India is all set to launch its first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) at Cochin Shipyard on August 12, 2013, aiming at inducting it into the Navy by the end of 2018 when it will have at least three aircraft carriers to allow operational flexibility and power projection beyond the Indian Ocean region. The prestigious project, with an initial sanctioned cost of 3,260 crore (but has definitely suffered cost escalation now), has witnessed about 83 per cent of fabrication and 75 per cent of erection work completed during dry docking at Cochin Shipyard. After the launch on August 12 by Defence Minister Mr A K Antony’s wife Mrs Elizabeth, who will christen it INS Vikrant, there will be more equipment, weapons and systems integrated onto the warship apart from internal fittings for the next five years before it is handed over to the Navy.
Source: Indian Express
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