Source: NDTV
Context: Prime Minister of India celebrated Diwali with Indian Navy personnel onboard INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, and lauded the armed forces for their valour and success in Operation Sindoor.
About INS Vikrant:
What it is?
- INS Vikrant (IAC-1) is India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, symbolising the nation’s technological self-reliance and naval modernization under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
- Named after the historic INS Vikrant that served with distinction during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, it embodies India’s maritime legacy and strategic aspirations.
Commissioned in:
- Officially commissioned on 2 September 2022 by Prime Minister at Kochi, marking a milestone in India’s defence manufacturing capabilities.
Built by:
- Constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) under the Indian Navy’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) programme, designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND).
Aim:
- To enhance India’s blue-water naval capability, ensuring dominance and surveillance across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- Strengthen India’s sea-based deterrence, power projection, and humanitarian assistance capacities during regional crises.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 262 metres long, 62 metres wide, and 18 decks high — roughly equal to two football fields.
- Displacement: Around 45,000 tonnes, making it the largest warship ever built in India.
- Aircraft Capacity: Can carry 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, and indigenous aircraft in the future.
- Crew and Facilities: Houses 1,600 personnel, a 16-bed hospital, and 2,400 compartments, functioning as a “city at sea.”
- Operational Capability: Achieved full operational clearance in 2024, now part of the Western Naval Command.
- Propulsion: Powered by four gas turbines, enabling speeds of up to 28 knots (52 km/h).
