INS Vikrant

Recently, India’s indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is an important step toward a self-reliant India campaign. It was launched on 2 September 2022 at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

About INS Vikrant 

INS Vikrant is an aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy (Indian Aircraft Carrier). It has been built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. It has been named ‘Vikrant’ as India’s first aircraft carrier Vikrant (R11). The name Vikrant means “courageous” in Sanskrit (Meaning of Vikrant). The motto of the ship is “Jayama San Yudhispati:”, which means “I defeat those who fight against me” (Motto of INS Vikrant).

26 MiG-29K fighter jets, 4 Kamov Ka-31 helicopters, 2 HAL Dhruv NUH utility helicopters and 4 MH-60R multi-role helicopters will take off from INS Vikrant. The aircraft carrier is 262 meters long, 62 meters wide and 59 meters high. It has a maximum speed of 28 knots, cruising speed of 18 knots and endurance of 7,500 knots. It has 2,300 coaches, a crew of 1,700 people, dedicated hospital premises, special cabins for women officers, two football field-sized flight decks and eight-kilometre-long corridors. Its eight power generators can light up a city of 20 lakh people (INS Vikrant Features).
Work on the design of this ship started in 1999 (Design of INS Vikrant) and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was pulled out of its dry-lap on 29 December 2011 and was launched on 12 August 2013 (INS Vikrant Launched date). The basin trial was completed in December 2020. The ship began sea trials in August 2021. The commissioning ceremony for this ship was held on 2 September 2022. The flight trials of the aircraft are expected to be completed by mid-2023 (INS Vikrant Trials). The total cost of the project at the time of the first sea trials was around ₹23,000 crore (US$2.9 billion) (INS Vikrant Project Cost).

Importance of INS Vikrant

1. Vikrant, which means Courageous, is named after India’s first aircraft carrier, which was built by the UK. and commissioned in the year 1961.
2. The first INS Vikrant was a prominent symbol of national pride and played an important role in several military operations, including the Indo-Pak war of 1971, before decommissioning in 1997. India’s first domestic aircraft carrier has been named after its illustrious predecessor.
3. With its induction into the Navy, the aircraft carrier will establish the Indian Navy as a major maritime military force or ‘Blue Water Force’ with the capability to demonstrate its might in the distant seas.
4. This is particularly important from the point of view of India’s emergence as a ‘net security provider in the Indian Ocean region, where it competes with China, whose navy is focused on aircraft carriers and the two aircraft carriers as its military forces. has also included.
5. With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India will now have two functional aircraft carriers (the other being ‘INS Vikramaditya’) which will strengthen the maritime security of the nation.

Challenges in the Way to Indigenization of the Indian Navy

• Dependence on imports for subsystems and components: any warship from design to final operational installation consists of three components: FLOAT, MOVE, and FIGHT.
• The Indian Navy has been successful in achieving about 90% indigenization in the ‘Float’ category, while in the ‘Move’ category, it has achieved about 60% indigenization depending on the type of propulsion.
• But in the ‘fight’ category, we have achieved only 30% indigenization, the dependence on imports remains to meet the rest.
• China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean region: With the success of its antipiracy campaigns, China has emerged as a strong partner for the islands and coastal countries of the Indian Ocean region. More recently it has deployed its vessel at Hambantota port of Sri Lanka.
• Cost and time overruns: The Navy has faced cost and time overruns in most of its production projects; For example, INS Vikramaditya was put into service 10 years after its purchase.
• Outdated Submarines: A fleet of submarines is considered indispensable from the point of view of their various roles as well as complementing aircraft carriers.
• Presently, the Indian Navy has 15 conventional submarines, each of which needs to come above the surface to charge its batteries. Due to this, they are not able to remain in secret for a long time continuously.

World’s Major Aircraft Carriers

• USA: USS Gerald R Ford Class
• CHINA: Fujian
• UK: Queen Elizabeth Class
• RUSSIA: Admiral Kuznetsov
• FRANCE : Charles De Gaulle
• ITALY: Cavour

Way Forward

1. Technological Advancement: The development of core military technologies indigenously will significantly enhance the capabilities of the Navy.
Although the Indian Navy has design capabilities and to some extent a production base, there is a need for significant enhancements in performance, such as:

• Unmanned Underwater Vehicles- UUV
• Multi-Function RADAR
• Bio-Technical Weapons
• Biofuels for Ships and Aircraft
• Promoting Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) using Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning.

2. A Collaborative Approach to Self-Reliance
3. Prepare for War
4. Tapping the World Defence Market
5. Shipyard Infrastructure Improvement
6. Ensuring a Peaceful Indian Ocean Region