• The Indian Navy took delivery of the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’ from its manufacturer, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, ahead of its scheduled commissioning next month.

• The aircraft carrier, built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore, successfully completed the fourth and final phase of sea trials three weeks back.

• With the delivery of ‘Vikrant’, India has joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

• The aircraft carrier would soon be commissioned into the force and it would bolster India’s position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and its quest for a blue water Navy.

Aircraft carriers in India

• An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to support and operate aircraft, engaged in attacks on targets afloat or ashore and to undertake sustained operations in support of other forces. 

• An aircraft carrier is central to the operational requirements and fleet doctrine of the Indian Navy and is the only means of ensuring air defence of sea. 

• INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier was acquired from Great Britain and commissioned on March 4, 1961. INS Vikrant was a Majestic class CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off but Arrested Recovery) carrier and operated Sea Hawk fighters, Alize (Anti-Submarine Warfare) aircraft and Seaking helicopters. 

• India next acquired HMS Hermes, a Centaur class STOVL (Short Take-off and Vertical Landing) carrier  and a veteran of the Falkland War. INS Viraat was commissioned on May 12, 1987 as India’s second aircraft carrier and India’s first STOVL carrier operating the Sea Harrier aircraft. 

• Soon after the acquisition of INS Viraat, INS Vikrant was also converted from a CATOBAR carrier to a STOVL carrier.

• INS Vikramaditya was commissioned on November 16, 2013. INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by the  Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India. The 44,500 tonne warship has a length of 284 metres.

• INS Vikrant was decommissioned in January 1997.

• INS Viraat was decommissioned in 2017. 

Highlights of Vikrant:

• Designed by Indian Navy’s inhouse Directorate of Naval Design (DND), the IAC project has been implemented under the three phases of contract between the ministry of defence and Cochin Shipyard Ltd, beginning May 2007.

• The ship’s keel was laid in February 2009.

• The IAC is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide and it has a height of 59 metres.

• The ship has been designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability. 

• The warship, which will operate MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers. 

• It would offer an incomparable military instrument with its ability to project Air Power over long distances, including Air Interdiction, Anti-Surface Warfare, offensive and defensive Counter-Air, Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare and Airborne Early Warning.

• Vikrant has a top speed of around 28 knots and cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. 

• The ship can accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.

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