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India’s Troubled Carrier INS Vikrant Completes Basin Trials After Almost 12 Years: Sea Trials to Begin in 2021

Mark Poe

The majestic cock
Writing Champ
India's troubled program to develop its first indigenous aircraft carrier has seen the warship INS Vikrant complete its first basin trials, which were completed almost twelve years after the ship began construction in February 2009 making it one of the longest warship building programs in world history. The 37,500 ton warship is lighter than India's currently serving carrier the INS Vikramaditya which was laid down in the Soviet Union and subsequently acquired from Russia. Like the Vikramaditya, the Vikrant lacks catapult launch systems or nuclear propulsion which limit both the weights of the aircraft it can launch as well as the ship's endurance. These were both features expected to be integrated onto the upcoming supercarrier INS Vishal, although the more ambitious program is reported to have been terminated in part because of the immense difficulties involved in constructing the much less complex and smaller INS Vikrant.

One of the most significant issues with the INS Vikrant program, despite the design's simplicity and small size, has been its tremendous cost overruns. The warship was initially planned to cost $500 million, although this sum grew vastly to approximately $3.5 billion - 700% of the original price. With the ship already well over half a decade behind schedule, Indian reports in 2018 and even into 2019 claimed the Vikrant would be ready for sea trials in 2020 - with its failure to achieve this representing the latest of several delays which have plagued almost every major stage of development. The Vikrant's small size will limit its complement to no more than two medium or small sized fighter squadrons at maximum capacity — namely Russian MiG-29K jets. These aircraft are prized for their deployment of advanced anti-aircraft missiles, powerful sensors and excellent flight performances. The carrier's helicopter complements including transport, airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare aircraft is also expected to be overwhelmingly Russian in composition.

... So India superpower by 2020 is getting delayed?
 
700% cost overruns? Holy cow, I wonder how many people dipped into that pot. Betcha the bloody thing will sink during its trials too.
 
They spent nearly a quarter of a century designing a tank, so the delays for their carrier isn't surprising.
 
...we still have that thing? I thought budget cuts wiped it out.

At any rate, not like we have the budget to use it unless Beijing goes nuts and sends ships through Malacca. In which case we'll have bigger problems anyway.
 
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