KOCHI: The basin trials of an Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) were successfully completed at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on Monday. Basin trials are primarily aimed at proving the main propulsion plant of the carrier in the harbour and is a precursor to the ensuing sea trials, after which it will be commissioned as INS Vikrant.
According to an official release, the trials were conducted in the presence of Vice-Admiral A K Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, and Madhu S Nair, chairman and managing director, CSL.
As part of the trials, all four LM2500 gas turbines, main gear boxes, shafting and controllable pitch propellers and the integrated control systems were successfully operated.
Major auxiliary equipment and systems such as the steering gear, air-conditioning plants centrifuges, power generation and distribution system and internal communication equipment were also tested. The sea trials have been planned in the first half of 2021.