Indian government officials recently told journalists that the first vessel of the country?s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) program would be launched Aug. 12. The 45,000-ton, 284-metre INS Vikrant, currently under construction at the Cochin shipyard, is expected to enter sea trials ten months after launch, and would be ready for operational service after another five years, according to a report in Aviation Week. The ship had originally been slated for full operations by 2014, though difficulties with steel supplies and the ship?s gearbox have delayed this until 2018. Aviation Week reports that India?s other aircraft carrier, the 45,000-ton, 262-meter-long INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Russian Kiev-class Admiral Gorshkov, is undergoing trials and will soon join the current sole carrier, the aging INS Viraat, which is approaching retirement. Vikrant is designed as a conventionally-powered short-takeoff but arrested recovery (STOBAR) carrier. Construction of the next ship in the IAC program, INS Vishal, has been delayed, but plans suggest it will weigh-in at 65,000-tons, with a catapult-assisted takeoff, barrier arrested recovery (CATOBAR) configuration.
Source: http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/07/27/india-readies-aircraft-carrier-for-aug-12-launch/
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