India’s first locally-built aircraft carrier to be delivered in 2021, navy official says

The future INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, is scheduled to be delivered in 2021 in time for commissioning in 2023, a senior Indian Navy official has confirmed.

Vice Admiral A.K. Saxena, the navy’s controller of warship production and acquisition, said that Vikrant‘s gas turbines will be tested starting in the third quarter of 2019 while the ship’s sea trials will begin in the first quarter of 2020. Delivery will take place upon the conclusion of the sea trials.

Construction of Vikrant is ongoing at Cochin Shipyard in Kerala. Once completed, the carrier will have a length of 262 metres, a beam of 62 metres, and capacity for up to 26 MiG-29K fighter aircraft and 10 helicopters.