Indian Navy to phase out Sea Harrier fighters

Mumbai: The Indian Navy will phase out its British-built Sea Harrier fighter aircraft fleet on Wednesday in Goa to make way for a new generation of advanced Russian fighters, marking a significant day in the history of naval aviation in the country.

The Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS 300), White Tigers, will thereafter induct the Russian-made MiG 29K/Kub multirole fighter aircraft for its aircraft carrier Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikramaditya. A send-off ceremony presided by Admiral R.K. Dhowan, Chief of Naval Staff, has been planned at INS Hansa, Dabolim, Goa, on Wednesday morning.

A traditional change of command ceremonies will be held where Commander Shikhu Raj, a Sea Harrier pilot, will hand over the command of the squadron to Captain KHV Singh, a MiG 29K pilot. The ceremony will also include an air display by Sea Harriers and MiG 29Ks which will mark the last flight of Sea Harriers in the Indian Navy. A large number of serving and retired Sea Harrier pilots are expected to attend the function, stated a release from the Ministry of Defence.

Inducted in 1983, the Sea Harriers have dominated the sky at sea protecting the fleet from prying eyes of foreign long-range maritime patrol aircraft. Designed and manufactured by British Aerospace, the Sea Harrier is a naval short/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and strike aircraft. It first entered service of the Royal Navy in April 1980. Its ability of vertical take-off and landing is the unique feature of this fighter.

The fighters were capable of air-to-air refuelling to operate at extended ranges. The Sea Harrier operated from both INS Vikrant and INS Viraat where use of the ski jump allowed the aircraft to take off from a short flight deck with a heavier load than otherwise possible, although it can also take off like a conventional loaded fighter without thrust vectoring from a normal airport runway. The fighters operated for the last time from INS Viraat on March 6, 2016.

Unusual in an era in which most nvala and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence to naval fleet by operating from their aircraft carriers.