Indian Navy takes delivery of first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
The Indian Navy took delivery of the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier on July 28, 2022. It is the first Indian-designed aircraft carrier, with the majority of its components also locally sourced.
The INS Vikrant has a displacement of around 40,000 tons and a length of 262 meters (860 feet), slightly shorter than the INS Vikramaditya, the flagship of the Indian Navy based on a Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier.
Like every carrier of the Indian Navy so far, the INS Vikrant is in Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) configuration, meaning that it is equipped with a ski-jump ramp to allow carrier-capable aircraft to take off.
India’s naval aviation currently flies 26 MiG-29K fighters. However, the nation is currently holding a competition to replace them. Two candidates are being considered: the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Dassault Rafale fighter jet.
The US and French aircraft carriers use a catapult launch system (CATOBAR) for their aircraft. Thus, the two fighters had to prove their capacity to perform a ski-jump take-off from a ramp at Naval Station Hansa in Goa, India.
Our F/A-18 #SuperHornet successfully demonstrated the ability to safely operate from @indiannavy aircraft carriers during operational tests at INS Hansa, Goa. #FIA2022 pic.twitter.com/ePukceACSh
— Boeing India (@Boeing_In) July 20, 2022
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