INS Vikrant to be ready for deployment by 2023-end; TEDBF aircraft production by 2032: Navy chief

The home-grown aircraft carrier INS Vikrant will be ready for operational deployment in Indian waters by the end of this year. Talking to media persons in Bengaluru on the sidelines of Aero India 2023, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said that the ship has been at sea at regular intervals and that officials were "happy with her performance".

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Recently, the LCA (Navy) and MiG-29K successfully landed and took off from onboard the indigenously-developed aircraft carrier. 

Admiral Hari Kumar said: "We started the aviation trials with the Chetak and Sea King helicopters."

"We were calibrating the equipment through different manoeuvres, including the touch-and-go, and finally onboard arresting of the aircraft was successfully done," the Navy chief said.

While confirming that the trials by several aircraft would go on for two months, the Navy chief said trials would have to be done under different carriage conditions.

After the completion of trials of the aviation facility complex onboard INS Vikrant, the next process would be to integrate the weapon platforms, including the missiles. For that, the ship will have to be brought back to the dry dock.

"The MF-STAR (multi-functional digital active electronically scanned array radar) fitment will commence from May onwards and should take three to four months time. During this time, she will also undergo some guarantee refit activity. Thereafter, once the monsoon gets over, she will be operationally ready," Admiral Hari Kumar said. 

At the same time, the ship will be equipped with the LRSAMs (Long Range Surface-to-Air Missiles).

TEDBF, the fighter jets for INS Vikrant 

Admiral Hari Kumar said that following discussions, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are "quite confident about developing the prototype of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) by 2026 and by 2031-32 production would start. We may be able to get 45 (TEDBF) aircraft by 2040."

INS Vikrant, which was commissioned into the Navy in September last year, will operate either French-origin Rafale (Marine) or US Boeing-made F-18 Super Hornet as part of an interim arrangement. The need arises in the wake of the Russian-origin MiG-29K completing its service life. "That is why we are looking at the acquisition of the multi-role carrier-based aircraft," the Navy chief said.

The Indian Navy will be acquiring 26 maritime combat aircraft for the aircraft carrier to bridge the gap, which would arise after phasing out of MiG-29K and the induction of the TEDBF into the service.

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• Aero India 2023
• Aircraft carrier
• INS Vikrant
• Indian Navy