Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commission indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi today. It was designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau. The prime minister will inaugurate the new naval fleet (Nishan) at the construction company Cochin Shipyard.
Vikrant has state-of-the-art automation system, Vikrant is built with various modern features and is the largest ship built in Indian maritime history. India’s earlier indigenous aircraft carriers are named after their illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier which played an important role in the 1971 war.
This involved the use of a large number of indigenous tools and machinery, with which the country’s major industries and more than 100 MSMEs were engaged. With the commissioning of Vikrant, India will have two operational aircraft carriers, strengthening India’s maritime security.
After all successful sea trials, Cochin Shipyard handed her over to the Indian Navy on 28 July. It is 262 meters long and 62 meters wide at a construction cost of Rs 20,000 crore, displacing 45,000 tonnes. The ship has 15 decks, a multi-specialty hospital, a pool, a kitchen and cabins for women. And, the ship uses fighter-carrying, armament and recovery technology.
Vikrant has 2,300 coaches and 2,400 km of cables. It has eight huge power generators. Can produce four lakh liters of water per day. 76 percent of domestic production. Vikrant is powered by four gas turbines with a capacity of 88 MW.
Unlike US Navy carriers, Vikrant’s flight deck will have a stober (short take-off but arrested recovery) configuration coupled with a ski-jump, giving the aircraft extra lift during take-off. Flight deck arrestor cables If the pilot misses all three cables, he must make another attempt to land.