Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the ceremony on September 2 in Kochi to commission the first indigenously-designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant into the Indian Navy.
With this induction, India will join the elite league of nations to have its own indigenously-made aircraft carrier. The other countries are US, UK, China and France.
Giving the details of the induction schedule, Vice-Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral SN Ghormade said here on Thursday the commissioning of the INS Vikrant, costing about `20,000 crore, will contribute in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Deliberations are on for constructing the second indigenous aircraft carrier, he said. At present, India has lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya built by Russia as per the Indian Navy’s specifications.
The commissioning of the aircraft carrier will be an "unforgettable" day as it will significantly enhance the country's overall maritime capabilities, Ghormade said.
He said its commissioning will be a historic occasion and that it is also a symbol of "national unity" as its components came from a significant 18 states and Union Territories. Moreover, the ship has 76 per cent indigenous components.
The aircraft carrier successfully completed the fourth and final phase of the sea trials last month. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers. The ship weighs more than 43,000 tons and is the largest ship ever to be built in India.
It has a top speed of around 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. The aircraft carrier is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide and it has a height of 59 metres. Its construction began in 2009. The ship is powered by four gas turbines totalling 88 MW power.
The ship also boasts of a fully-fledged state of the art medical complex with latest medical equipment facilities.
Ghormade said the aircraft landing trials on board INS Vikrant will begin in November and they will be completed by mid-2023, adding MiG-29K jets will operate from the warship for the first few years.
The Navy is in the process of procuring 26 deck-based aircraft and it has narrowed down on Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and French aerospace major Dassault Aviation's Rafale M aircraft.