Beijing, Dec.11 (China Defense Mashup Report by Johnathan Weng) -- India medias are reporting that India is setting up a shore-based training facility (SBTF) here for MiG-29K and Naval LCA aircraft and saying that mock flight deck facility will be the third one in the world, the other two in U.S. and Russia. But today Chinese Interest appears a photo, which shows that one mock flight deck facility in an unknown PLA Air Force Base.

One mock flight deck facility in an unknown PLA Air Force Base

India's Admiral Gorshkov Aircraft carrier being repaired in Russia

Here is one India report about its SBTF, report from ZEEnews

Goa, Nov 09: To help its fighter pilots hone their skills ahead of more aircraft carriers joining the fleet, the Navy is setting up a shore-based training facility (SBTF) here for MiG-29K and Naval LCA aircraft.

 This will be the third such mock flight deck facility in the world, with only the US and Russia having the other two.

The work on the SBTF has already started at the Naval air base INS Hansa, which houses the Navy's fighter squadrons and training squadrons flying the existing fleet of Sea Harriers, Navy sources told reporters here.

The work on setting up the SBTF with the ski-jump facing the sea-front in INS Hansa has been handed over to Goa Shipyard Limited, a Defence public sector undertaking, through the Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).

GSL sources said the SBTF is likely to be completed next year, much ahead of schedule in 2010.

Coinciding with the SBTF getting ready for use by naval fighter pilots for training, India would get the delivery of the first four MiG-29Ks early next year, after a delay of nearly six months from the original deadline of September this year.

The rest 12 of the 16 MiG-29Ks, for which India signed a deal with Russia in January 2004, would come by later next year.

Of the 16 aircraft, four would be twin-seater trainer aircraft and the rest single-seaters. India has plans of ordering 29 more MiG-29Ks as a follow-on purchase.

INS Hansa is already getting the hangers and maintenance station for the MiG-29Ks ready and hopes to put the SBTF to good use so as to train its fighter pilots in Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) landings.

"The pilots would be practicing short take off over the SBTF that will resemble the ski-jump on board the flight deck of an aircraft carrier and arrested landings using a tail hook fitted to the aircraft, first on the shore before they try it out on board an aircraft carrier," Navy officials in INS Hansa said.

Arrested landing is essentially a difficult task as pilots experience immense force that could throw occupants out of the aircraft if they are not properly secured with seat belts.

In fact, during arrested landings, the aircraft is usually flown at take-off speeds ranging from 150 kmph to 200 kmph, but its velocity is arrested to a zero kmph within seconds of the tail hook locking onto the arresting cables on board the flight deck of the aircraft.

All of these drills would be practiced on the SBTF at INS Hansa by fighter pilots.

In fact, these preparations for training the pilots is at an advanced stages, as India expects to receive INS Vikramaditya (erstwhile Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian Navy) from Sevmash Shipyard in Russia sometime around 2012.

With the SBTF and the MiG-29Ks available for use by Navy pilots from 2009, the Navy hopes to get their pilots' training going for three years on the shore and operate the aircraft from INS Hansa, before they actually get on board INS Vikramaditya.

In fact, India's Indigenous Aircraft carrier (IAC) under construction at Kochi too will have a ski-jump for STOBAR operations of fighters.

Also, the Navy was hoping to operate the HAL-built LCA's naval version on its aircraft carriers, though the DRDO project was yet to come up with even a prototype despite being launched over two decades ago.

However, whenever the Navy gets the LCA, it would like to operate the aircraft on INS Vikramaditya and IAC using the ski-jump on board the two warships.