India’s first indigenously-built aircraft carrier, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant, successfully accomplished its maiden sea voyage today, for which she had sailed on August 4 from Kochi.
Trials progressed as planned and system parameters proved satisfactory, the Ministry of Defence said in a release. During the maiden sailing, ship’s performance, including hull, main propulsion, Power Generation and Distribution (PGD) and auxiliary equipment were tested. The carrier would continue to undergo series of sea trials to prove all equipment and systems prior handing over the vessel to the Indian Navy.
IAC-I returning from the Arabian Sea | Varun Ramesh Balan
Vikrant, named after the Indian Navy’s erstwhile INS Vikrant (R11) which had served in the 1971 war, was designed by Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design(DND) and was built at Cochin Shipyard Limited(CSL), a Public Sector Shipyard under Ministry of Shipping(MoS).
The IAC has over 76 per cent indigenous content.
IAC Vikrant is 262m long, 62m wide at the widest part and has a height of 59m (making it as tall as a including the superstructure. There are 14 decks in all, including five in the superstructure. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, having gender-sensitive accommodation spaces for women officers. The ship with high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed wing and rotary aircraft.
The trials, were reviewed by Vice Admiral AK Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command on the last day. The MoD said they have progressed as planned and system parameters have been proved satisfactory.
“The successful completion of maiden trials sorties, despite challenges faced due to COVID-19 pandemic and COVID protocols in place, is testimony to the dedicated efforts of large number of stakeholders for over a decade. This is a major milestone activity and historical event. The carrier would undergo a series of Sea Trials to prove all equipment and systems prior to its delivery in 2022.”
The delivery of Vikrant is being targeted to coincide with celebrations to commemorate 75th anniversary of India’s independence “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”
