Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 2: In a significant event held on Friday at Cochin Shipyard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant, India’s first home-built aircraft carrier. The 45,000-ton warship was constructed for 20,000 crore rupees.
The largest warship ever constructed in India, the INS Vikrant is 262 metres long and 62 metres broad. It is capable of carrying 30 aircraft, including helicopters and MiG-29K fighter jets. The warship has room for around 1,600 crew members.
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi commissions indigenous Aircraft Carrier IAC Vikrant, the largest & most complex warship ever built in India's maritime history, into the Indian Navy at a ceremony in Kochi, Kerala. #INSVikrant pic.twitter.com/8oiQN2AnMg
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2022
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, “Today, India has entered the list of countries who can build such large warships indigenously. Vikrant has infused new confidence.”
The new naval pennant was also unveiled at the event by the prime minister. The national flag is displayed on the upper canton of the new ensign. Overlapping an anchor and the navy’s motto is a blue octagonal form with the national anthem.
The Prime Minister claimed that by adopting the new naval emblem, India has relieved itself of the weight of slavery.
In the beginning, INS Vikrant will have a few helicopters and MiG aircraft. 26 deck-based aircraft are being purchased by the Navy, which has restricted its options to some Boeing and Dassault models.
The warship took more than ten years to build. Since August 21 of last year, the INS Vikrant has successfully completed several phases of sea trials. The navy will take command after the aviation testing have concluded.
India currently only has one aircraft carrier, the Russian-platformed INS Vikramaditya. Three carriers in total have been sought after by the defence forces, one as a spare and one for each of the two main naval fronts in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.
The forerunner to INS Vikrant, which was instrumental in the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, has the name.
