Hi,

Source

Joining an elite club of nations capable of building large warships, India began the construction of its first indigenous aircraft carrier at the Cochin Shipyard here and will go in for 2 to 3 more carriers in the heavier class.

Pressing a remote to lower the keel -- the ship's backbone -- into the construction dock of the shipyard, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "The Navy's carrier will showcase India's technological prowess and warships' building capabilities to the world. It will be the largest ever warship to be built in India." The 40,000-tonne carrier will operate nearly 30 aircraft including the Russian MiG-29Ks fighters, Kamov-31 helicopters and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

"This is a crucial milestone and an occasion to cherish in the shipbuilding traditions and maritime history of the nation. The culmination of this prestigious project, sometime in 2014, will transform India into an aircraft-building nation," Antony said.

He said that India will certainly produce more indigenous aircraft carrier, but in the heavier class category to meet the future challenges and needs of maritime security. "We hope to operate two to three aircraft carriers simultaneously in the not too distant future," Antony said


Kochi (PTI): India will join the select club of 40,000 tonne plus aircraft carrier designers and builders when Defence Minister A K Antony lays the keel of the First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier of the Indian Navy at Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) here on Saturday.

In partnership with the Indian Navy, CSL will be one among the few shipyards of the world to have attempted to construct the Aircraft carrier.

This is the first project in Warship construction for the yard, which has wide experience in commercial building of all varieties of ships, a navy press release said.

The Indigenous aircraft carrier, designed by Navy's Design Organisation, will be capable of operating an aircraft mix of Russian MiG-29K, Ka31 and indigenous LCA.

The ship will have two takeoff runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires. The ship can carry a maximum of 30 aircraft with adequate hangarage capacity.

Naval chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta will be among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.

Peace
-=SF_13=-

Nice.
I guess it was only a matter of time.

great....they call us at dinner time as a telemarketer....they make our Nike sneekers, they sweat in our sweat shops, and now they are gonna build our ships???? ahhhh economic crisis!!! ohh wait were already in one....

They will be able to pull this off even with the crisis? Interesting.

Its such a shame that India isnt as good with its economy..

Hmmmm, interesting development for the Indian Navy, wonder if utilising the Russian fighter craft will cause India to source a Russian ship design for the new carrier...

Also wonder if this will cause the Australian Federal Government to follow through with the build/source/return of aircraft carriers to our own fleet......... (I hope so)...

Originally Posted by mocco

Hmmmm, interesting development for the Indian Navy, wonder if utilising the Russian fighter craft will cause India to source a Russian ship design for the new carrier...

Also wonder if this will cause the Australian Federal Government to follow through with the build/source/return of aircraft carriers to our own fleet......... (I hope so)...

Australia with aircraft carriers? Wow, thats a scary thought.

Originally Posted by mocco

Hmmmm, interesting development for the Indian Navy, wonder if utilising the Russian fighter craft will cause India to source a Russian ship design for the new carrier...

Also wonder if this will cause the Australian Federal Government to follow through with the build/source/return of aircraft carriers to our own fleet......... (I hope so)...

I wouldn't hold my breath, we can't afford what we have now.

Originally Posted by senojekips

I wouldn't hold my breath, we can't afford what we have now.

Thats what i meant in the last post.

From what i heard, the AUS military is suffering from low morale?

Originally Posted by Balkan-MiG

They will be able to pull this off even with the crisis? Interesting.

Its such a shame that India isnt as good with its economy..

At the moment the Indian economy is still growing, not as fast as it was but it is in the +ive. This is no real surprise, as a nation they've been having to buy second hand gear for a while, but they are in the range to start doing this for themselves. It fits with their domestic policy of job development through inward investment and supports their foreign policy to make India the major player in the region.

The question is how does this affect stability in the region? Not too much at the moment, but it shows that India wants to be a major player and recognised as such, couple this with their satellite programme and here is a world power knocking on the door.

Originally Posted by Mayser

great....they call us at dinner time as a telemarketer....they make our Nike sneekers, they sweat in our sweat shops, and now they are gonna build our ships???? ahhhh economic crisis!!! ohh wait were already in one....

Actually they are not "building our ships", this will be an Indian Navy ship. (Not American Indian)