INS Vikrant will be operational by year-end
#GS 03 Science and Technology
For Prelims
INS Vikrant
- INS Vikrant is the first aircraft carrier to be indigenously developed in India.
- Named after India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant is the largest naval ship to be designed and built in India and has a displacement of 45,000 tonnes.
- Vikrant is run by four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines on two shafts which generate over 80 megawatts (110,000 hp) of power.
- The ship plays home to Russian MiG-29K fighters and the Kamov 31 helicopters, as well as the soon to be acquired American MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.
- The Indian Navy currently operates one Aircraft Carrier bought from Russia namedu INS Vikramaditya.
Categorisation of Aircraft Carriers
By Size:
Aircraft carriers can be classified as light, medium and large/super-carriers.
- Light carriers are those ships which can carry up to 25 aircraft.
- The medium-sized carriers can carry around 30 to 50 aircraft.
- Large/super-carriers have the capacity to carry over 90 aircraft.
By role:
- In terms of role they play in combat, they are subdivided into fleet, escort, air defence, amphibious assault and anti-submarine warfare (helicopter) carriers.
- However, this division is often flexible as most modern aircraft carriers have the capacity to perform multiple roles.
By technology used to launch and recover aircraft:
They are categorised as:
- Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR),
- Short Take-off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR), and
- Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) carriers.
