Chapter 26: Aircraft Carrier Sorties

  In the Arabian Sea, east of the Gulf of Kutch, southwest of Veraval, at 69°2′E and 21°25′N, the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya is turning into the wind. About twenty-five kilometers northwest of it, the aircraft carrier Vikrant is also turning.

  Looking at the 14 MiG-29K fighter jets lined up on the flight deck, Rear Admiral Patel, Commander of the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy, standing in the outer corridor of the aircraft carrier bridge, showed a hint of a proud smile. The "Vikramaditya", which cost nearly $2 billion to purchase from Russia, finally got a chance to show off its skills after three and a half years of service.

  As the largest displacement warship of Indian Navy, Vikramaditya's fate was full of twists and turns.

  In the fourth decade of this century, Russia and India signed a package of agreements, under which Russia would provide the heavy aircraft carrier "Gorshkov" to India free of charge, but it had to be modernized at the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise in Russia and equipped with Russian-made deck aircraft.

  In early 2007, Russia demanded that India increase the refit cost from $700 million to $1.9 billion and delay the delivery date from late 2008 to 2012. India found this unacceptable. The refit cost was equivalent to building a new medium-sized carrier; the refurbished Gorshkov would have only twenty years of service life, half that of a newly built carrier. Moreover, INS Viraat would be decommissioned before 2012 and the domestically-built INS Vikrant would not be ready until after 2012 at the earliest.

  After tough negotiations and tug-of-war-style haggling, Russia guaranteed delivery in early 2012, with the cost of refurbishment reduced from $1.9 billion to $1.6 billion.

  In early 2012, the newly refurbished aircraft carrier "Vikramaditya" was handed over.

  The ship was unable to form combat effectiveness immediately.

  Before INS Vikramaditya, India had two aircraft carriers but both could only carry Sea Harrier V/STOL fighter jets and not conventional take-off fighter jets.

  It took more than a year for pilots to master only the takeoff and landing techniques of ski-jump takeoff/arrested recovery.

  In 2013, the Indian Navy formally announced that INS Vikramaditya had attained combat readiness.

  After that, "Vikramaditya" has been performing training tasks in the waters near Visakhapatnam and is not capable of combat.

  The Indian Navy announced in advance that "Vikramaditya" has formed a combat force, which is also an inevitable thing.

  The ageing and unreliable "Viraat" can barely put to sea, while the delivery of the indigenous "Vikrant" has been delayed from end-2012 to end-2013. If "Vikramaditya" is not delivered on time, the Indian Navy will be left without a operational aircraft carrier.

  Something is better than nothing.

  It was not until October 2013, a month before the commissioning of INS Vikrant, that INS Vikramaditya achieved operational capability.

  At least eleven pilots died in accidents caused by improper operation during a year and a half of intense training.

  For most of the next year, Vikramaditya only made a symbolic 21-day patrol to the Arabian Sea in February 2014; otherwise it was in the Bay of Bengal training pilots for the newly commissioned INS Vikrant.

  With INS Vikrant gaining operational capabilities, Indian Navy once again has two operational aircraft carriers.

  Thereafter, Vikramaditya was based at Visakhapatnam as the flagship of the Eastern Fleet and Vikrant was based at Kochi as the flagship of the Western Fleet.

  Although much older than the Vikrant, Admiral Patel was very satisfied with his flagship as the largest warship in the Indian Navy.

  Like Vikramaditya, Lt Gen Patel's journey has also been tumultuous.

  As a naval officer from a civilian background, Patel faced far more challenges and difficulties than the Brahmin aristocratic officers from the day he joined the Navy. Patel became Commander of the Eastern Fleet through his personal talent and tireless, fearless spirit of struggle.

  The moment he boarded the INS Vikramaditya, Patel knew his fate was tied to that of the warship. Over the next two years, Patel drove himself and his crew hard. Under his command, the INS Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group became an elite force in the Indian Navy.

  In the words of Admiral Das, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy: Patel's personal charm conquered an entire fleet.

  Everything Patel did was for this war.

  Like the vast majority of civilian-born officers, Patel was an out-and-out "hawk". Only war could demonstrate a soldier's worth; only war could change the fate of a civilian officer.

  Patel wasn't interested in politics, but he knew that sooner or later the Vikramaditya would be sent to battle against either Pakistan in the west or China's navy in the east. The final result would prove that this $2 billion aircraft carrier and its civilian-born commander were the backbone of India's naval forces.

  The Indo-Pakistani crisis erupted and Patel's waiting opportunity had come.

  Without him coming forward, the naval commander would have secured an opportunity for the Eastern Fleet to participate in the war.

  On 27 June, the Eastern Fleet led by Vikrant sailed out of Visakhapatnam into the Arabian Sea to assist in enforcing a naval blockade on Pakistan and bomb Pakistani naval bases.

  After dark, the "Vikramaditya" and "Vikrant", which had been operating south of the Bay of Kutch outside the range of Pakistani air force fighters, turned north in search of combat opportunities.

  What Patel needs is not an opportunity but an order.

  On the night of July 2, the Naval Headquarters finally issued orders for Vikrant and Viraat to dispatch their aircraft to bomb Pakistani naval ports.

  Two aircraft carriers will dispatch carrier-based fighter jets to bomb the Guadal military port before dawn, and the air force will dispatch long-range fighter jets to escort the naval attack fleet. In addition, an A-50I will be dispatched to coordinate the combat actions of the naval and air force warplanes. On their return journey, the carrier-based aircraft will rendezvous with aerial tankers sent by the air force over the Arabian Sea to refuel.

  This arrangement is not just for the use of naval carrier-based fighters.

  "Vikramaditya" carries twenty-eight MiG-29Ks, while "Vikrant" has only twenty-four MiG-29K fighters, which together are still not as many as an air force's tactical fighter squadron. Moreover, the predecessor of the MiG-29K is the MiG-29 frontline air superiority fighter, with excellent maneuverability and strong combat capabilities, but it was not equipped with advanced electronic devices, and its ground/sea attack capability was also very poor. Neither "Vikramaditya" nor "Vikrant" has a catapult, so fighters can only take off by ski-jump, which cannot reach the maximum takeoff weight, affecting not only the combat radius but also the payload.

  After carrying out a land/sea attack with ammunition, the fuel carried by the MiG-29K was insufficient to return to the aircraft carrier after attacking the port of Gwadar 600 km away, and had to arrange for an air force tanker to provide support.

  Sending two aircraft carriers into battle is mainly to take care of the navy's emotions.

  Patel, however, did not think so. The MiG-29K fighter jet that could sink enemy warships in the open ocean would surely be able to easily sink Pakistani warships docked at Gwadar Port.

  Each MiG-29K can carry four anti-ship missiles and two air-to-air missiles, with a strong striking capability.

  Under the gentle caress of the sea breeze, Patel yearned for the impending battle.

  It was not just a fight for the 14 pilots, nor just a fight for the Eastern Fleet, but Patel's fight, his first in twenty-eight years of service with the Indian Navy.

  The officers and men of the fleet on the flight deck and in the hangar of the aircraft carrier were not in such a good mood.

  They must complete the pre-takeoff preparation work for the fighter jet within the specified time, including checking the status of the fighter jet, refueling the fighter jet, loading ammunition, etc.

  MiG-29K is a bit "uncomfortable" just like its brother in Indian Air Force.

  For every hour this plane flies, six maintenance personnel must work for eight hours. The maintenance man-hours per flying hour reached an astonishing forty-eight!

  In any case, the battle is about to begin, and the staff are not daring to be careless at all.

  The sky was about to brighten, and the Navy Command sent the latest intelligence: The main warship of the Pakistani Navy was still berthed in Gwadar Port, with no intention of leaving the port.

  At 5:30, Patel gave the order to take off.

  "Vikramaditya" will launch 14 fighters, "Vikrant" will launch 12 fighters. Twenty-six fighters carrying twenty-eight anti-ship missiles and thirty-eight air-to-ground missiles were divided into two batches to attack the Pakistani naval warships and infrastructure in Gwadar Port.

  Two-wheel bombing is enough to destroy the Pakistani Navy and paralyze the Gwadar naval base.

  As the first Mig-29K roared to life, shakily rising into the pre-dawn night sky, the battle began.

  On the flight deck, aviation coordinators were busy beyond measure.

  Only two fighter jets can take off at a time. Fighter jets carrying anti-ship missiles take off from the main runway on the left, while those carrying air-to-ground missiles take off from the auxiliary runway on the right. Fourteen fighter jets are divided into seven batches, each taking at least two minutes, with a total of at least twelve minutes.

  In the chaos, the coordinator mistakenly pulled the wrong plane, resulting in a 15-minute delay in takeoff.

  It was just a small hitch, and it had no effect on the entire operation. Fifty-five minutes later, the port of Guadal would be engulfed in flames.

  Patel was jubilant and excited. He did not know that just above his head, a low earth orbit reconnaissance satellite had been monitoring the Vikramaditya and the Vikrant for a full thirty-five minutes. The reconnaissance flight had sounded an alert as the two carriers accelerated against the wind.

  ****

  New book on the rise, seeking recommendations and collections!