Vikant has a “ski-jump” that provides altitude for jets like MiG-29K and LCA Tejas to take off.
New Delhi:
Aircraft carriers have mobile runways that bring combat aircraft closer to the battlefield and transport forces to any part of the world. These long battleships played an important role in World War II, particularly in bombardment campaigns in the Pacific Ocean. There have been massive technological advances in fighter aircraft over the years, but the challenge of landing on an aircraft carrier as compared to a conventional airstrip still exists.
How do pilots land?
INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya participated in the Milan Multinational Exercise and Vikrant made its grand debut in the nine-day mega exercise. Naval aviators aboard Vikrant explain how they land on a carrier flight deck and the challenges they face.
Look #excitingthursday , #MILAN2024 , Unique
A tiny runway in the middle of the ocean! How does a pilot land his plane on a constantly rocking, rolling, swaying plane? naval pilots on board #INSVikrant it say. pic.twitter.com/duit7iT2tM
– A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) 29 February 2024
Vikant has a “ski-jump” that provides altitude for fighters like MiG-29K and LCA Tejas to take off, but while landing pilots have to adjust the speed of their aircraft according to the carrier. A conventional runway is 500-600 meters long and Vikrant’s main runway is 203 meters long. The landing strip looks like a point from the speed and speed of fighter jets flying at high altitude and aircraft carriers on the high seas. Naval pilots land on these runways which travel at a minimum speed of 50 km/h.
‘Extra Precision’
“When we’re flying over the ocean, there’s no reference. We only have a wide ocean, open sky and an aircraft carrier that’s always in motion and a little point on the deck is our landing spot. The deck The size of the runway is limited and extra precision is required to ensure landing of the fighter jet in that limited length,” said MiG-29K pilot Lt Commander Ashish.
The fighter jet descends at speeds of more than 200 km/h, and the tailhook on it has to catch one of three arresting wires to stop within range. For example, the LCA Tejas descends at a speed of 240 km/h and in exactly 90 metres, the pilots have to bring the speed to zero in about 2.5 seconds. If the speed is low and the pilot fails to catch the barrier wires and barrier-assisted recovery is not prepared, the aircraft must have enough speed to take off again and turn for a second landing.
Night landing – no problem
There is no doubt that landing in the dark of night is even more challenging and the risks increase manifold. Pilots perform ‘night traps’, which means landing on an aircraft carrier at night.
“Landing on an aircraft carrier is always difficult. From height, it looks like a matchbox in the sea that is spinning, rolling and pitching. At night, the difficulty increases because the signals on the carrier deck Meet lights. These lights indicate to the pilot the angle of approach, whether steep or shallow and offer corrections that must be made in a short period of time as the aircraft is approaching the deck at very high speed. A safety officer on deck continuously monitors the landing and guides the pilot to ensure proper landing,” said Lieutenant Commander Parth.
Pilots also face physical challenges while landing on the flight deck and accelerating from 0 to 240 km/h in 2.5 seconds.
Former test pilot Commander Jaideep Maolankar (retd) said that there were instances when pilots forgot to lock their harnesses, and there was a little blood on their legs. The plane drops you and you lose control of your limbs for 2-3 seconds. Commodore Maulankar was part of the team that tested and engineered the Tejas aircraft when it landed on India’s other aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya.
INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya are built on STOBAR (Short Takeoff Barrier-Assisted Recovery) platform. STOBAR carriers have a ski jump. The aircraft carrier, which was featured in Top Gun: Maverick, was built on the CATOBAR (Catapult Take-Off Barrier Assisted Recovery) platform. CATOBAR carriers have a flat flight deck and the jets are catapulted for takeoff.
