Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commission the first indigenous aircraft carrier – INS Vikrant – the largest ship ever built in Indian naval history here on Friday. Modi will commission the carrier with state-of-the-art automation features and built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore at the Cochin shipyard. Modi will also unveil a new Naval Ensign (Nishaan) during the event, erasing the colonial past.
The Navy had earlier said that the new insignia would be in keeping with India’s rich naval heritage. INS Vikrant will contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, Indian Navy Chief Vice Admiral S N Ghormade said earlier. He said aircraft landing trials aboard INS Vikrant will begin in November and be completed by mid-2023, with MiG-29K jets operating from the warship for the first years. The commissioning of the Vikrant is seen as a major step towards India’s self-sufficiency in the defense sector. With the construction of ‘Vikrant’, India has joined a select group of nations such as the US, UK, Russia, China and France that have the specialized capability to design and build an aircraft carrier.
The warship was built using indigenous equipment and machinery supplied by major Indian industrial houses as well as more than 100 MSMEs. With the commissioning of the Vikrant, India will have two operational aircraft carriers to strengthen the country’s maritime security. Designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB), an internal organization of the Indian Navy and built by the public sector undertaking Cochin Shipyard Limited, the ship is named after its famous predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier, which played a vital role in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
Vikrant means victorious and gallant. The foundation for IAC was laid in April 2005 with a steel cutting ceremony. The warship-grade steel required for the construction of the IAC was created through the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in collaboration with the Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) and the Indian Navy. Hull production continued thereafter and the ship’s keel was laid in February 2009. The first phase of the ship’s construction was completed with its successful launch in August 2013.
The 262 m long and 62 m wide Vikrant displaces approximately 43,000 tons when fully loaded and has a maximum design speed of 28 knots with an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles. It has about 2,200 compartments designed for a crew of about 1,600, which include specialized cabins for officers and sailors. The ship also has a full-fledged medical complex with state-of-the-art equipment including a physiotherapy clinic, ICU, laboratories and an isolation ward. It would be capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft, comprising MiG-29K fighters, Kamov-31 and MH-60R multirole helicopters, in addition to domestic advanced light helicopters (ALH) and light combat aircraft (LCA).
The IAC is equipped with a jump bridge for launching aircraft using a new aircraft operating mode known as Short Take-off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR). It has a set of three “grabbing wires” to recover them on board. The commissioning of ‘Vikrant’ would showcase the country’s indigenization capabilities, besides paying tribute to its freedom fighters and soldiers of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, a defense statement said.
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