On 14 June 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Russia-made INS Vikramaditya, the latest aircraft carrier inducted into the Indian Navy. Prime Minister Modi took keen interest in briefings given to him and braved the rain to witness the demonstration of naval prowess lined up for him.
The PM seemingly had quite a few queries for senior navy officers including its chief R.K. Dhawan in the nearly four hours he spent on the ship. Navy personnel were hoping for the weather to be sunny during Modi’s visit to the warship but it was not to be. The weather, which was windy and partially sunny in the morning, turned cloudy as the demonstration began with the firing of anti-submarine rockets by two stealth vessels.
The 44,500-tonne INS Vikramaditya was operating in the sea along with 10 other frontline warships of the Navy’s western fleet, considered its sword arm. The huge warship kept pace alongside the other moving vessels on the choppy sea when the drizzle turned into a shower that lashed the deck. Modi did not go inside in a hurry and went in only after the shower became too heavy. The air power demonstration was interrupted by rain and the expected landing of a MIG 29K, a potent fourth generation fighter jet, did not take place.
The fighter aircraft, however, performed several other maneuvres. Apart from MiG 29K, Sea Harriers, long range maritime patrol anti-submarine warfare aircraft, Dornier aircraft and Kamov and sea king helicopters showed their prowess during the air power display.
Modi came on to the stage erected for him a third time after the rain stopped to witness the “steam past”. As he took the salute, navy personnel aboard vessels going in a straight formation in front of INS Vikramaditya hailed him with shouts of “Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ki jai”. Modi heard similar slogans inside INS Vikramaditya also. Naval personnel raised slogans of “INS Vikramaditya ki jai”, “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ki jai” after the conclusion of his speech to them.
Navy officials said it is normal for the personnel to greet a dignitary by raising slogans hailing him. In his interaction with the officers and sailors onboard, Modi congratulated them for operationalising the INS Vikramaditya in a short period. The carrier was commissioned in Russia last November.
The INS Vikramaditya is the second aircraft carrier in service after INS Virat in Indian Navy. Incidentally, India is the only Asian power currently to have two aircraft carriers in active service, though China is working on two more aircraft carriers after commissioning its first aircraft carrier Liaoning on 25 September 2012.
INS Vikramaditya will boast more than two dozen Mikoyan MiG-29K ‘Fulcrum-D’ (Product 9.41) including 4 dualseat MiG-29KUB aircraft, 6 Kamov Ka-31 “Helix” reconnaissance and anti-submarine helicopters, torpedo tubes, missile systems, and artillery units. These fourth generation air superiority fighters will provide a significant fillip for the Indian Navy with a range of over 700 nm (extendable to over 1,900 nm with inflight refueling). It will also be fitted with the state-of-the-art Indo-Israeli Barak-8 Air defence missile system which will be complemented with additional SAM and CIWS (close-in weapon system).
(From FGR Desk)
