India begins aircraft carrier construction; to go in for more

Joining an elite club of nations capable of building large warships, India on Saturday began the construction of its first indigenous aircraft carrier at the Cochin Shipyard in Kochi and will go in for 2 to 3 more carriers in the heavier class.

Pressing a remote to lower the keel the ship's backbone into the construction dock of the shipyard, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "The Navy's carrier will showcase India's technological prowess and warships' building capabilities to the world. It will be the largest ever warship to be built in India."


The 40,000-tonne carrier will operate nearly 30 aircraft including the Russian MiG-29Ks fighters, Kamov-31 helicopters and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).


"This is a crucial milestone and an occasion to cherish in the shipbuilding traditions and maritime history of the nation. The culmination of this prestigious project, sometime in 2014, will transform India into an aircraft-building nation," Antony said.


He said that India will certainly produce more indigenous aircraft carrier, but in the heavier class category to meet the future challenges and needs of maritime security.



"We hope to operate two to three aircraft carriers simultaneously in the not too distant future," Mukherjee said.



"Our ever expanding maritime responsibilities require enhanced 'blue water' capabilities and to achieve this, integral air cover is a must. Our navy is one of the few carrier-operating navies worldwide," Antony said.


Among the naval powers of the world, only the US, Russia, France and the UK have carrier building capability. Even out of these four, UK is yet to build a carrier with a 40,000 tonne displacement.


India already possesses an aircraft carrier in the 29,000-tonne class, the INS Viraat bought from the British navy and it has seen 50 years of cumulative naval service.



The 45,000-tonne Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier was purchased from Russia in 2004 and has been re-christened as INS Vikramaditya and is likely to join Indian Navy in 2012 after repair and refit in the Russian shipyard Sevmash.


The uncertainty, conflict and threats from maritime terrorism, piracy, narcotics, smuggling and low-intensity conflict were perpetrated by both state and non-state actors, he said, adding "the security of the sea lanes and offshore infrastructure will have to be ensured for sustainable development".



Designed by the Navy's Design Organisation since January 2003 after the government sanction came, the project had gained stream in 2006 when the construction of the warships' building blocks began.


The shipyard has already completed about 8,100 tonne of work with steel, developed by DRDO and produced by SAIL.


"The Project-71, as the integrated aircraft carrier is called in the Navy parlance, was initially sanctioned Rs 3,260 crore by the government, but the project cost was likely to increase as the warship construction progressed," Cochin Shipyard's (CSL) Chairman and Managing Director Commodore (retired) M Jitendran told reporters earlier in the day.


Jitendran said the CSL had already built around 400 blocks of the total 874 blocks that would form the fully constructed carrier when it would be delivered in 2014.


He said the Navy and the CSL had jointly designed the carrier, but taken help from Russia's NBD for the aviation aspects of the warship and Italy's Fincantieri for the propulsion system integration.


Asked about the carrier's contract, Jitendran said they were expected to complete work on the warship by December 2010 and launch it into the water, but the delivery would take place on schedule in the middle of the next decade.


On plans for construction of heavier aircraft carrier in the future, he said the CSL currently did not possess the construction dock to build warships heavier than 40,000 tonnes, but if the government intended to give it the orders, expanding the shipyard was possible.



India 'safe' in the hands of armed forces: Antony


Addressing a function in Kochi after laying the keel of India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), he said this was his last public function as the Defence Minister.


He said, "when I look back, I feel satisfied that I tried my level best to protect national interest and security. I got total support and cooperation from all my colleagues."


Stating that rapid industrial growth was increasing country's dependence on sea route he said "this necessitates security of our sealink communication and offshore infrastructure".


"The task of defending seafront security of the offshore installations and safeguard of the sealines make the task extremely challenging".


" Indian Navy has to take the lead in safeguarding the nation's vital security interest," he said.


Praising the Indian Naval designers, he said they proved that they could design a world class aircraft carrier.



Neither Chief Minister, V S Achutanandan, nor any of his Cabinet colleagues attended the function.


Replying to a query, Antony said "there is no proposal with the government to privatise the Cochin Shipyard Ltd."



He added that any such move would be opposed.