Kochi (Kerala) [India]: Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov on Friday said it is a proud moment for India and the commission of the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant has shown that the country is moving fastly towards becoming a self-reliant and major global power.
“It’s a proud moment for India they built an indigenous major aircraft carrier. India is moving towards self-reliance and has shown that it’s moving fastly towards becoming a major global power. The world needs super strong India,” Russian Ambassador said.
“We are very much committed and enthusiastic about future cooperation between Russia and India in trade, technology, production and other fields despite current difficulties and tensions in the world,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday commissioned the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited here in Kochi — a significant step of the Central government towards self-reliance in the defence sector.
Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
The indigenous aircraft carrier is named after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier which had played a vital role in the 1971 war. It has a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country viz. BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, Larsen & Toubro, Wartsila India etc. as well as over 100 MSMEs.
With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India now has two operational aircraft carriers bolstering the maritime security of the nation.
INS Vikrant, built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore, successfully completed its fourth and final phase of the sea trials last month. Vikrant has been built with a 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 an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Landing), the IAC is equipped with a ski- jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.
The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.
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 aircraft carrier is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide and it has a height of 59 metres. The project has progressed in three Phases of the contract between MoD and CSL, concluded in May 2007, December 2014 and October 2019 respectively.
The ship’s keel was laid in Feb 2009, followed by launching in August 2013.
The commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier is a momentous occasion during the ‘Amritkaal of India’s 75 years of independence and signifies the country’s confidence and prowess.
This indigenous aircraft carrier is proof of the country’s technical acumen and engineering skills.
With an overall indigenous content of 76 per cent, IAC is a perfect example of the nation’s quest for “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat” and this demonstration of India’s self-sufficiency to produce an aircraft carrier warship will reinforce the country’s defence indigenization programs and ‘Make in India’ campaign.
The indigenisation efforts have also led to the development of ancillary industries, besides the generation of employment opportunities and bolstering plough back effect on the economy, both locally as well as pan-India.
With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India has forayed into the elite club of nations that have the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier. (ANI)
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