INS Vikrant assurance of greater capabilities for national security: EAM

EAM Jaishankar said that INS Vikrant is not only an expression of new India, but an assurance of greater capabilities for national security and global good

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that India's maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is not only an expression of new India, but an assurance of greater capabilities for national security and global good.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant on Friday, placing the country into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

Jaishankar, who is here on a three-day visit to the UAE, said India has been a reliable first responder and a growing contributor to global commons.

"As a maritime nation,the SAGAR vision shapes India's outlook. We have been a reliable first responder & a growing contributor to global commons. The INS Vikrant is not only an expression of New India, but an assurance of greater capabilities for national security & global good," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Modi unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.

With Vikrant's induction, India has joined a select club of nations such as the US, the UK, Russia, China and France in having niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

The 262-metre long and 62-metre wide carrier displaces approximately 43,000 T when fully loaded, having a maximum designed speed of 28 knots with an endurance of 7500 NM.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, it has state-of-the-art features and can operate an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, besides the domestically manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).