by NEW DELHI: The country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) kicked off its third set of sea trials on Sunday, ahead of the 40,000-tonne warship being commissioned as INS Vikrant in August.
“The IAC has now sailed out to undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the carrier performs in various conditions. In addition, various sensor suites of the warship would also be tested,” a Navy officer said.
The IAC’s maiden sea trials in August last year were to establish propulsion, navigational suite and basic operations, while the second round in October-November witnessed the warship being put through its paces in terms of various machinery trials and flight trials.
“That the warship, the largest-ever built in India, has been able to carry out basic flying operations from the very first sortie itself is a landmark in the warship construction history of India,” the officer added.
India has joined a select group of countries like the US, Russia, China, France and UK to have the “niche capability” to indigenously design, build and integrate a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier.
Though it will be commissioned in August this year, the IAC will become fully operational only after the flight trials of MiG-29K supersonic fighter jets, MH-60R multi-role helicopters and indigenously manufactured ALHs (advanced light helicopters) are completed from its deck by around mid-2023.
As reported by TOI earlier, France is also currently conducting demonstrations of its Rafale maritime fighter jet at the shore-based test facility (SBTF) in Goa for the IAC. The US is also slated to showcase its Boeing-manufactured fighter F/A-18 at the SBTF, which has a ski-jump to resemble an aircraft carrier’s deck, in March.
“The IAC has now sailed out to undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the carrier performs in various conditions. In addition, various sensor suites of the warship would also be tested,” a Navy officer said.
The IAC’s maiden sea trials in August last year were to establish propulsion, navigational suite and basic operations, while the second round in October-November witnessed the warship being put through its paces in terms of various machinery trials and flight trials.
“That the warship, the largest-ever built in India, has been able to carry out basic flying operations from the very first sortie itself is a landmark in the warship construction history of India,” the officer added.
India has joined a select group of countries like the US, Russia, China, France and UK to have the “niche capability” to indigenously design, build and integrate a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier.
Though it will be commissioned in August this year, the IAC will become fully operational only after the flight trials of MiG-29K supersonic fighter jets, MH-60R multi-role helicopters and indigenously manufactured ALHs (advanced light helicopters) are completed from its deck by around mid-2023.
As reported by TOI earlier, France is also currently conducting demonstrations of its Rafale maritime fighter jet at the shore-based test facility (SBTF) in Goa for the IAC. The US is also slated to showcase its Boeing-manufactured fighter F/A-18 at the SBTF, which has a ski-jump to resemble an aircraft carrier’s deck, in March.
