India has commissioned a new warship – the INS Vikrant – the country’s first domestically built aircraft carrier. Fully loaded MIG 29 can land on it and the Fighter jets take off in 3 seconds from start point. Designed in India, Made in India – #INSVIKRANT!
It is also India’s biggest vessel. India is seen to be strengthening its naval fleet as a response to China’s growing military presence in the region. Special steel made completely in India after realising some countries, who committed earlier, did not provide.
This is a 45,000 Tonne aircraft carrier that Kochi Port was able to deliver. The four gas turbine engines generate a cumulative of 88MW of power! The largest car engine built delivers 0.8 MW! The flight deck is 12,500 square metres, as big as 2.5 hockey fields!
Earlier India was heavily dependent on foreign military equipment, wants to expand its defense manufacturing capabilities. There are 30 aircrafts and helicopters can reside in the hangars, 12 fighter planes and 6 helicopters can operate at once! More than 75% of its components are domestically produced.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 262-meter-long, 60-meter-wide carrier, called Vikrant or “courageous,” at a ceremony in the southern state of Kerala Friday. Its launching is part of events commemorating India’s 75th year of independence.
Underlining India’s entry into a select group of countries capable of building such a vessel, Modi said that the Vikrant has filled the country with a new confidence. “It’s a historic day and landmark achievement,” he said. “It is an example of the government’s thrust to make India’s defense sector self-reliant.”
Nearly 76% parts were sourced indigenously from nearly 500 suppliers, including 100 MSMEs, a big learning for mobile phone industry where nearly 100% parts are still imported. The aircraft carrier has 2,100 kilometres of wires and cables, nearly half the length of India’s coastline.
PM Modi also unveiled a new naval flag on Friday that replaced a colonial era ensign of Saint George’s Cross with the royal seal of a Hindu warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji.
