PM Modi Diwali celebrations: How do Indian Navy's MiG‑29Ks launch and land on INS Vikrant’s flight deck EXPLAINED

Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed an air power demo onboard INS Vikrant on Monday, following his Diwali celebration with naval personnel.

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Visuals of the demo sortie shared on X by the Prime Minister showed him giving a thumbs-up as a MiG-29K fighter aircraft took off. He watched from the flight deck as the MiG-29K fighter jets took off and landed on the short runway of the aircraft carrier. Earlier, he had witnessed INS Vikrant, a towering symbol of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India). "INS Vikrant is not just a warship. It is a testimony to 21st-century India's hard work, talent, impact and commitment," Modi said.

PM Modi arrived here on Sunday evening and boarded the home-built aircraft carrier off the coast of Goa. The entire journey was done in a discreet manner. Last night, he had seen the MiG-29K becoming airborne during the night hours as well, reports said.

MiG-29K and INS Vikrant

INS Vikrant, India's first home-built aircraft carrier, was commissioned in 2022 to strengthen the country's naval presence. Described as a city on the move, it is the largest warship to be built in India and also India's second operational aircraft carrier after INS Vikramaditya, which was built on a Russian platform.

"Witnessed an awe-inspiring Air Power Demo on INS Vikrant, showcasing precision and prowess. The take-off and landing of MiG-29K fighters on a short runway, both in daylight and in the dark night, was a breathtaking display of skill, discipline and technological excellence," he had earlier said on X.

The MiG-29K or Fulcrum-D is the primary strike fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy, designed for carrier-based operations. The capability to operate from short runways of aircraft carriers is called STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery), meaning aircraft are capable of ski-jump ramp for take-off and arresting wires for landing on the carrier deck. They feature hydraulically folding outer wings to allow for denser packing and better movement in the congested hangars and on the flight decks of the carriers.

Landing on runways vs landing on aircraft carriers

Aircraft carriers got several flexible steel cables stretched horizontally across their flight decks. They stand a few inches above the surface and when a fighter jet touches down, an arresting hook is lowered from the tail of the aircraft which catches one of the cables on the deck.

A standard runway is often several kilometres long, which gives the pilot ample space and time to adjust the landing approach. Meanwhile, aircraft carriers are mobile as they are floating on the ocean. Thus, the pilot must compensate for the movement while aiming for a specific, small zone where the wires are located. According to reports, the hydraulically folding outer wings of the MiG-29K allow it to be squeezed into the ship's limited hangar space after landing.