Panaji: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday visited INS Vikrant, which played an important role during ‘Operation Sindoor’. The Union Minister met with navy personnel onboard the aircraft carrier. The Defence Minister’s visit comes amidst heightened tensions with Pakistan.
INS Vikrant, India’s fourth aircraft carrier
INS Vikrant is India’s fourth aircraft carrier operated by the Indian Navy. The others include, the British era INS Vikrant which was in operation between 1961 to 1997, INS Viraat, which was commissioned in 1987 and seized operations in 2016 and the Russian-origin INS Vikramaditya, which was commissioned in 2013 and remains operational to date.
INS Vikrant was commissioned into service 2 years ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was built over a period of 13 years at an approximated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. The vessel has 76 per cent indigenously built content and is 262 metres long. It includes 15 decks and has 2,300 compartments.
At a time INS Vikrant can carry 30 aircraft. It played a very significant role during India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The aircraft carrier acted as a strategic deterrent, which forced Pakistan to surrender. The visit by Singh, seems to be an act to laud the navy personnel onboard for their role during the operation against Pakistan earlier this month.
