INS Vikrant, India's 1st Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, Commissioned Today; 10 Things You Need to Know

KOCHI: Indian is commissioning its first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vijayan, amid much fanfare, and why not? It is a momentous occasion. Building an aircraft carrier, a mammoth warship with a deck from which aircraft can take off and land, is no easy task and only a handful of countries are able to do so on their own.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has unveiled the 45,000 tonne warship at the Cochin Shipyard in Kochi today, saying "INS Vikrant is an example of Government's thrust to making India's defence sector self-reliant."

The Prime Minister is being accompanied by political bigwigs such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Kerela Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Mohammmad Khan, among others.

On this historic day, let us get to know more about INS Vikrant and what makes it so unique and special.

Built with state-of-the-art automation features, the INS Vikrant is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.

The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is named after India's first aircraft carrier (Vikrant-R11), which had played a vital role in the 1971 war. The aircraft carrier remained in service for another 26 years, till she was decommissioned on 31 January 1997.

With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India will have two operational aircraft carriers.

The INS Vikrant has a cruising speed of 18 knots and a maximum speed of 28 knots. It has a maximum range of 7,500 nautical miles.

Built at the Cochin Shipyard, Vikrant has 76 per cent indigenous content, which includes combat management system, electronic warfare suite, data network, among others.

Around 500 Indian firms were roped in by the government to build the INS Vikrant.

The aircraft carrier can carry over 30 aircraft and accommodate a crew of around 1,600.

INS Vikrant is 262m (860ft) long and almost 60m (197ft) tall.

Construction of this state-of-the-art carrier set the Indian government back by $2.5 billion.

The Vikrant will sail across both Indian and international waters and will be accompanied by a fleet of frigates, destroyers and submarines to protect it.

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