New Vikrant a major milestone in Indian Navy’s path to ‘Aatmanirbharta’

Defence Minister Singh says the aircraft carrier will increase India’s reach in Atlantic, Pacific

The indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant—which is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in August this year—will increase the blue-water force’s reach from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed Vikrant a “major milestone” in the Indian Navy’s path of ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance).

Vikrant—also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) and named after the decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant—has been built by the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.

The new carrier has already undergone basin trials and maiden sea trials and is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy in August 2022, with flight trials of aircraft expected to be completed by mid-2023.

“The carrier will increase our reach from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean,” Singh said, adding that commissioning Vikrant will be a golden moment in Indian defence history.

Work on the new Vikrant’s design began in 1999, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of dry dock on December 29, 2011 and was launched on August 12, 2013.

Basin trials were completed in December 2020, and the ship started sea trials in August 2021.

Singh’s address came while launching Indian Navy’s frontline warships ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.

At the occasion, Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief of Naval Staff, said: “Indigenous shipbuilding projects, such as these, are also catalysts for employment generation and skill development.”

“To support the ‘Make in India’ initiative, 80 per cent AoNs on cost basis have been awarded to Indian vendors, amounting to investment of nearly Rs 1,75,000 crore back into the Indian economy. Indigenous shipbuilding projects, such as these, are also catalysts for employment generation and skill development. Thus, the Navy’s budget has a significant ‘plough-back’ into the economy, which signifies our impetus towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’,” Kumar said in his address.