VIkramaditya Aircraft War Carrier
India has operated aircraft carriers for more than fifty years, starting in 1961 with the carrier INS Vikrant. Commissioned in 2013, INS VIkramaditya is the latest and most powerful in a long line of Indian carriers.
The carrier was originally built for the Soviet Navy as the Baku. The original ship was an anti-submarine warfare carrier with the armament of a cruiser, including two 100mm deck guns, a staggering 192 SA-N-9 surface to air missiles and 12 giant SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship missiles.
Mothballed by the Russian Navy in 1996, Baku was purchased by India in 2004. The updated design deleted all cruiser armament, replacing it with a full-length angled flight deck and a ski jump to assist aircraft takeoffs. Vikramaditya’s air wing is expected to consist of 30 MiG-29K or Tejas fighters and 12 helicopters.
Vikramaditya’s refurbishment has been beset with problems. The ship was to be completed in 2008, but the shipyard encountered difficulties and delivery was pushed back five years. Vikramaditya currently is without active air defenses, relying on passive defenses such as chaff and flares. The Barak-8 short-range air defense system, a joint program by Israel and India, is behind schedule and the AK-630 close-in weapon systems are scheduled to be installed mid-2015.
China fears Vikramaditya because the carrier could lead a blockade of Chinese shipping, its aircraft increasing the Indian fleet’s radius of action. Vikramaditya could also contribute offensive air power against any Chinese fleet sortied to break the blockade.
Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA)
India’s first fifth generation fighter, FGFA is a collaboration between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Russian Sukhoi corporation. A derivative of the Russian PAK-FA fighter program, FGFA will mark a quantum leap in Indian Air Force capabilities and will theoretically give India an aircraft in the same class as the American F-22 and Chinese J-20.
FGFA is a large multirole aircraft capable of both air to air and air to ground combat. The fighter will have all the features typical of fifth generation fighters, including a high level of maneuverability, stealth, the ability to supercruise above Mach 1, advanced fire control and an active electronically scanned array radar system.
India will invest a total of $25 billion dollars in the joint development project, and in return will receive up to 250 fighters. Deliveries are set to begin in 2022.
BrahMos Anti-Ship Missile
A joint Indian-Russian project,BrahMos is a short-range supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from land, air, and both surface and subsurface ships. Brahmos is one of the most advanced missiles in the world, capable of hitting targets on land and at sea with precision.
BrahMos was developed jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The name itself is a mashup of two Indian and Russian rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva. First flight was in 2001, and three versions—ship, submarine and land—are now operational. The air version, reengineered to be carried by aircraft, is expected to be tested by the end of 2014.
Kolkata-Class Destroyer
The Kolkata class is India’s latest guided missile destroyer design. Fast and stealthy, with an advanced sensor suite and an array of potent air, land and sea weapons, the Kolkata class would be a formidable ship in any navy.
Armament will be considerable, with vertical launch cells for up to 64 air defense missiles. The missiles will be a mix of short-range Barak 1 and medium range Barak 8 radar-guided surface to air missiles, capable of point and area defense, respectively. Such defensive missile armament will allow it to provide air defense for carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and shipping convoys.
Arihant-Class Ballistic-Missile Submarine
Although India has maintained a nuclear arsenal for decades, it has lacked a credible second-strike countervalue capability. The ability to threaten enemy strategic assets and even cities, an insurance policy against surprise nuclear attack, has eluded India. INS Arihant (“Destroyer of Enemies”) is the first real step toward fixing that problem. India is only the sixth country in the world to develop an undersea nuclear deterrent.
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