Indian Aircraft Carriers and the MIG-29K...

Photos via JeffHead Blog.

story via IDRW.org.

Indian Navy’s indigenously-built aircraft carrier would be launched on August 12 this year, while INS Vikramaditya (purchased from Russia) will arrive before the end of 2013, Union Defence Minister A K Antony said here on Saturday.
“INS Vikramaditya is going to be a reality, as promised the ship would be delivered before the end of this year,” Antony told reporters after the commissioning of fighter aircraft MiG29K into Navy at INS Hansa here.
“While on one side Vikramaditya is coming this year, on August 12 we are going to launch indigenous aircraft carrier at Cochin,” he said, without elaborating further.
Asserting that the country was giving a thrust to modernisation of defence forces, Antony said, “Navy modernisation is one area where we are going fast-paced now.
“Almost all the navies of important countries want close cooperation with the Indian Navy,” he said, adding that “Indian Navy is well-prepared, most modern and (one of) the most capable navies of the world.
“(Over) Last many years, there has been well-planned induction wherein we are replacing old platforms and adding new ones,” he said.

Things are heating up big time between China and India...while we're watching China with suspicion so is India.  Quite honestly the Chinese are caught between a rock and a hard place.  They are surrounded by technologically capable enemies/frenemies and their arms build up might be viewed as a matter of survival...NOT aggression.  Either way, India is showing that they're willing to keep pace and with the introduction of the former Russian carrier along with a home built model they will at the very least achieve parity soon.  The pic below shows the "home built" carrier under construction.

Last but not least is another story from IDRW.org about MIG-29Ks.

Defence Minister AK Anthony will commission the multi-role MiG-29K carrier-borne fighter jets into the Indian Navy today. These MiGs will form the Black Panthers Squadron, which will be based at the INS Hansa. The aircrafts will be part of the carrier INS Vikramaditya, currently undergoing sea trials in Russia and expected to be inducted later this year. With this commissioning, the Indian Navy,which is celebrating the diamond jubilee of its aviation wing, will give itself cutting edge in force multiplier and projection. ‘K’ in the aircraft’s name stands for ‘Korabelny’ meaning ‘Carrier Borne’ in Russian.
The MIG-29K is a potent carrier borne fighter, which,once integrated with ‘INS Vikramaditya’ will bolster the Navy’s potency with its multi-role capability, navy officials told Herald.Herald got a preview of the aircraft armed with its
arsenal, including advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, bombs and sophisticated systems to support weapons delivery, that according to officials, will not only be able to dominate the air in all areas of conflict but also project power to meet the nation’s military objectives as well as enhance Indian Navy’s capability to exercise air
superiority in its area of influence.45 MIG-29K aircrafts have been ordered from Russia.
In April, the Defence Ministry approved the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan(LTIPP) for 2012-27 as a way to ensure 24×7 intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance capability in the Indian Ocean and planning for a deterrent presence of at least one carrier task force each on India’s western and eastern seafronts. This means an integrated network of ships,aircraft, submarines, UAVs,helicopters, satellites and ground facilities. The Navy will raise a second squadron of MIG-29Ks for the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) being built at Kochi. Herald took an exclusive
look at the aircraft and spoke to the pilots who briefed the reporter about the advanced fighter aircraft at INS Hansa.

An F-18 sized fighter which is also truly multi-purpose will give Indian foes headaches.  Personally I see it as a formidable anti-ship plane...especially if they equip it with some of the missiles I've watched India co-develop with the Russians.  Quite honestly Pakistan is no longer a concern unless you're talking about nuclear warfare or terrorist attacks.  India is aiming its armed forces at China.