India's Indigenous Aircraft Carrier to Begin Sea Trials in Mid-2020

The Indian Navy's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) INS Vikrant will embark on its first sea trial in mid-2020.

The Empowered Aex Committee (EAC) reviewed the progress in the construction of the boat at the Cochin Shipyard on Monday. The IAC-1 is in a very advanced stage of construction with primary engines, all four gas turbines, and power generation systems comprising eight diesel alternators, ready. Trials of the vessel’s major systems and auxiliary equipment are already in progress. 

The IAC completed the pre-contractors sea trials dry dock work package in December 2019. The ship is scheduled to commence basin trials soon, followed by the sea trials in mid-2020.

Basin trials for testing the propulsion, transmission and shafting systems are scheduled to be held in the early half of the year. The aircraft carrier would be ready for sea trials once the basin trials are successfully completed.

India has also been planning to build 65,000-tonne IAC-2, INS Vishal, that will rely on conventional mode of propulsion. At Malaysia's LIMA-19 exhibition, BAE Systems offered to build a customized HMS Queen Elizabeth-type aircraft carrier for India, with an adaptable design for ski-jump and catapult launch.