UPDATE: PM Modi commissions INS Vikrant, nation's first made-in-India aircraft carrier
India is set to become only the sixth country to have an indigenously-made, 40,000 tonnes+ aircraft carrier, the Navy said Thursday. Other countries to boast such a military asset are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France. Indian Naval Ship Vikrant will be commissioned September 2 in Kerala with prime minister Narendra Modi in attendance.
Addressing reporters today, Vice Admiral SN Ghormade said the commissioning would contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Vice Admiral also stressed that the commissioning would be an expression of India's indigenous military capability. He also called on military R&D (research and development) organisations to work on producing indigenous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the US-made Predators.
5 things to know about Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant:
> Built at a cost of around ₹20,000 crore, Vikrant last month completed the fourth and final phase of sea trials. A staggering 76 per cent of the ship has been made indigenously; parts were built across 18 states and union territories and it is a symbol of 'national unity'.
{{/usCountry}}> Built at a cost of around ₹20,000 crore, Vikrant last month completed the fourth and final phase of sea trials. A staggering 76 per cent of the ship has been made indigenously; parts were built across 18 states and union territories and it is a symbol of 'national unity'.
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> Vikrant is 260 metres long and 60 metres wide, and has 2,200 compartments. There will be separate accommodation for women officers and female Agniveer sailors.
> The carrier has been made with warship-grade steel, production of which is the combined effort of the Navy, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
> Vikrant has been designed to host the MiG-29K fighter jet but the Navy will eventually look to deploy the indigenously developed Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter, or TED-BF. In the interim, Vice Admiral Ghormade said, Rafale and F-18 jets will be deployed on Vikrant.
> Fully loaded, Vikrant can carry as many as 36 fighter jets; 19 on the flight deck and 17 in the hangars below.