India launches indigenously built US$5b aircraft carrier
Print Edition
India launched its first indigenously built aircraft carrier yesterday, a landmark moment in the US$5 billion project that seeks to project the country’s power.
When the INS Vikrant comes into full service in 2018, India will become the fifth nation to have designed and built its own aircraft carrier, joining an elite club that includes Britain, France, Russia and the US.
“It’s a remarkable milestone,” Defense Minister AK Antony said as he stood in front of the giant grey hull of the ship at a ceremony in the southern city of Kochi. “It marks just a first step in a long journey but at the same time an important one.”
The ship will be fitted with weaponry and machinery and then tested over the next four years.
On Saturday, India announced its first indigenously built nuclear submarine was ready for sea trials, a key step before it becomes fully operational. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it a “giant stride” for the nation.
New Delhi is spending tens of billions of dollars upgrading its mainly Soviet-era military hardware to bolster its defenses.
Successes in its long-range missile and naval programs have been tempered by expensive failures in developing its own aircraft and other land-based weaponry, leaving the country highly dependent on imports.
INS Vikrant is two years behind schedule after problems in sourcing specialised steel from Russia, delays with crucial equipment and even a road accident in which vital diesel generators were damaged.
India already has one aircraft carrier in operation — a 60-year-old British vessel acquired by India in 1987 and renamed INS Viraat — but it will be phased out.
Russia is also set to hand over to India a third aircraft carrier — INS Vikramaditya — later this year after a bitter row over the refurbished Soviet-era warship caused by rising costs and delays.
The INS Vikrant, which means “courageous” or “bold” in Hindi, is a 40,000-ton vessel which will carry Russian-built MiG-29 fighter jets and other light aircraft.
Its hull, design and some of its machinery is domestically made, but most of its weaponry will be imported as well as its propulsion system, which was sourced from GE in the US.
“Its primary role will only be to defend our naval fleet and it will not be used for ground attacks,” retired rear admiral K. Raja Menon said.
“It’s a defense carrier so it will attack platforms that are coming to attack our (naval) fleet ... without air defense our fleet just cannot survive,” Menon said.
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