INS Vikrant: India's first indigenous aircraft carrier -- INS Vikrant -- the largest ship ever built in India's maritime history, was commissioned in Kochi on Friday. The warship, housing state-of-the-art automation features, has been at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, at the Cochin Shipyard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described September 2 as a 'landmark day for India's efforts to become Aatmanirbhar in the defence sector'.
10 things to know about INS Vikrant-
INS Vikrant is the largest aircraft carrier ever built in India's maritime history. The warship is as massive as two football fields. (Image: PTI)
2/10The ship will be capable of operating 30 fighter aircraft (presently MiG 29K) and a mix of Kamov 31 AEW helicopters, MH 60 R Multi Role helicopters and Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters, as per PTI report.
(Image: Piyush Goyal\Twitter)
3/10Space and accommodation capacity: INS Vikrant has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.
(Image: Piyush Goyal\Twitter)
4/10With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India has joined the league of six nations in the world that have the niche capacity to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.
(Image: Piyush Goyal\Twitter)
5/10The ship per se has over 75 per cent indigenous content. There are many industries associated with the building of the Carrier, including BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, L&T, Wartsila India apart from 100s of MSMEs.
(Image: Piyush Goyal\Twitter)
6/10INS Vikrant weighs 45,000 tonnes and is the outcome of active collaboration between the Naval Ship Design Bureau and Cochin Shipyard Limited.
(Image: PTI)
7/10The massive ship is 262.5 meters long and 62 meters wide. There are 14 decks, which can accommodate 1700 Naoveers.
(Image: PTI)
8/10This indigenously built naval asset has the capacity of achieving 28 knots top speed and is expected to cruise at 18 knots on four LM 2500 gas turbine engines.
(Image: PTI)
9/10The Vikrant has a STOBAR (short take-off but arrested recovery) configuration, meaning it has the capacity of enabling short take off by planes using ski jump and recovery with the help of arrester wires.
(Image: PTI)
10/10It took over a decade to be built INS Vikrant. The warship is equipped with a 16-bed hospital.
(Image: PTI)