India has joined an exclusive group of nations which have the capability to design and manufacture an aircraft carrier. INS Vikrant was designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and it was manufactured at Cochin Shipyard Limited. The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 1 will be called INS Vikrant after it enters service with the Indian Navy. Basin trials of the carrier has already been completed in November 2020. The total cost of this aircraft career is approximately Rs 24,000 crore. On 4th August the sea trials of aircraft carrier IAC-1 started.
PM Narendra Modi had congratulated Indian navy and Cochin Shipyard –
Source – Twitter/Narendra Modi
INS Vikrant was Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier. It was acquired from United Kingdom in 1961. After more than 35 years of service, it was decommissioned in 1997. Between that it has given a glorious service to the nation and also played a major role in 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 1 will take the same name of INS Vikrant, after it gets commissioned next year. Indian Navy is pushing for another aircraft career which I think is justified because China is expected to have minimum five aircraft carriers by the end of this decade. According to navy it is an “operational necessity” of having a third aircraft carrier. To defend and to protect vast Indian ocean region, a strong air power is necessary. It will be named INS Vishal. But according to the CDS General Bipin Rawat, aircraft carriers can be high-value targets for enemies. He wants to develop the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar as “unsinkable” aircraft carriers.
Career Stats
| Weaponry | Mig-29K fighter aircraft-Kamov-31 Early Warning Helicopters-MH-60R Multirole Helicopter-Light Combat Aircraft Tejas |
| Compartments | 2300 |
| Crew | 1700 |
| PerformanceTop Speed | 28 knots |
| Cruising Speed | 18 Knots |
| Endurance | 7500 Nautical Miles |
Source – Twitter/Narendra Modi
Why this achievement is important for us?
Aircraft carriers are very costly asset for navy. It shows a countries strength, that it can travel far from its home shores and can carry out air domination operations there. Though an aircraft career is always escorted by a group by destroyers, missile cruisers and frigates. This achievement of manufacturing indigenous aircraft carrier is crucial because only five or six nations currently have the technology of manufacturing an aircraft carrier. With this India have shown its capability of developing most advanced battleships in the world.
