According to a tweet published by the Defence Ministry of India on August 4, 2021, the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) starts sea trials.
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INS Vikrant aircraft carrier (Picture source: Twitter account of Defence Ministry of India)
INS Vikrant is able to carry 36 to 40 fixed-wing aircraft including 26 fighter aircraft Mikoyan MiG-29K and 10 helicopters including Kamov Ka-31, Westland Sea King, and HAL Dhruv, a utility helicopter designed and developed by the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Ka-31 will fulfill the airborne early warning (AEW) role and the Sea King will provide anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability.
She has a length of 262 m, a wide of 62 m, and a displacement of 39,000 tons and she features a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) configuration with a ski-jump.
The INS Vikrant is powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines and two Elecon COGAG gearbox. She can reach a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) with a maximum cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi). This aircraft carrier has a crew of 1,645 sailors including 196 officers.
The armament of the INS Vikrant includes four Otobreda 76 mm (3 in) dual-purpose naval guns, 2x32 VLS (Vertical launching System) Barak 1 & Barak 8 surface-to-air missile launchers and Russian-made AK-630 CIWS (Close-In Weapon Systems) based on a six-barreled 30 mm rotary cannon.
