Kochi: INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1), sailed out on Wednesday for its maiden trial into the Arabian Sea. The maiden trial will go on for four days. Designed by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), 'Vikrant' is India's first attempt at designing and building an Aircraft carrier.
The ship is a shining example of the Indian government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India Initiative' initiatives, with more than 76 percent indigenous content, the Navy said. With the delivery of IAC, India would join a select group of nations with the capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier.
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is 262 meters long, 62 meters at the widest part and height of 59 meters including the superstructure. There are 14 decks in all, including five in the superstructure. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.
The Indian Navy Spokesperson in a tweet called it a 'proud and historic' moment for the country. The tweet called IAC Vikrant the largest and the most complex warship ever to be designed and built in India and said that 'many more will follow.'
"IAC has been designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation & survivability. During the maiden sailing, ship’s performance, incl hull, main propulsion, PGD & auxiliary eqpt would be closely watched," the Navy spokesperson said.
‘Vikrant’ has a top speed of around 28 knots and a 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 aircrafts.
Also read: India's Indigenous Aircraft Carrier gets ready in Kochi; sea trials soon
Most of the ship construction activities have been completed and the ship has entered the trials phase. The readiness of the ship’s Propulsion and Power Generation equipment/systems was tested in the harbour as part of Basin Trials in November 2020.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also tweeted about the commencement of the trial voyage of IAC Vikrant. "The Indigenous construction of Aircraft Carrier is a shining example in the Nation’s quest for 'AtmaNirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India Initiative'," he tweeted.
The Indigenous construction of Aircraft Carrier is a shining example in the nation's quest for "AtmaNirbhar Bharat" and "Make in India Initiative". This has led to growth in indigenous design and construction capabilities besides the development of a large number of ancillary industries, with employment opportunities for 2,000 CSL personnel and about 12,000 employees in ancillary industries. Around 550 Indian firms including about 100 MSMEs are registered with CSL, who are providing various services for the construction of IAC.
Indian Navy’s shipbuilding programme is rightly poised to provide requisite ‘Economic Stimulus’, with 44 ships and submarines on order being built indigenously.
