Kochi, Nov 30 (PTI) In a major development, Basin Trials<br>of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) were successfully<br>conducted at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on Monday, marking<br>entry into the final phase of the ambitious warship building<br>project.<br> Basin Trial is testing of the ship machinery and<br>equipment in floating conditions before the sea trials.<br> With successful completion of Basin Trials, IAC has<br>entered the final phase of the project, a Defence statement<br>said.<br> The sea trials are planned in first half of 2021.<br> "With focused and committed efforts of Indian Navy and<br>Cochin Shipyard Limited, it is only a matter of time that IAC<br> the Nations Dream would be sailing the high seas bearing<br>the National Tricolour," the statement said.<br> Despite the restrictions imposed by the<br>lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, CSL and Indian Navy worked<br>as a cohesive team to ensure timely completion of all<br>essential tasks leading up to Basin Trials of Aircraft<br>Carrier,the statement said here.<br> "It is solely due to the astute planning and<br>the implementation of necessary safety measure on ground by<br>Navy and Shipyard that the work onboard Aircraft Carrier could<br>progress unhindered even during the peak of pandemic," it<br>said.<br> The basin trials were carried out in the<br>presence of Vice Admiral AK Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-<br>in-Chief Southern Naval Command and Shri Madhu S Nair,<br>Chairman and Managing Director Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).<br> Onboard IAC, extensive trials of all four LM2500<br>Gas Turbines, Main Gear Boxes, Shafting and Controllable Pitch<br>Propellers, along with their integrated control systems, were<br>carried out during these trials.<br> In addition, major auxiliary equipment and<br>systems such as steering gear, Air Conditioning Plants, Deck<br>Machinery as well as entire internal communication equipment<br>were also proved during the Harbour trials phase, the<br>statement said.<br> N V Suresh Babu, Director Operations, CSL,<br>Commodore Ishan Tandon, Director Carrier Acceptance Trial Team<br>(CATT), Commodore Sameer Aggarwal, Chief Staff Officer<br>(Technical) of Southern Naval Command, Commodore Cyril Thomas,<br>Warship Production Superintendent (WPS) and Commodore Vivek<br>Dahiya, Commanding Officer (Designated) were present.<br> The IAC project is also a true example<br>of of Atmanirbhar Bharat with close to 75 per cent of the<br>material and equipment onboard the IAC being indigenous, the<br>statement said.<br> Further, over 50 Indian manufacturers have been<br>directly involved in this project which has provided<br>significant employment opportunities for Indian citizens.<br> Close to 2000 Indians received direct<br>employment onboard IAC on a daily basis and over 40,000<br>received indirect employment.<br> In addition, about 80-85 per cent of the project<br>cost of approximately Rs 20,000 Crore has been ploughed back<br>into the Indian Economy, according to the statement. PTI TGB<br>BN<br>WELCOME <br> TGB<br>BN<br>WELCOME