KOCHI: After two successive high-profile visits – by the President and the Vice President of India – to the warship within a span of fewer than two weeks, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant headed out for the next set of sea trials on Sunday, which would last about two weeks.
While the maiden sea trials in August last year were to establish propulsion, navigational suite, and basic operations, the second sea trial later in October-November witnessed the ship being put through its paces in terms of various machinery trials and flight trials. The ship in fact was out for 10 days proving its sustenance in the very second sortie.
Both President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkiah Naidu reviewed the progress of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) during their recent visits to the Southern Naval Command headquarters in Kochi had conveyed their satisfaction and expressed their best wishes to all the stakeholders involved in the project.
Various seamanship evolutions were also successfully cleared during the second sortie. Having gained adequate confidence in the ship’s abilities, the IAC now sails to undertake complex maneuvers to establish specific readings of how the ship performs in various conditions, an official release by the Indian navy said here.
Scientists from the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, a DRDO laboratory based at Visakhapatnam would also be embarked during the trials. In addition, various sensor suites of the ship would also be tested.
The IAC has been a success story on numerous counts. Be it the case of Atmanirbharta wherein 76% of the equipment is indigenously sourced or the close engagement between the Design teams of the Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard Limited – a high-point in the largest and most complex warship ever to be built in the country. "That the ship has been able to carry out basic flying operations from its very first sortie itself is a landmark in Indian warship construction history," the release said.
Despite surging COVID cases in the country and the resultant challenges, the combined teams from multiple organisations associated with the project, are upbeat and committed to meeting the timelines. After the successful completion of a series of progressive sea trials, the ship is scheduled to be commissioned as INS Vikrant later this year, as the nation commemorates ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The ship would operate a mix of MiG-29K fighter aircraft and various helicopters, ranging from the Kamov 31 Air Early Warning helicopters, the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R multi-role helicopters, and the indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter Mk III.