India's first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant to be commissioned on 2 Sept

Hyderabad: India's first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) and the largest warship to have ever been built in the country 'Vikrant' will be commissioned into the Navy on 2 September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest on this momentous occasion.

Vikrant is designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB), the Indian Navy's in-house organisation, and is built by Cochin Shipyard Limited. The indigenous aircraft carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India's first aircraft carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 war.

Here are some of the features of Vikrant:

· The 262 m long and 62 m wide Vikrant has a maximum designed speed of 28 Knots with endurance of 7,500 NM.

· The ship has around 2,200 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,600 that include specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.

· The carrier is designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operations, ship navigation and survivability.

· The carrier is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment and systems.

· The ship boasts of a fully-fledged state-of-the-art medical complex.

· The ship would be capable of operating air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of 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).

Made in India

Vikrant has a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country like BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, L&T, and Wartsila India as well as over 100 MSMEs.

The Indigenous content of the project is approximately 76%.