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India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 'Vikrant handed over to the Indian Navy by Cochin Shipyard

Tags: Defence

Indian Navy took delivery of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ‘Vikrant’ from Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi on 28 July 2022.The construction for the ship started in 2009 and it was to be  delivered in 2020 but it was delayed to covid pandemic.

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. However, China operates two aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong.

Vikrant has been delivered to the Indian Navy by CSL following extensive user acceptance trials conducted between Aug 2021 and Jul 2022, during which the ship's performance was proved satisfactory in accordance with trial protocols and system parameters.

The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy as Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant which would bolster India’s position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and its quest for a blue water Navy.

Blue water Navy 

• A Blue Water Navy is a maritime force that has the capability to project force over a much larger maritime area than that defined by its maritime boundaries.
• A country’s maritime boundary is 12 nautical mile from its coast. The exclusive economic zone is an area of ocean where the country has exclusive rights on the living and non-living resources. It extends 200 nautical miles from the country’s maritime boundary. 
• A Blue water Navy shall be capable of defending its maritime boundaries as well as its Exclusive economic Zones and beyond. 
•  It means that the Indian Navy shall be capable of defending its interest in Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.
• For this purpose the Indian Navy needs at least two operational aircraft carriers.

INS Vikrant 

•  INS Vikrant has been designed by Indian Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built by CSL, a Public Sector Shipyard under Ministry of Shipping, the carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India's first Aircraft Carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 war. 
• It has been built at an overall cost of around Rs 20, 00 crore, has an overall Indigenous content of 76%..
• The 262 meter long carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes which is much larger and advanced than her predecessor. The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totaling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots. 
• The ship would be capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).

India and its Aircraft Carriers 

• The first aircraft carrier of India was HMS Hercules which was bought from the United Kingdom and renamed as INS Vikrant . It remained in Service from 1961-1997 and participated in the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
• The second aircraft carrier was HMS Hermes which was also of United Kingdom origin and it was renamed as INS Viraat. It was in service from 1987-2016. 
• The third aircraft carrier was Admiral Gorshkov of Russia which was renamed as INS Vikramaditya and inducted into the Indian Navy in 2014 and is still in service.

Future Plan of the Indian Navy

• By the early 2030s, India plans to have three active carriers.
• The Indian Navy plans to build another aircraft carrier INS Vishaal and it is supposed to enter service in 2030.