LCA Tejas _ “The successful landing and takeoff of the indigenous LCA Tejas Navy on India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier on 6 February 2023 is a momentous step forward towards the realisation of our collective vision of AatmaNirbharBharat. The maiden landing of the Mig-29K also heralds the integration of the fighter aircraft with INS Vikrant. Congratulations to all those who made it happen”, stated Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff.
The First indigenous aircraft carrier and the most complicated vessel our nation has ever produced is INS Vikrant. The fact that the ship was built by Cochin Shipyard Limited and was internally designed by the Indian Navay’s Warship Design Bureau is a source of pride. On August 4th, 2021 the ship sailed for its first set of Sea trials. Since then, she has participated in sea trials for the main propulsion, power generation, fire fighting and aviation facility complex equipment, among other things. On September 2nd, 2022, the carrier was commissioned into the Indian Navy, and the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi was the Chief Guest.
The construction of the carrier is a big boost to the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of the government of India. The carrier has been undertaking extensive Air operations with Rotary Wing and Fixed Wing aircraft since December 13th,2022 towards Air certification and flight integration trials for achieving the ultimate aim of being ‘Combat Ready’. As part of the aviation trials, the landing of LCA ( Navy ) and MiG-29K onboard INS Vikrant was carried out on 6 February 2023 by Indian Naval Test Pilots.
The LCA ( Navy ) landing on deck has proven that India is capable of designing, developing, building and operating an indigenous aircraft carrier with an indigenous fighter aircraft or Atmanirbhar Bharat. Being the first time that tests of a prototype aircraft were successfully carried out on an indigenous aircraft carrier, it is in fact a landmark accomplishment. Further, the landing of MiG-29K onboard INS Vikrant is also a significant achievement as it marks the successful integration of the aircraft with the indigenous carrier as well as further enhances the Combat Readiness of the Navy.
