Floating city: Here are the main features of INS Vikrant

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ET Spotlight SpecialLast Updated: Sep 02, 2022, 12:52:00 PM IST

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INS Vikrant has made the country part of the select group of nations who can indigenously make aircraft carriers

INS Vikrant is an example of the government's thrust to making the defence sector self-reliant. It has made the country part of the select group of nations who can indigenously make aircraft carriers.
PM Modi while commissioning INS Vikrant described the aircraft carrier as a floating airfield and a floating town. The power generated in INS Vikrant can light up 5,000 homes

It is named after her illustrious predecessor, India's first aircraft carrier, which had played a vital role in the 1971 war. The 262-meter-long carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes which is much larger and more advanced than her predecessor.

Vikrant carries a mix of about 30 aircraft. It could fly the MiG 29k fighter aircraft in anti-air, anti-surface and land attack roles. It will be able to operate the Kamov 31 which is an early air warning helicopter, the recently inducted but yet-to-be commissioned multi-role helicopter MH-60R, and the indigenous ALH.

Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Landing), the carrier is equipped with a ski- jump for launching aircraft, and a set of 'arrester wires' for their recovery onboard.

Vikrant consists of 14 decks with 2,300 compartments which can carry around 1,500 sea warriors and to cater to their food requirements.

The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totalling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 knots.

Overall it cost Rs 20,000 crores to build. The project has been progressed in three phases of the contract between MoD and CSL.

With an overall indigenous content of 76 per cent, Vikrant has been built with a high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.

The ship has a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country viz. BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, Larsen & Toubro, Wartsila India etc. as well as over 100 MSMEs.

The indigenisation efforts have also led to the development of ancillary industries, besides the generation of employment opportunities, both locally as well as pan-India.

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