CARRIER OF A LEGACY

BUILT THE NATION'S FIRST INDIGENOUSLY AIRCRAFT CARRIER, VIKRANT, IS ALL SET TO BE COMMISSIONED. THE POWER AND STRIKING RANGE OF THE NAVY'S LARGEST WARSHIP WILL BE A VITAL INSTRUMENT TO ACHIEVE INDIA'S MARITIME STRATEGIC INTERESTS

-  PRADIP R. SAGAR

IT is raining heavily in Kochi. The high wind accompanying it makes it tough to stay on one's feet on the flight deck of India's largest warship, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant. The deck-as big as two football grounds-swathed in battleship grey is a gigantic, never-ending runway. From bow to stern, it measures 262 metres; peering down at the sea below is akin to looking from atop a building 18 storeys high.

Like a child named after a beloved forebear, IAC Vikrant, the Indian Navy's proudest acquisition in recent years, carries the name of an illustrious relative. In 1961, when India bought HMS Hercules from the UK, it became the first Asian country to acquire an aircraft carrier. Renamed INS Vikrant, the 20,000-tonne warship played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan War, it's Hawker Sea Hawk attack aircraft dealing severe blows to the ports of Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar. After nearly four decades of service, it was decommissioned in 1997. Now, the Vikrant is re-incarnated as India's first indigenous aircraft carrier. Built by the state-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and after over 15 years of planning and construction, the biggest warship ever made in India was finally handed over to the Indian Navy. Docked at the shipyard in Cochin, Kerala, workers are giving finishing touches to the ship before she is inducted into the navy's fleet. Formal commissioning is planned for the first week of September, possibly in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Currently codenamed IAC-1, it will be called INS Vikrant once it enters service.