What the article is about:
- India commissioned its first Indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant
Relevance:
- Prelims.
- GS3: Indigenisation of technology, Security challenges and their management in border areas.
Analysis:
- With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India joined a small group of countries which include the U.S, the U.K. Russia, France and China, that have the capability to design and build carriers with a displacement of over 40,000 tonnes.
What is an Aircraft carrier:
- An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft.
About INS Vikrant:
- It is also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier One (IAC-1).
- It is being constructed by Cochin Shipyard, Kerala for the Indian Navy.
- It has an overall indigenous content of 76%.This warship is 262 meters long, 62 meters wide and its height is 59 meters.
- Its construction started in 2009.INS Vikrant has over 2,200 coaches, designed for a crew of about 1,600 people, including special cabins to accommodate women officers.
- Vikrant has a cruising speed of 18 knots, a top speed of about 28 knots and an endurance of about 7,500 knots.
- It works on Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery Mechanism (STOBAR). This mechanism is very much similar to mechanism in the present carrier INS Vikramaditya.
- INS Vikrant is powered by 4 General Electric gas turbines.
- The motto of INS Vikrant is “Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah”. It was taken from Rig Veda. It means ” I defeat those who fight against me”.
STOBAR Mechanism:
- STOBAR combines elements of vertical landing and short take off.
- It is a system used to launch and recover an aircraft from an aircraft carrier.
Way ahead:
- The focus, and priority now, should be in resolving the fighter jet conundrum while also taking call on the second indigenous aircraft carrier to ensure that the expertise gained is not wasted due to strategic myopia.
