Indian Navy has taken delivery of first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant from Cochin Shipyard Limited. Designed by Indian Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design (DND), the carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, Vikrant, India's first aircraft carrier.
The 262 metre 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 totalling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 knots.
Built at a cost of close to £2 billion, the ship's keel was laid in Feb 2009, followed by launching in Aug 2013. It has an overall indigenous content of 76 per cent. Vikrant has been built with high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. The ship would be capable of operating air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously built Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft. The aircraft carrier would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy.
