India Launches First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

The INS Vikrant departs the Cochin Shipyard, August 12, 2013. REUTERS/Sivaram V

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, was launched Monday at the Cochin Shipyard in the southern Indian city of Kochi.

According to a media release, the 40,000 ton aircraft carrier, designed by the Indian Navy (Directorate General of Naval Design) and built at the Cochin Shipyard, is a part of the warship project of the Ministry of Defense. With a length of 262 meters (869ft) and maximum beam of 62 meters (203ft), the INS Vikrant is the largest warship and the first aircraft carrier to be designed and built entirely in India.

The aircraft carrier will come equipped with two runways for take-off and an angled deck with arrestor wires for landing.

The ship is currently scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2018, but will not be ready for deployment anytime before 2020, according to the Times of India.

With the construction of the Vikrant, India joins only a small group of countries -including the U.S., U.K., Russia and France capable of building such a ship.