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New Delhi: India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC), progress of which was reviewed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday, will begin its sea trials next month and is set to be commissioned into the Eastern Naval Command as INS Vikrant by mid-2022.

The nearly Rs 24,000-crore project has been hit by delays. While the original targeted year of commissioning was 2018, Covid pandemic contributed to the delay later. In a statement to the media after reviewing the progress made in the construction of the IAC, Singh described it as India's pride and a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Though the original plans for the ship were floated in 1989, the design work began fresh in 1999 after then Defence Minister George Fernandes green-lighted the project that had been stuck due to a number of reasons, including financial resources.

The keel was laid in February 2009. It was floated out of its dry dock in December 2011 and was launched on 12 August 2013.It has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and is being built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).Navy sources said the IAC is the most complex warship building project to have been indigenously designed and built.They explained that while cars, aircraft, tanks are first developed as prototype and after completion of extensive prototype testing, they are replicated in large numbers using the firmed-up supply chain, warships are far more complex to build as they are not prototype-based.

Warships world over therefore are designed as they are built with the full supply chains being defined only at the construction stage, they said.The IAC is 262 metres long and 62 metres wide and has a STOBAR (short takeoff but arrested recovery) configuration with a ski jump capability. Once commissioned, INS Vikrant would be the most potent sea-based asset of the Indian Navy. The carrier would have on board about 35-40 aircraft — a mix of naval fighters, anti-submarine helicopters, and naval UAVs.

The aircraft component includes the MiG-29K fighters, Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R multi-role helicopter and the indigenous advanced light helicopters. “It would offer an incomparable military instrument with its ability to project air power over long distances, including air interdiction, anti-surface warfare , offensive and defensive counter-air, airborne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning,” a source said. Besides having four OTO Melara 76mm dual-purpose cannons, INS Vikrant is also equipped with four AK-630 close-in weapon systems. It also has two 32 cell VLS (Vertical Launch System), capable of firing 64 missiles in total. It is equipped with the Israeli Barak 1 surface to air missile for short range and the Barak 8 for long range defence against aerial targets including fighters, helicopters, drones and missiles.

INS Vikrant is a 260 meters long and 60 meters wide vessel displacing 37,500-tonnes. Maximum speed of the ship is announced at 28 knots, with a range of 7,500 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots. INS Vikrant is set to receive a large crew complement composed of 160 officers and 1,400 sailors. The STOBAR aircraft carrier will be able to accommodate up to 30 to 40 fighters and helicopters, including Mig-29K fighters jets and Ka-31 helicopters.

Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh reviewing the progress of construction of first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier at Kochi on June 25, 2021. Also seen is Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh. pic.twitter.com/1y8xylH6Ul

— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) June 25, 2021

Continuing with the visit to review the progress of major modernisation& indigenous projects being progressed by #IndianNavy Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh arrives for his visit onboard Indigenous Aircraft Carrier #IAC which is at advanced stages of construction.@indiannavy pic.twitter.com/NxbF6xP9ZE

— PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) June 25, 2021

Reviewed first-hand the ongoing work on the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, which is India's pride and a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The IAC has made significant progress.
Commissioning of the IAC next year will be a befitting tribute to 75 years of India's independence. pic.twitter.com/N9542pJneq

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 25, 2021