INS Vikrant is India’s first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, and only the fourth country-built carrier programme of its scale in the world after the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom’s post-war domestic carrier lineages. Displacing around 45,000 tonnes and measuring 262 metres in length, Vikrant gives the Indian Navy a second operational carrier alongside INS Vikramaditya, enabling simultaneous two-carrier operations on India’s western and eastern seaboards.[1]
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) programme was conceived to reduce India’s dependence on foreign carrier designs and build sovereign shipbuilding capability. Vikrant was designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Directorate of Naval Design and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kerala, with steel cutting beginning in 2009 and the ship launched in 2013. Construction and fitting-out extended over more than a decade, with the carrier commissioned into the Indian Navy on 2 September 2022 at a ceremony in Kochi, at a total programme cost of approximately ₹20,000 crore.
Vikrant uses a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) configuration, combining a ski-jump bow for launching fixed-wing aircraft with arrestor wires for recovery. The carrier is powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines in a COGAG arrangement, giving a top speed of around 28 knots. The ship carries a tailored air wing of up to 30 fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, and its construction reportedly achieved roughly 76 percent indigenous content, a landmark figure for Indian warship building.[2]
Vikrant’s current air wing is built around the Russian-supplied MiG-29K “Black Panther” carrier-borne fighter, supported by Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters and MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters for anti-submarine and utility roles. By March 2026, Vikrant had completed her thousandth fixed-wing take-off and landing cycle with the MiG-29K, reflecting a maturing flight-deck operating tempo since achieving Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in November 2023 and full integration with the Western Fleet in August 2024.[3]
On 28 April 2025, India signed a defence agreement with France to procure 26 Dassault Rafale-M carrier-borne fighters, comprising 22 single-seat and 4 twin-seat aircraft, in a deal valued at approximately ₹63,000 crore. The Rafale-M is intended to eventually replace or supplement the ageing MiG-29K fleet aboard Vikrant, with reports suggesting the Navy may transfer a MiG-29K squadron to the shore base INS Dega to sustain the carrier air group during the transition period until Rafale-M deliveries and integration are complete.[4]
Vikrant has been an active fleet unit since commissioning, conducting extended deployments on both India’s western and eastern coasts. The carrier completed a deployment on the western coast before transiting to the east coast by 16 February 2026, and served as the flagship of the Indian Navy at the International Fleet Review 2026 held at Visakhapatnam, underscoring its role as a centrepiece of Indian naval diplomacy as well as combat readiness.
INS Vikrant gives India the ability to operate two carrier battle groups simultaneously for the first time, a capability central to the Indian Navy’s doctrine of maintaining credible sea-control and power-projection capacity across the Indian Ocean Region. The carrier is also a flagship demonstration of India’s shipbuilding self-reliance push, validating domestic capability in warship design, steel production, and complex systems integration ahead of planned future indigenous carrier programmes.
| Type | Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (STOBAR) |
| Builder | Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kerala |
| Displacement | ~45,000 tonnes |
| Length | 262 metres |
| Propulsion | 4 x GE LM2500 gas turbines (COGAG), ~28 knots |
| Air Wing | Up to 30 aircraft: MiG-29K (transitioning to Rafale-M), Ka-31 AEW, MH-60R |
| Commissioned | 2 September 2022 |
| Programme Cost | ~₹20,000 crore |
| Indigenous Content | ~76% |