India's Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 'Vikrant' Completes Maiden Sea Trial

The Indian Ministry of Defense has announced that the Navy’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant completed its five-day maiden sea voyage on Sunday.

During the maiden sailing, ship’s performance, including hull, main propulsion, Power Generation and Distribution (PGD) and auxiliary equipment were tested. Trials progressed as planned and system parameters proved satisfactory. The carrier would continue to undergo series of sea trials to prove all equipment and systems prior handing over the vessel to the Indian Navy, the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Designed by Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design (DND), Vikrant is being built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a Public Sector Shipyard under Ministry of Shipping (MoS). The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is 262 m long, 62 m at the widest part and height of 59 m including the superstructure. There are 14 decks in all, including five in the superstructure. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, having gender-sensitive accommodation spaces for women officers. The ship with high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed wing and rotary aircraft.

The carrier would undergo a series of Sea Trials to prove all equipment and systems prior to its delivery in 2022.