The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant departed for its second round of sea trials as the ship prepares for delivery.
The Indian first domestically-build aircraft carrier wrapped up the first round of sea trials in August this year. The five-day voyage started on 4 August 2021 and the trials were described as “satisfactory”. The readiness of the ship’s propulsion and power generation equipment/systems was tested in the harbor as part of Basin Trials.
INS Vikrant designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design(DND) was built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). The indigenous aircraft carrier is 262 meters long, 62 meters at the widest part and a height of 59 meters including the superstructure.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier #Vikrant out at sea for the second sea trials, #24Oct2021 . #AatmanirbharBharat #MakeInIndia @SpokespersonMoD @cslcochin @DefenceMinIndia @shipmin_india pic.twitter.com/XdwLmoYsqF
The ship, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, features a high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability. It is designed to operate at top speeds of between 28 and 30 knots with a maximum range of 7,500 to 8,000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots.
It will be able to accommodate both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, according to the officials.