The IAC I is not complete, its still under construction, the vessel is expected to be commissioned only by 2018. Officially the pictures are not being released, its supposed to be for security reasons. I guess by 2015 we would start to see the actual final 'look' of the AC. IMHO the INS Vikrant would become operational only by 2019-2020 timeframe what with the Mig-29Ks being trained on the vessel (i.e the new air wing would take time in becoming battle ready)Yeah, i've seen those photographs and they've been out for quite a while now. But from my perspective it's a bit weird because in the UK we get buckets of pictures when a new piece turns up whereas for IAC-I if you google the ship you find a selection of images like the non-ariel view you linked but that's about it.
The Naval LCA is still in development although it has been test flown already. The 40K ton AC would be ideally flying 16 Fighters and upto 10 Helos mostly the Kamov series including AEW and Sea Kings. I expect depending on development of the Naval LCA, that all 16 would be Mig -29 Ks as they have already been ordered and delveries have started, or a combination of 10 to12 Migs and the rest NLCAsYeah, I know it's not completed but even so, there's much less publicly available imagery than other major projects and that just threw me a bit.
What's the planned air group for the carrier? Presumably a mixture of MiG29K, HAL Tejas and ASW helos
Interesting you should mention that as the cause of that accident was a faulty HTP fuelled torpedo, as was the explosion that sunk Kursk. This was a Russian built and upgraded sub, what type of torpedos did it use?That's really grim news - I know the RN lost a sub alongside under similar circumstances and there were fatalities (this is back in the 50's I believe) - so even if it's settled in shallow water, there are still complications. I'm sure all parties with sub rescue gear are on standby and help has been offered internationally.
I'll cross my fingers for a positive outcome.
After the incident with HMS Sidon, the RN abandoned HTP and focused on battery powered torpedos, but this was not an entirely happy story either, ending with the underpowered Tigerfish. The current RN Spearfish does use a similar but stable fuel Otto fuel II. It seems to be the only way to get the step change in performance required to chase fast/deep dived subs. I does make you think how stable fuel cells can be....particularly as they may end up in cars!I'm not sure - with the record of HTP fuelled torpedoes, I'd hope the Indians were using something less um...hazardous. There must have been flooding for the sub to go under so I wonder if they've had a major explosion?
India like Russia does not use catapult to sling their jets up the ramp.If I were them and wanted to get as much out of the Rafale deal as I could, I certainly wouldn't be buying Mig-29Ks to operate from aircraft carriers... if you can sling something the size of a Flanker from a ramp deck then the Rafale shouldn't have too many issues, and there's already a marinised version in existence.
The MiG-29K's were a package deal with their "new" carrier Russia refitted for them with much drama and hilarity. Also at the time it was one of the only options available since the supply of Harriers was dwindling and they were shut out of its replacement.If I were them and wanted to get as much out of the Rafale deal as I could, I certainly wouldn't be buying Mig-29Ks to operate from aircraft carriers... if you can sling something the size of a Flanker from a ramp deck then the Rafale shouldn't have too many issues, and there's already a marinised version in existence.