Commissioning of the country’s first aircraft carrier Vikrant will enhance peace, security and stability in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific Region, Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade said on Thursday. The carrier is set to be commissioned on September 2, 2022 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“From November we will commence landing trails which we hope to complete by middle of next year. We will put in all effort so that the aircraft carrier is operational with the aircraft and the aircraft which are available with us are the MiG-29s,” Vice Adm. Ghormade said at a press conference ahead of the commissioning. The carrier should be fully operational by end 2023, he stated.
He said that they have carried out five sets of trials since August 2021 and were extremely successful. “From the propulsion, equipment and weapons point of view, the ship is fully operational.”
