The Indian Navy is set to commission its first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant on 2 September.

The commissioning ceremony will involve the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest. It was announced during a curtain raiser event for INS Vikrant on 25 August.

The indigenous aircraft carrier supports the Government of India’s (GOI) ‘Make in India’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.

The Vikrant-class aircraft carrier has been designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB), which is an Indian Navy’s in-house organisation. The ship was constructed by Cochin Shipyard (CSL) in Kochi, India.

The 262m-long and 62m-wide INS Vikrant has already completed a series of pre-commissioning sea trials.

The first sea trials were carried out in August 2021, while the second phase concluded in October last year.

The trials validated the performance of the warship, including the response of its hull to various conditions of operations, manoeuvring, main propulsion, power generation and distribution (PGD).

The tests have also assessed the performance of the vessel’s navigation and communication systems, deck machinery, lifesaving appliances, its endurance testing of propulsion machinery, as well as its electronic suites.

Once commissioned, the vessel will also undergo some deck integration trials of fixed-wing aircraft along with the exploitation of the Aviation Facility Complex.

The INS Vikrant will operate several aircraft including, MiG-29K, light combat aircraft, Kamov 31 helicopter and advanced light helicopter.

The warship is capable of displacing around 43,000t of load and has a maximum designed speed of 28 knots, with an endurance of 7,500nm.