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@Evening: 🚢🛫 Historic! India-Made Fighter Aircraft Takes Off And Lands From India-Made Aircraft Carrier
🤩 One for the history books
The Indian Navy walks the path of aatmanirbharta (self-reliance).
Context: Naval pilots today took off and landed with the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, India's indigenously developed aircraft, from India's indigenous aircraft carrier.
This happened earlier today, in what the Navy has described in a tweet as a "historical milestone."
LCA Tejas' naval variant is called LCA Navy, and the aircraft carrier in question is INS Vikrant.
With this feat, the Navy has demonstrated India’s capability to design, develop, construct, and operate an indigenous aircraft carrier with an indigenous fighter aircraft.
Watch the videos of the landing and takeoff.
INS Vikrant. Construction of the carrier began in 2009.
India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier was commissioned into service by PM Narendra Modi in September 2022.
It made India part of an elite group of nations capable of manufacturing aircraft carriers over the 40,000 tonnes category.
The carrier has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.
It has a top speed of around 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots, with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles.
Aircraft carriers need... aircraft. The induction of INS Vikrant meant that the Navy had two aircraft carriers.
It was for the first time in years that the Navy enjoyed this luxury.
But... there haven't been enough fighter aircraft to keep both warships operational.
To build up its fleet of fighters, currently made up of the troubled Russian-origin MiG-29Ks, the Navy has been evaluating fighter aircraft.
In search of fighters. Last year, two aircraft were put to the test at a Goa facility so that one could be picked ultimately for use on our carriers.
It was a contest between French aircraft major Dassault Aviation's Rafale M and the United States-based Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet.
It's believed that the Navy submitted a report to the Ministry of Defence identifying Rafale M as its choice.
Bottom line: The aircraft carrier would be able to play a role in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the Navy has said.
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