Commencement of sea trials of indigenous aircraft 'Vikrant', says MoD

New Delhi [India], August 4 : Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 'Vikrant' designed by Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design(DND) is being built at Cochin Shipyard Limited(CSL), a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS), informed Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
As per the ministry, the IAC is 262 meters long, 62 meters at the widest part, and has a height of 59 meters 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, including specialized cabins to accommodate women officers. The ship has been designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation, and survivability, 'Vikrant' has a top speed of around 28 knots and cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. The ship can accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, informed the ministry.
Most of the ship's construction activities have been completed and the ship has entered the trials phase. The readiness of the ship's Propulsion and Power Generation equipment/ systems was tested in the harbour as part of Basin Trials on November 20, said the ministry.
Progress of construction of the Carrier was reviewed by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh during his visit to the ship on 25 June. Though the commencement of Sea trials was delayed due to the 2nd wave of COVID-19 with concentrated and dedicated efforts of a large number of workmen, OEMs, engineers, overseers, inspectors, designers, and the ship's crew, who had put their best efforts towards the ship's readiness for sea trials.
Reaching this milestone is significant as they have been achieved barring the current pandemic challenges and imponderables. During the maiden sailing, the ship's performance, including hull, main propulsion, PGD, and auxiliary equipment would be closely watched.
With the delivery of IAC, India would join a select group of nations with the capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier, which will be a real testimony to the 'Make in India' thrust of the Indian Government.
The Indigenous construction of Aircraft Carrier is a shining example in the Nation's quest for 'AtmaNirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India Initiative'. This has led to growth in indigenous design and construction capabilities besides the development of a large number of ancillary industries, with employment opportunities for 2000 CSL personnel and about 12000 employees in ancillary industries. Over 76% of indigenous content towards procurement of equipment, besides work by CSL and their subcontractors, is being directly invested back into the Indian economy. Around 550 Indian firms including about 100 MSMEs are registered with CSL, who are providing various services for the construction of IAC, according to the ministry information.
Indian Navy's shipbuilding program is rightly poised to provide requisite 'Economic Stimulus', with 44 ships and submarines on order being built indigenously.