Indian Navy receives first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant from Cochin Shipyard Limited
- Indian Navy took the delivery of the country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) ‘Vikrant’ from Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on July 28, 2022 in Kochi.
- Vikrant has been designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
- 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.
- This IAC has been christened after her illustrious predecessor, INS Vikrant, India’s first Aircraft Carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.
- Once the IAC Vikrant is commissioned in the Indian Navy, it will be Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant.
- The carrier has been built at an overall cost of approx Rs 20,000 crore.
Key Features of Vikrant
- Displacement – 45,000 tons
- Length – 262 metres long,
- Width – 62 metres
- Height – 59 metres
- Decks – 14
- Speed – 28 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
- Range – 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi)
- It has over 2,300 compartments, and can accommodate a crew of around 1700 people.
- The warship will operate 30 aircraft including Russian MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters.