Indian Navy Freezes Flat-Top Configuration for its new Carrier

The Indian navy is likely to call an end to its tryst with ski-jump aircraft carriers, deciding that its next big vessel will be a flat-top with a catapult-launch system.

While India's first home-built carrier, known as the Vikrant, is to be a 44,000-ton short-takeoff-but-arrested-recovery (Stobar) carrier, the second ship—tentatively titled Vishal ("Immense")—is seen as a 65,000-ton flat-top with a steam-catapult system. The Naval Design Bureau, which oversees design and implementation of all indigenous warship building efforts, is expected to freeze its requirements by year-end.

A commodore with the Naval Design Bureau says, "A decision has been taken to move away from conventional Stobar and short-takeoff-or-vertical-landing (Stovl) operations."

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_08_20_2012_p24-486241.xml