INS Vikrant
Indian Navy’s First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier
INS Vikrant is the Indian Navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier with a capacity of 45,000 tons of displacement. This formidable aircraft carrier will provide a major impetus to the Indian Navy to maintain its leadership position in the Indian Ocean.
In a grand ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant on September 2nd, 2022. INS Vikrant has been designed by India’s premier state-owned naval design company Warship Design Bureau ( WDB ) formerly Directorate of Naval Design ( DND ) and DRDO.
The much-awaited indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has been built by the Cochin shipyard. It is a significant milestone that demonstrates India’s naval shipbuilding capabilities. As stated by PM Modi, Vikrant stands for India’s strength, naval engineering capabilities, and leadership.
INS Vikrant is the most visible symbol of the country’s achievement under the ambitious “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” program. The initiative is a historical achievement for India’s development and demonstrates the government’s resolve to make India a leading manufacturer of defense equipment and platforms.
INS Vikrant is the largest indigenous naval ship built by India, which includes indigenous designs and aircraft carriers for the Indian Navy. India has now joined the group of elite nations with indigenous ship-building capability to design and build aircraft carriers.
INS Vikrant’s name is derived from India’s first aircraft carrier, which participated and played a crucial role in the war against Pakistan in the year 1971.
Prime Minister Modi also launched a new naval ensign along with INS Vikrant. The new Naval Ensign symbolizes the rich maritime heritage of the Indian navy and the country’s development. The Indian Navy’s new ensign is dedicated to the greatest Maratha warrior of its time, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
INS Vikrant is India’s latest aircraft carrier designed by the Warship Design Bureau ( WDB), formerly known as the Directorate of Naval Design. WDB is a state-owned premier agency responsible for designing naval platforms for the Indian Navy.
INS Vikrant
Indian Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant Features
The Indian navy currently operates two aircraft carriers, which include INS Vikrant and INS Vikramadatya. INS Vikrant was the first of the two indigenous aircraft carriers built by the Indian Cochin Shipyard.
INS Vikrant is powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines and driven by two Elecon COGAG gearboxes. It has a total displacement of 45,000 tons.
INS Vikrant operates Russian-originated thirty-carrier MiG-29K fixed-wing aircraft specially designed for carrier operations. It also operates the Russian rotary-wing Kamov Ka-31 for reconnaissance and the US-made MH-60R helicopters, recently acquired by the Indian Navy.
The Indian navy also intends to acquire an additional sixty fixed-wing aircraft for carrier operations. The naval version of the Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F18 Super Hornet are two aircraft being evaluated by the Indian navy.
INS Vikrant General Characteristics
INS Vikrant |  |
General Information | INS Vikrant is the Indian Navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier with 43000 tons of displacement constructed by Cochin Shipyard. |
Displacement | 45,000 Tons |
Designed By | Warship Design Bureau ( WDB ) , Formerly Directorate Of Naval Design( DND ) |
Built For Indian Navy By | Cochin Shipyard Limited |
Length | 262 Meters ( 860 feets ) |
Beam | 62 Meters ( 203 feets ) |
Height | 59 Meters ( 194 feets ) |
Installed Power Plant | 4 × General Electric LM2500 + Gas Turbine |
Speed | 30 KN ( 56 kmph ) |
Range | 8000 NMI ( 15,000 km ; 9,200 Mi ) |
Crew | 196 Officers, 1449 Sailors ( Including Air Crew ) |
Aircrafts Carried | 30 Aircraft : Fixed-Wing : MiG-29K , LCA Tejas Navy TEDBF , Rotary-wing : Kamov Ka-31 , MH-60R , HAL Dhruv. |
Air Defence Weapons And Other Armaments | 32 Cell VLS Barak 8 SAM ( Range : 0.5 km To 100 km ( 62 Miles ) |
Sensors And | Elta EL / M-2248 , MF-STAR AESA Multifunction Radar. |
Electronic Warfare | DRDO Shakti EW Suite |
Commissioned On | Prime Minister Of India Narendra Modi Commissioned INS Vikrant on 2nd September 2022. |