INS Vikrant: First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Polity & Governance
- Published
3rd Sep, 2022
-
Context
Recently, the Prime Minister of India commissioned India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant in Kochi.
- Currently, India has two aircraft carriers (INS Vikramaditya (from Russia) & INS Vikrant (present one).
About INS Vikrant
- The name ‘INS Vikrant’ originally belonged to India’s first aircraft carrier which was acquired from the UK, and played a vital role in the 1971 War with Pakistan before it was decommissioned in 1997.
- Design & Development
- By the Indian Navy's in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
- It has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built-in the maritime history of India.
- The ship is capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
- The ship can accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.
- The warship will also offer an “incomparable military instrument with its ability to project Air Power over long distances, including offensive, Air Interdiction, Anti-Surface Warfare, defensive Counter-Air, Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare and Airborne Early Warning.
Need & Significance
- With the commissioning, India has joined the elite group of nations (US, Russia, France, the UK and China) having capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier.
- It is a shining example in the nation’s quest for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India Initiative,’ with more than 76 per cent indigenous content.”
- It is especially important amid India’s bid to be a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region & upholder of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) where it faces China.
- The two aircraft carriers can be deployed, one in East Coast (BOB & Malacca Strait) & 2nd one for west Coast (Arabian Sea, Pak Coast & West Asia).
- Naval forces can use this for dispensing humanitarian relief & disaster relief (in peacetime).