reports with reference to the CEO of BrahMos Aerospace, Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai.

“We must decrease the weight of the missile in order to integrate it with different platforms, including fifth-generation fighter developed by India in cooperation with Russia”, – he noted adding that the fifth-generation fighter and carrier-based MiG-29K/KUB jets will be able to carry two BrahMos-M missiles, while Su-30MKI aircraft will carry three ones.

According to him, the Board of Directors of BrahMos Aerospace has approved the start of development of the new missile. “We hope to launch the first missile of the type in three years”, – Pillai added.

Presumably, the missile will have the following dimensions: length – 6 m, diameter – 50 cm. It will have a maximum speed of 3,5 Mach (the current versions of missiles made by BrahMos Aerospace are able to reach the speed of 2.8 Mach). The missile will be able to carry a warhead with a weight of up to 300 kg; its range will be 290 km. The company has already tested two-stage BrahMos-M cruise missile with a length of 10 m and a diameter of 70 cm.

Equally deadly are another air-launched missile series from the Klub family meant for MiG-29K. This was shown back in 2007 and since then not much news about it. It might be in development or in testing and not something that have been shelved. We will get to hear something solid about this missile in 2015 (if we do not hear anything in 2014) as the MiG-35 for Russian AF is to start production in 2016.

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AFAIK, the innermost pylons on MiG-29K/35 is rated for 1,500Kg ordnance like the KAB-1500 series and 29K would be able to carry the sub-sonic varaint of the air-launched Klub family. Below are some spec for the two missiles.

3M-54AE (2-stage, supersonic)
Length – 7.9m
Weight – 1,959Kg
Warhead – 200Kg
Range – 220Km

3M-54AE1 (single-stage, subsonic)
Length – 6.2m
Weight – 1,400Kg
Warhead – 400Kg
Range – 220+Km

3M-14AE (single-stage, subsonic) – land attack
Length – 6.2m
Weight – 1,400Kg
Warhead – 400Kg
Range – 220+Km

land/ship/sub-based are 3 & 2 stage respectively.

MiG-29K would be able to carry the 2 x sub-sonic Klub on underwing pylons where as the heavier & longer 3M54AE @ 1,950Kg & 7.9m would only fit in centr pylon.

The E-2C Hawkeye had demonstrated an ability to launch from a low incline ski-jump built ashore at NAS Patuxent River during the 1980s. In 2004 and early 2005 Northrop Grumman did further research on a ski-jumping Hawkeye 2000 in the context of a proposal to the Indian Navy, and while insisting that this was perfectly feasible had to admit that the required changes for STOBAR operations would reduce the aircraft’s capabilities somewhat compared to the standard model.

Probably it was based on that test that E-2C was offered to India. But from the earlier read news reports, the offer was rejected by Indian Navy because the payload lightened E-2C which could take-off from ski-jump could offer only about an hour in air. Anyways if they want to try again, they would be called upon to prove it from the STB, which is now ready. Well almost…. the “runway air finishers” being WIP.