'Sunrise of New Future': A look at INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier
In a grand ceremony at Cochin Shipyard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant on Friday. At 262 metres long and 62 metres wide, it is the largest warship to be built in India
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant, India's first home-built aircraft carrier today at the Cochin Shipyard. INS Vikrant is a 44,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier and has been built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore. The ship will initially carry MiG fighter planes and some choppers. Image Courtesy: @sambitswaraj/Twitter
At the grand event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that INS Vikrant is an example of Indian government's thrust to make its defence sector self-reliant and has made the country part of the select group of nations who can indigenously make aircraft carriers. He also unveiled Indian Navy's new ensign which now has the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. ANI
Currently, only a few nations have the capability of manufacturing aircraft carriers. Today, with the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India has become a part of such countries. Experts and Navy officials have said that through Vikrant, India has demonstrated the capacity for self-reliance. Image Courtesy: @sambitswaraj/Twitter
INS Vikrant has 14 decks and 2,300 compartments with special cabins for women officers. The ship can carry 1,700 personnel. The maximum speed of INS Vikrant is about 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots. Image Courtesy: @sambitswaraj/Twitter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described a few features of the aircraft carrier, calling it a 'floating town' that can generate power enough to light up 5,000 houses. ANI
The construction of INS Vikrant began in 2009 at the state-owned Cochin Shipyard. According to the Indian Navy, more than 50 Indian manufacturers were directly involved in the project and more than 40,000 people were indirectly employed. More than 76 per cent of the components used to build INS Vikrant are indigenous including 21,500 tonnes of special steel employed in the construction of the carrier. PTI