Vikrand aircraft carrier: Walking between the development mode of "building blocks" and "magic cube" The "vikrand", India's first domestic aircraft carrier, as the Indian media call it, has conducted a series of sea trials. Opinions vary on the results of the sea trial. Indian media said the sea trial "enhanced confidence" and quoted relevant news that the aircraft carrier "vikrand" will be delivered in August 2022. The view of the outside world on the results of the Indian aircraft carrier sea trial is somewhat different. Some Western aircraft carrier experts even questioned it, saying that "it is difficult to say whether the 'vikrand' is heading for delivery or only for August." So why does India push "aircraft carrier localization"? What is the level and progress of aircraft carrier construction in the country? If it can be delivered as planned, how about the combat power of the vikrand to be delivered? Please see the relevant interpretation—— The long-term use of aircraft carriers gave birth to the "domestic aircraft carrier" plan India was the first country in Asia to have an aircraft carrier after World War II. In 1957, India purchased the Hercules aircraft carrier built by the latter during World War II from Britain. After its modernization, it was named "vikrand" and officially installed in the Indian Navy in 1961. India's first "vikrand" belongs to a small aircraft carrier. It initially used the first generation of British "Seahawk" jet fighter as a carrier aircraft. In 1983, it replaced the "Seahawk" with "sea harrier" vertical takeoff and landing fighter. India also became the only country in Asia with two aircraft carriers at that time. In 1986, India bought the "competitive God" aircraft carrier that participated in the Falklands war from Britain. After its transformation, the "competitive God" was renamed "Vilat" by India. In 1987, it joined the Indian Navy and became the flagship of its western fleet. With a standard displacement of 24000 tons, the "Vilat" also belongs to a small aircraft carrier. It has undergone many major repairs, modifications and upgrades after being installed. It uses the "sea harrier" vertical takeoff and landing fighter as a carrier aircraft. In 1997, the vikrand, refitted from the British Hercules aircraft carrier, was retired due to its long service life. At that time, the Indian Navy had only one aircraft carrier, the Vilat, left alone. In January 1999, India, which tried to maintain the advantage of dual aircraft carriers, negotiated with Russia to purchase the Russian Kiev class aircraft carrier "admiral Gorshkov". In 2004, Russia and India signed a modification agreement with a total amount of US $1.5 billion. At the end of 2013, after many twists and turns, the aircraft carrier renamed "vikramatia" was finally delivered to the Indian Navy. Different from the first two aircraft carriers, the "vikramatia" aircraft carrier has a standard displacement of 38000 tons and belongs to a medium-sized aircraft carrier. The Indian Navy has equipped it with Russian mig-29k carrier based aircraft. By 2017, the aircraft carrier "Vilat" was 64 years old and had to be retired. At present, the only aircraft carrier in active service of the Indian Navy is the vikramatia. The long-term maintenance of the tradition of aircraft carrier power has provided the Indian Navy with relatively rich experience in operating aircraft carriers, and also enabled the Indian army to continue its efforts in the direction of continuing the tradition. Considering that the procurement of second-hand aircraft carriers from other countries is easy to cause various problems, India has turned its attention to the "localization of aircraft carriers" suitable for its strategy. Although the Indian Navy, including aircraft carriers, has had frequent explosions, fires and crashes over the years, this has not prevented the planning and approval of its domestic aircraft carrier development plan. In 1999, India launched a domestic aircraft carrier design and construction plan called "blue sky guard". For many reasons, the blue sky guard was later named vikrand. Hard progress in "double growth of construction period and funds" The newly named "vikrand" aircraft carrier takes an air defense aircraft carrier with a displacement of 28000 tons provided by France as the "template", and part of the design is assisted by Italy. At that time, the aircraft carrier, together with the enemy destroyer class nuclear submarine built by India in the late 1990s, was regarded as the core project of the development of the Indian Navy. According to the plan, the ship should be completed around 2008. However, it was not until 2005 that the vikrand cut the first steel plate at the Cochin shipyard on the west coast of India. India expected the ship to be completed and launched in 2011. In February 2009, vikrand ushered in the keel laying ceremony. According to the international shipbuilding tradition, the keel began to be laid, marking the beginning of the formal construction of the ship. However, from then on, the aircraft carrier vikrand has ushered in a tortuous development process of "seven responsibilities and eight moves". First, because the Kochin shipyard under construction did not prepare the required steel, it had to stop working for materials again and again. Later, the construction period was delayed again and again due to the insufficient process connection and quality monitoring ability of the plant in the sectional construction of aircraft carrier. In December 2011, vikrand was simply moved out of the dry dock, but this time it was not launched because of its completion, but to make way for the construction of other ships. In the second half of 2012, vikrand returned to the dry dock again to continue construction. In 2015, vikrand was ready to launch for the third time, but it was blocked by silt due to the high tide water level and could not leave the dock for nearly a month. Later, after its undocking and launching, Indian media announced that the "vikrand" had completed the installation of main equipment. But in fact, only 50% of its construction work has been completed. According to the data disclosed by the Defense Committee of the Indian parliament, the construction cost of the vikrand had exceeded US $2.8 billion, six times higher than the initial budget. When the vikrand was officially launched for the first time, the Indian Navy set the delivery date of the ship before the end of 2018. However, the delivery date was postponed again and again, and it still could not be delivered in 2020. The mooring test was completed in November of the same year. Last August, vikrand finally made its first sea trial, testing its propulsion system and navigation system. By this time, the total construction cost of the vikrand had exceeded $3.2 billion. After that, it conducted the second and third rounds of sea trials. Although the track of vikrand showed the characteristics of large pitch range in the second round of sea trial, this did not seem to affect the Indian Navy's announcement that the aircraft carrier vikrand was scheduled to be delivered in August 2022. If calculated from the start of the project in 1999, the "vikrand" was pushed forward difficultly in the "double growth of construction period and funds", and it took almost 23 years to basically complete. Even since the first steel plate was cut in 2005, the aircraft carrier has taken 17 years. However, the Indian media are concerned about the other hand - many Indian media say that the localization rate of "vikrand" has reached more than 75%. So, is that really the case? Trying to get out of the situation of "tied power" On the Indian Navy Day in 2020, Admiral kalambir Singh, then chief of staff of the Indian Navy, said that the Indian Navy could not always be a "tied force". The word "tied power" comes from the mouth of the chief of staff of the Indian Navy, which shows that the Indian Navy does not lack "self-knowledge". Many military fans also believe that the word "tethered power" can also be said to express some of the characteristics of the aircraft carrier "vikrand". According to the official data of the Indian Navy, the standard displacement of India's domestic aircraft carrier "vikrand" is 37500 tons, powered by four gas turbines, with a maximum speed of 28 knots, and 160 officers and 1560 soldiers. The main weapons and equipment include four "Otto meleira" 76mm naval guns, two 32 unit "Barak 1" and "Barak 8" ship to air missile vertical launch systems, as well as ak-630 near defense weapon system. It is also equipped with multi-functional solid-state phased array radar and L-band search radar. These weapons and equipment come from weapon manufacturers in Italy, Israel, Russia, France and other countries. According to some experts, the relevant parties in India are more like "building blocks" in aircraft carrier development, that is, saving the "building blocks" bought from the shelves of various countries. This is also reflected in its choice of Shipborne aircraft. The ship adopts the design of sliding jump take-off and arresting and landing, and can carry more than 30 shipborne aircraft. At present, the Indian Navy is still weighing the choice of carrier based aircraft. Among them, the rafale-m fighter produced by France's Dassault airlines and the American made f / A-18 "Super Hornet" fighter are options. However, whether it is the mig-29k fighter commonly used by the Indian army, gust-m or "Super Hornet", it is all imported. The early warning aircraft and helicopters to be carried by the ship also have the same characteristics. Last year, India received the first batch of two mh-60r helicopters at the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. The first flight crew members of the Indian Navy are already receiving relevant training. The helicopter can be equipped with four weapon stations to launch Hellfire anti-ship missiles, and can also carry MK46, mk50 or mk56 light torpedoes. It can be seen that the ammunition used also needs to be imported. This situation that "weapons, equipment and ammunition are mostly imported" may become a "restraining rope" to "tie" the development of Indian Navy aircraft carrier forces once the situation changes. Although there is no clear timetable for "jumping out of the situation of 'tied power' as soon as possible", in fact, the Indian Navy has begun to seek a breakthrough in this regard. In 2015, the Indian Ministry of defense approved the construction plan of the second domestic aircraft carrier. This aircraft carrier is named "vishar", and its displacement will reach 65000 tons. According to the plan, it can carry more than 50 aircraft, equipped with electromagnetic catapults and nuclear power. According to the plan, the aircraft carrier will use more "domestic" technology. At present, India has also begun to develop the two engine carrier based version of LCA "Guanghui" fighter, and the "Guanghui" single engine fighter has completed the light take-off without mount on the "vikramatia" in early 2020. According to time, the twin engine version of the "Guanghui" fighter should be in service after 2031, and it is likely to take the aircraft carrier No. 2 made in India as the carrying platform. This development idea is called "magic cube" mode by some experts, that is, according to their own needs, independently determine and "rotate" the "color matching" of all sides. It is reasonable to say that choosing the "magic cube" mode will undoubtedly improve the localization degree of its aircraft carrier, but according to the information disclosed by relevant parties, even the "VISAR" aircraft carrier can not achieve the localization of "high purity". It will also choose the electromagnetic ejection system of the United States, and its power unit is said to be the ritm-200 nuclear reactor used by the Russian lk-60 nuclear powered icebreaker. This means that there is still a long way to go for India's domestic aircraft carrier development to jump out of the situation of "tied power" as soon as possible. (outlook new era)