About:- Aircraft carriers are floating airbases that launch and recover fighter jets and helicopters, enabling power projection, combat missions, and humanitarian aid, making them key to maritime dominance.
1. INS Vikrant (R11)
- India’s first aircraft carrier, acquired from the U.K.
- Played a pivotal role in the Goa Liberation (1961) and 1971 Indo-Pak War.
2. INS Viraat
- Second aircraft carrier, originally HMS Hermes of the Royal Navy.
- Commissioned in India (1987); served till 2017.
3. INS Vikramaditya:
- Refurbished Russian carrier (Admiral Gorshkov).
- Commissioned in 2013; India’s third operational carrier.
4. INS Vikrant (IAC-1)
- India’s first indigenously built carrier, named after its predecessor INS Vikrant (R11).
- Commissioned in 2022; built at a cost of ₹20,000 crore with 76% indigenous content.
- Displacement: ~43,000 tonnes; deck area: 12,450 m².
- Air Wing: 30 aircraft (MiG-29K, MH-60R, Kamov-31, ALH, and LCA Navy).
- Uses STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Recovery) system.
5. IAC-II (Proposed)
- Planned second indigenous carrier, intended to replace INS Vikramaditya.
- Cleared by Defence Procurement Board (2024); awaiting Defence Acquisition Council approval.
