Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant heads out for next round of sea trials

Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant now sails to undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the ship performs in various conditions

The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant has headed out for the next set of sea trials on January 9, shortly after two high-profile visits — that of the President and the Vice-President of India within a span of about two weeks.

The maiden sea trials in August 2021 were to establish propulsion, navigational suite and basic operations, while the second sea trial in October-November saw the ship being put through various machinery trials and flight trials. Here, the ship was out for 10 days, proving its sustenance in the very second sortie. Various seamanship evolutions were also successfully cleared during the second sortie.

The IAC now sails to undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the ship performs in various conditions. Various sensor suites of the ship too would be tested. Scientists from the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory — a DRDO laboratory based at Visakhapatnam would embark the vessel during the trials, the Navy has said.