Inspired by Ghalib Kabir’s February 24, 2024 comments: and Ghalib spotted this excellent CNN article https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/15/asia/india-navy-dual-aircraft-carrier-operations-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
In June 2023 India demonstrated its naval strength with a dual aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant "II", battle group exercise in the Arabian Sea off India’s west coast. This was with 35 aircraft as well as Indian surface escorts protected by Indian submarines.
These two Indian carriers are used regularly in exercises. India is strengthening its carrier airwings and navy generally with the purchase of 24 multi-mission (including anti-submarine) MH-60R Seahawks.
Ghalib Kabir added offline on February 26: One of the reasons India is conducting two carrier ops along with SSK and future SSN use is that China is sending multiple oceanographic and SIGINT ships (and here) besides SSKs, SSNs and other surface ships near India.
China won’t back down and are clear that they will poke their finger onto Indian wounds every chance they get…
India's two carriers were operating together in late February 2024 at the MILAN 2024 multilateral naval exercise (and see) hosted by India. This exercise is held by India every 2 years in India’s Fleet Base East (Vizag) right through to India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal.
China has had
no dual carrier exercises and virtually no operational carrier experience. In contrast India has decades of carrier experience. The Indian Navy operated INS Vikrant "I" from 1961 and INS Viraat from 1987.
Also there are doubts whether the UK RN has sufficient escorts to operate the UK’s two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers simultaneously - photo opportunities excepted!
Like Russia’s and China’s current carriers India uses STOBAR (short (ski-jump) take-off - arrested recovery) technology.
India's Carrier Fixed Airwing Problems
"But even with the advancements demonstrated by the dual-carrier operation, India’s carrier program still has question marks, said Childs from IISS.
“While an impressive-looking display, there may be some question over what this really amounts to as yet in terms of actual operational capability,” he said, noting that images from the Indian operation showed relatively few fighter aircraft on the decks of the Vikramaditya and Vikrant.
“This may indicate limited aircraft availability, or that the
ships’ capacities are somewhat constrained at the moment. It would certainly
suggest that the Indian Navy could do with more carrier aircraft,” Childs said."
Pete Comment: Having relied on the Russian MiG-29 K for carrier operations ultimately India wants a locally developed naval fighter-attack aircraft. After testing the very slowly developed “Mirage III in a time warp” HAL Tejas for many years, the Indian Navy has found the Tejas overweight for carrier operations. Some in India’s HAL military-industrial complex have turned their ambitions to a future jet called the HAL TEDBF which is promised to be more than a Tejas with two jet engines rather than one. The TEDBF's first flight is expected in 2026.
Hence India is buying 26 marine Rafale Ms from France as an interim carrier fighter.
Ghalib Kabir further comments that India’s carrier ops and navy generally will be strengthened with a further lease (perhaps from 2025) of a renovated Russian Akula-class SSN, informally called Chakra "III"
Pete Comment
Indian and Chinese carriers might have difficulty operating in a high intensity naval war in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Their own SSKs (as well as Pakistan's) and SSNs could fire sufficient torpedoes and anti-ship missiles to make carrier ops brutal and short. Nuclear weapons, owned by all three countries, would extinguish carrier ops even more quickly.
The main value of carriers in the Indian Ocean may be: power projection over island groups; over less defended ports of weaker countries on the IOR rim; to complicate the low-medium intensity naval strategy and operations of opponents; and for prestige.
Also see my March 3, 2015 article Latest on India's Aircraft Carrier Projects
A cursory look of Indian Carrier ops since 1961 will disabuse anyone of the notion that the carriers and SSNs are prestige white elephants.
ReplyDeleteIndia has used the carrier in real war in 1965, 1971 and conflict like situations in 1988 Gayoom problem, few times in the 2010s etc.
MiG 29K availability issues are partly correct. We have only 36 deployable jets with 9 others being trainers. Thanks to maintenance efforts, their availability is not bad. The Tejas Mk1A naval version has been tested on the carriers and are not being considered seriously as they lack one extra engine. Hence the 26 marine Rafales via G2G contracts.
Now there also rumours instead of the Kashalot or the Bratsk or Iribis, the Akula sub no 331 Magadan could be leased to India instead. You might remember that the chakra ii/nerpa went hunting for the PNS Saad Agosta sub. After balakot 2019,
Hi GhalibKabir
ReplyDeleteIndia's correct decision to build 3 SSNs in preference to a third carrier may have telling.
I commented carriers were useful for "power projection over island groups" with impact on "1988 Gayoom problem" that you mention in the Maldive islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Maldives_coup_attempt
Other than US supercarriers the carriers of other nations appear to have very little fighter-attack (F/A) airpower "bang forr the buck". For some reason there seems to be a critical mass of supercarriers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier having numerous F/A aircraft. Then this drops away very sharply even with large UK QE-class carriers at 65,000 tonnes can only scrape together 24 F-35Bs in a Standard air group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth-class_aircraft_carrier#Carrier_air_group. This continues sharply till medium carriers even have too few F/A aircraft for round the clock standing air patrols to protect the fleet.
Cruise missiles, like India's Nirbhays, can hit targets at longer range vastly more cheaply and safely than carrier pilots. But destroyers and subs that fire these cruise missiles and shorter range more economic Klubs don't look as good on navy review days or Exercise photo opportunities.
Thanks for the new info on India's future Chakra "III" Akula.
Cheers Pete
We will ideally need 3 carriers at the minimum. However, the SSN needs and UUVs are the need of the hour and hence a third carrier can wait.
DeleteI do hear sometimes that the domestic SSN might feature extensive use of Israeli sensors and sonars besides indigenous electronics. In any case commissioning is unlikely before 2033
Hi GhalibKabir at 3/02/2024 7:45 PM
ReplyDeleteYes, to achieve a naval Rule of Thirds [1] I agree India will ideally need 3 carriers. And yes an SSN Rule of Thirds needs priority, as a bare minimum, to protect the 3 (then 4) Arihant SSBNs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds_(military)
I agree XLUUVs are a rapid solution to shortages of SSKs in India and even more so in Australia.
I'd add to your Indian domestic ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_75_Alpha ) SSN might feature extensive use of Israeli sensors and sonars and Indian electronics
- with the thought that Indian Arihant progress on VLS for SLBMs might be much valued by the Israelis in Israel's INS Drakon VLS SSB and follow-on Israeli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar-class_submarine .
- Also "white hat" Israeli intel gathering might glean some US combat system tech to the benefit of Israel and India :)
Cheers Pete