Aircraft-carrier launch delayed by few weeks

India’s poor record in meeting deadlines of defence projects has now hit the prestigious sea-borne aircraft carrier which is under construction at the Defence Ministry-owned Cochin shipyard in Kerala. 
 Despite a laid-down schedule and strict vigil by Defence Minister AK Antony, the planned sea launch, slated for December, has been postponed.
There has been a delay in the amalgamation of some critical components on board the 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier, said sources, hence the slight delay. The launch would be delayed by a few weeks, said officials.
This is India’s first attempt at building a sea-borne aircraft carrier on its own. A modular construction pattern (block-building method) is being followed. Complete blocks are built off site and then fitted into place. This is said to be a faster method of construction and is followed by leading European shipyards.
During the monsoon session of Parliament, Defence Minister AK Antony, answering a query in the Lok Sabha, said that 75 per cent of hull work had been completed and the ship would be launched in December. Additional work will be undertaken after the warship has been commissioned.
One of the reasons for the delay is the final fitment of the four General Electric-supplied LM 2500 engines.
The building of a ship of this size is divided into seven phases: design, construction planning, work prior to keel laying, ship erection, launching, final outfitting and sea trials. The keel of the ship was laid in February 2009. The last two steps - final outfitting and sea trials - are carried out after the launch. As per the original schedule, the warship is to be handed over to the Indian Navy by the end of 2013.
The Indian Navy has, in the past, operated two such aircraft carriers - the INS Vikrant and INS Viraat - but both had been imported. INS Viraat is still in service. Besides this, the Navy is expected to operate three aircraft carriers by 2015, which include Admiral Gorshkov being imported from Russia that is expected join the fleet next year and the one being built at Cochin.
After the sea launch, hundreds of km of wiring will be laid. A flight deck, capable of operating the Russian MiG-29K, Kamov-31 choppers and the indigenous naval light combat aircraft Tejas, will be laid. The vessel will have two take-off runways and landing will be done using arrester wires. It will have the capacity to carry a maximum of 30 aircraft with hangars to house these.
India’s neighbour China is aiming to induct three such carriers by 2015. 


The Tribune