India finally commissions its first indigenous aircraft carrier
The Indian Navy (IN) commissioned its 43,000t INS Vikrant aircraft carrier on 2 September, but it will only be fully operational by late 2023, senior officials said.
Delayed by nearly seven years, INS Vikrant cost INR200 billion ($2.52 billion), almost six times its expected price.
Officials said flight trials on the short-take-off-but-arrested-recovery carrier would begin in November. The aim is to integrate MiG-29K/KUB fighters, a task that should be completed around mid-2023.
Designed by the navy’s Warship Design Bureau in Delhi, and constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the carrier’s keel was laid in 2009.
The postponements were due
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