India is in the process of deciding whether its second indigenous aircraft carrier will be equipped with catapults.
The vessel, referred to within New Delhi naval circles as IAC 2 (indigenous aircraft carrier 2), will follow IAC 1, which is now being built in Kochi shipyard.
The lead ship will be similar in size to the INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Soviet carrier the Admiral Gorshkov, and displace approximately 36,000t, says a source familiar with Indian navy plans. As with the Vikramaditya, IAC 1 will launch aircraft using a "ski-ramp" structure.
IAC 2 is envisaged as a far larger warship - with a displacement of approximately 60,000t - and could enter the fleet within 10 to 15 years. Senior leaders within the navy are leaning toward deploying this ship with catapults, sources say, with a decision on whether to integrate steam catapults or an electromagnetic aircraft launch system to come as soon as July 2013. New Delhi is also considering the possibility of making IAC 2 a nuclear-powered vessel.
flightglobal
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