After the Indian Navy commissioned the INS Visakhapatnam, a stealth guided-missile destroyer and the subsequent commissioning of Kalvari-class submarine Vela, there is more good news for India’s maritime defence when Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh on Thursday (November 25) announced that the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant will be commissioned by August 2022.
“We recently conducted a successful sea trial of INS Vikrant. We should be able to commission INS Vikrant by August 2022,” said Navy Chief.
This is good news for India’s national maritime security as China is on the cusp of commissioning its most advanced aircraft carrier.
Talking about INS Vela, the fourth Scorpene-class submarine, the Navy chief said that it will play a crucial role in enhancing the Navy’s ability to safeguard the nation’s maritime interests.
“INS Vela has the ability to undertake an entire spectrum of submarine operations. Given today’s dynamic and complex security situation, its capability and firepower will play a crucial role in enhancing Navy’s ability to protect India’s maritime interests,” Admiral Singh said.
He also said that the P-75 project represents the growing strategic congruence between India and France and said, “Today’s commissioning marks another high point in this enduring partnership. We crossed halfway mark of Project 75,”.
Admiral Karambir Singh also said that the Navy is closely monitoring defence cooperation between China and Pakistan and added, “We are closely monitoring the defence cooperation between China and Pakistan. The recent procurements by Pakistan from China may change the dynamics, so we need to remain cautious,”.
We are closely watching the defence cooperation between China and Pakistan. The recent procurements by Pakistan from China may change the dynamics, so we need to remain cautious: Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh pic.twitter.com/WKWVZ1xvRQ
— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2021
On the subject of Covid and the tension at Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Navy Chief said “COVID was the toughest challenge of my tenure as Chief of the Naval Staff and tensions at the LAC was during that same period, so the challenge became tougher. It wasn’t possible for us to maintain physical distancing on ships, but we battled everything,”.
Earlier in October, the second sea trial of INS Vikrant was conducted that allowed the Navy to assess the ship’s performance, including hull, main propulsion, Power Generation and Distribution (PGD) and auxiliary equipment were tested.
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is 262 metres long, 62 metres at the widest part and a height of 59 metres including the superstructure with 14 decks, including five in the superstructure, and over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 officers and sailers with gender-sensitive accommodation spaces for women officers.
The ship is equipped with a high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.
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