India Builds Its Own 40,000-Tonne Aircraft Carrier

NEW DELHI, (ANI) – With the first indigenously built aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant, which is set to be commissioned on September 2, India joined the select club of countries capable of manufacturing aircraft carriers above 40,000 tons.

IAC Vikrant has 2200 compartments including separate accommodation for women officers and female Agniveer sailors.

For the Vikrant, the equipment has been made in 18 States and union territories including places like Ambala, Daman, Kolkata, Jalandhar, Kota, Pune, and New Delhi.

The ship will be in the forefront in the Indian Ocean Region, providing India with a force level that can act as a deterrent.

Vikrant is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Directorate of Naval Design and built by CSL, a Public Sector Shipyard, and  is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’ which played a vital role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

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

IAC Vikrant consists of 14 decks with 2,300 compartments that can carry around 1,500 sea warriors and to cater to the food requirements, around 10,000 chapatis are made in the ship’s kitchen, which is called the ship’s gallery.

The ship has indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country such as BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, Larsen & Toubro, Wartsila India etc. as well as over 100 MSMEs. The indigenization efforts also led to the development of ancillary industries, besides the generation of employment opportunities and bolstering plough back effect on the economy.