INS Vikrant Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

INS Vikrant (IAC-1), commissioned in September 2022, is India's first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier. The 45,000-ton vessel can carry 30 aircraft including MiG-29K fighters and Kamov-31 helicopters. It was designed by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, with approximately 76% indigenous content including the hull, propulsion system, and electronic warfare systems.

Building an aircraft carrier is one of the most complex engineering undertakings any nation can attempt — only six countries have ever built one. INS Vikrant took 17 years from keel-laying to commissioning, reflecting both the complexity of the project and India's evolving shipbuilding capabilities. The carrier gives India the ability to project naval power across the Indian Ocean region, a strategically critical waterway through which 40% of global oil trade passes.

INS Vikrant's significance extends beyond military capability. The project developed India's shipbuilding industrial base, creating capabilities in warship-grade steel production, marine gas turbine technology, and complex systems integration. India is now planning IAC-2 — a larger, more advanced carrier potentially with electromagnetic catapults — leveraging the experience and industrial base built during Vikrant's construction.