“The successful landing and take off of the indigenous LCA Navy on India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is a momentous step forward towards the realisation of our collective vision of AatmaNirbharBharat. The maiden landing of the Mig-29K also heralds the integration of the fighter aircraft with INS Vikrant. Congratulations to all those who made it happen.” – Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff
The first indigenous aircraft carrier and the most complicated vessel our nation has ever produced is INS Vikrant. The fact that the ship was built by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited and was internally designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau is a source of pride. On August 4th, the ship sailed for its first set of sea trials. Since then, she has participated in sea trials for the main propulsion, power generation, fire fighting, and aviation facility complex equipment, among other things.
The Carrier was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 02 Sep 22, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi was the Chief Guest.
The government of India’s “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” vision has received a major boost with the construction of the Carrier. In order to achieve the ultimate goal of being “Combat Ready,” the Carrier has been conducting significant air operations with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft since December 13, 22. On February 6th, Indian Naval Test Pilots successfully landed LCA (Navy) and MiG-29K onboard INS Vikrant as part of the aviation trials.
The LCA (Navy) landing on deck has proven that India is capable of designing, developing, building, and operating an indigenous aircraft carrier with an indigenous fighter aircraft, or “AatmaNirbharta.” Being the first instance where tests of a prototype aircraft successfully carried out on an indigenous aircraft carrier, it is a significant accomplishment on the part of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The MiG-29landing K’s on INS Vikrant is also a noteworthy accomplishment because it signifies the successful integration of the aircraft with the home carrier and raises the Navy’s combat readiness.
