INDIA: After the attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, tensions between India and Pakistan are constantly increasing. Amidst this tension, the Indian Navy conducted a war exercise in the Arabian Sea on Sunday. In a statement related to this exercise, it was told that the Navy successfully tested an anti-ship missile, which shows the ability to act at long distances. Experts in the Indian Navy give a different status to INS Vikrant. It is worth mentioning that the Navy already had an aircraft carrier of the same name, which played an important role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. The Indian Navy said that it is ready to take action anytime and anywhere to ‘protect the maritime interests’ of the country.
What is INS Vikrant?
According to the government statement, this is the first aircraft carrier built by an Indian company. This ship was built with the cooperation of more than a hundred small and medium scale local organizations. After the induction of INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers. This aircraft carrier was built at Kochi Shipyard, which was ‘dedicated to the nation’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2022. A warship named ‘INS Vikrant’ played an important role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. In memory of the same, this new aircraft carrier has also been named ‘INS Vikrant’. After the induction of INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers. With this, India has joined the list of select countries that build their own aircraft carriers. These countries include America, Britain, France, Russia and China. On the other hand, Pakistan does not have any aircraft carrier till now.
Features of Vikrant
According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), INS Vikrant has the capacity to carry 30 fighter planes. Some of its special features are- Capacity to carry fighter aircraft: It can carry 30 types of aircraft and helicopters, including MiG-29K, Kamov-32, MH-60R, Advanced Light Helicopter and light combat aircraft. Vikrant has been designed with automatic systems. It has been designed to operate both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. This warship has a total of 18 decks and 2,400 rooms. This ship, which has accommodation for about 1,600 soldiers, also has separate rooms for women officers and sailors.
- Maximum speed: 28 knots
- Displacement: 45,000 tons
- Ship length: 262 meters
- Total cost: Rs 20 thousand crore
