INS VIKRANT - DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News: In
a major milestone, naval variant of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft lands on
INS Vikrant
What's in the news?
● In
a major milestone, the Naval variant of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft
(LCA) undertook maiden landing onboard the country’s first Indigenous Aircraft
Carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant.
● A
historical milestone achieved towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat by the Navy as Naval
pilots carry out landing of LCA [Navy] onboard INS Vikrant.
INS Vikrant:
● The
INS Vikrant - the 44,000-tonne
indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) - is the first to be designed and constructed in India.
● After
its induction, the warship will be a key component of the Indian Navy’s push to
establish itself as a “blue water” force,
one with the ability to project its power on distant seas.
Features:
● The
Vikrant stretches 262 metres in length, exceeding that of two football fields
and is 62 metre wide. Around 20 aircraft
can be parked in the hangar.
● It
has a top speed of around 28 knots (more
than 50 kmph) and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500
nautical miles.
● The
ship powered by four General Electric engines uses an aircraft-operation mode
known as Short Take Off But Arrested
Recovery (STOBAR) for which it is equipped with a ski-jump for launching
aircraft, and a set of three ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.
● This
is the first time in the country that a ship the size of an aircraft carrier is completely modelled in 3D and
production drawings extracted from the 3D model.
● The
Made-in-India warship is a feather in the country’s cap, as only five or six
nations have the capacity of building an aircraft carrier.
Carry Load:
● Russian-made
MiG-29K fighter jet
● Kamov-31
early warning helicopters
● Indigenously
manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters and
● MH-60R
multirole helicopter made by the American defence major Lockheed Martin.
Why is it named Vikrant?
● INS
Vikrant was India’s first aircraft carrier, which it acquired from the United Kingdom in 1961.
● It
played a key role in the 1971 war with Pakistan which led to the creation of
Bangladesh. It was decommissioned in 1997.
● Now
India’s first homemade aircraft carrier will carry the name of her illustrious
predecessor.
Other aircraft carriers:
● The
Indian Navy has only one operational aircraft carrier at present – the INS Vikramaditya.
● The
country’s two earlier carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Viraat, were originally the
British-built HMS Hercules and HMS Hermes before being commissioned into the Navy
in 1961 and 1987 respectively.
The
commissioning of the warship, which will be christened ‘Vikrant’, will mark a
“historical milestone of realization of Nation’s commitment towards Atma
Nirbhar Bharat” (self-reliance).