New Delhi

Indian Navy took the delivery of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 'Vikrant' from Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi on Thursday.

Designed by the Indian Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design and built by CSL, a Public Sector Shipyard the carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India's first Aircraft Carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 war.

“Coinciding with the celebrations to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's independence 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the reincarnation of Vikrant is a true testimony to the country's zeal and fervour in pursuing capability build up towards enhanced maritime security," said the Indian Navy in a statement.

The 262-meter-long carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes which is much larger and more advanced than her predecessor.

The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totalling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots.

It has been built at an overall cost of close to Rs 20,000 crores.

The ship would be capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).

It has been delivered to the Indian Navy by CSL following extensive user acceptance trials conducted between Aug 2021 and Jul 2022.

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The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy as Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant.