5.1 Aircraft return

IN-439 and IN-480 return to the zone in formation after a brief flight. 

On return, both helicopters are secured on deck. 65 Chetaks remain in IN service, out of the total of 85 acquired. In the past, IN Chetaks have also made trips to Antarctica. 

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Back from it's sortie away from view, IN-524 rejoins IN-521 and both make their approach back to the carrier, in tight formation. Landings are made in quick succession. Heli-IFR may be used for increased endurance, where the hovering helicopter is hooked up with a fuel line from the ship and refueled, without the need for landing. While this increases mission time and avoids a general turnaround time of 25 min., it can also increase pilot fatigue. During deployment for an actual conflict, the Seakings, Ka-25s, Ka-28s and Ka-31s are required to be deployed round-the-clock. 

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New and old (below) although it may look the other way around - contrasting paint schemes of IN-613 'Lion' and IN-603. The low-visibility ghost gray is considered an improvement over the previous scheme. The four Harriers are scattered all over deck. 

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Pi

IN-614 and IN-603 stand ready. The shots below show the different aft-looking RWR antennae on both aircraft. IN-614 has the new Roshini RWR while IN-614 has the traditional ARI.18223. 

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The length of the take-off run depends on the payload and overall weight. This can be a complicated undertaking as mission requirements could change within minutes. What may originally be an air-defence mission can quickly become a strike mission.   

IN-603 and IN-614 are eventually moved back into their lineup. A general view of the deck shows the space available. Twelve Sea Harriers are normally carried during operations but recent flying operations have been carried out with a fewer number of aircraft. 

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IN-617 stands at the edge of the quarterdeck. This particular example hasn't been assigned any cat name. The carrier returns back to Mumbai and the first signs of the coastal waters and shipping are already visible.  

All aircraft are slowly returned to the hangar only after our disembarkation. The splendid joint exercise sadly comes to an end for the day. After a job well done and a mighty show, the Captain and some of the crew also disembark for the weekend. When the ship is in dock at Mumbai, the aircraft onboard also have to return to their home bases. 

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