Vikrant sets out for third trial

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Januaru 9

Indigenously made sea-going aircraft carrier Vikrantset out on its third set of sea trials on Sunday.

The Indian Navy said the carrier has now sailed out to “undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the ship performs under various conditions”. In addition, various sensor suites of the ship would also be tested, the Navy said.

During the maiden sea trials in August last year, the propulsion, navigational suite and basic operations were established. A second sea trial later in October-November witnessed the ship being put through its paces in terms of various machinery trials and flight trials. The ship in fact was out for 10 days proving its sustenance.

Rs23,000 cr Warship’s cost

2,300 compartments designed for crew of 1,700 persons

28 knots top speed

18 knots cruising speed

The 44,000 tonne “indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC)” is being made at state-owned Cochin Shipyard Limited at Kochi, Kerala. The aviation complex that allows fighter jets to operate from the deck of the carrier is still to be tested using the Russian MiG 29K jets. The fight trials are slated in after March 2022 when the warship will be handed to the Indian Navy.

The sea trials are happening in the backdrop of India-China race to expand their naval strength. China has two operational and two under-construction aircraft carriers and plans half a dozen carriers by 2030.

India has one operational carrier, INS Vikramaditya, purchased from Russia and the upcoming INS Vikrant. The plan for the third carrier is so far not okayed.

The INS Vikrant is the largest and most complex warship ever to be designed and built in India.

The IAC is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide and it has a height of 59 metres. Its construction began in 2009.

With the building of an indigenous aircraft carrier, India joins a select group of nations having niche capability to indigenously design, build and integrate a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier.

The US, the UK, Russia, Italy, France and Japan have such capacities. South Korea is pursuing a carrier programme.

Longest and largest

• The 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier, the largest and most complex warship to be built in India
• It successfully completed a five-day maiden sea voyage in August and underwent 10-day sea trials in October
• The sea trials are happening in the backdrop of India-China race to expand their naval strength