India's new aircraft carrier VIKRANT

Before the year 2022 comes to an end, the first aircraft carrier VIKRANT to be built exclusively in India is due to enter service. However, a series of functional tests and sea trials still lie ahead of this.

First tests

The ship has already passed part of these tests in two test voyages: At the beginning of August 2021, the first part ran with port-side loading of the propulsion and power generation systems at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) construction yard in the far south-west of the Indian subcontinent.

The ship

The 260 metre long and over 60 metre wide carrier is the largest ship ever built in India and is also celebrated as the "Dream of the Nation". It is said that everything about the ship is nationally manufactured. Understandably, this is a source of even greater pride, as until now they had made do with decommissioned British carriers or the surplus Russian KIEV. With 1,700 crew members, the ship may be smaller than expected, but it is also equipped with a high degree of automation in the technical departments. With a displacement of 40,000 tonnes, the propulsion system should ensure speeds of up to 30 knots.

First departure of the new Indian aircraft carrier VIKRANT Photo: Indian Navy

Proof of function at sea

The second round of sea trials and aircraft movements on deck in October was also so successful that both the President and the Vice President visited the VIKRANT before the end of the year. In ongoing test series with load tests, sensor tests and flight operations, full functional maturity is to be achieved before the carrier can be handed over to the Indian Navy.

What else is flying

At the Indian Naval Air Station HANSA near the town of Dabolim in the former Portuguese colony of Goa, halfway along India's west coast, the first two of the four P-8Is purchased from Boeing in the USA were put into service just before the end of the year. They were given a fitting welcome by a squadron of MiG 29Ks! Hansa is the largest naval aviation base of the Indian Navy and is awaiting the remaining two jet-powered MPA Poseidons for acceptance trials and installation of national equipment and devices. The eight aircraft of the first batch of P-8I delivered ten years ago are stationed at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu province on the other side of the Bay of Bengal.

Acquisition of the second P-8I Poseidon at Hansa Naval Air Base Photo: Indian Navy