LCA accomplishes maiden landing onboard INS Vikrant

NEW DELHI: Achieving a new milestone, the Indian Navy's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made its maiden landing onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Monday, navy officials said.

According to the Navy, this is the maiden landing of a fixed wing aircraft on the carrier as part of its operationalisation.

A Navy spokesperson said that this is a historical milestone achieved towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat by Indian Navy as naval pilots carried out the landing of LCA (Navy) onboard INS Vikrant, demonstrating India's capability to design, develop, construct and operate the indigenous aircraft carrier with indigenous fighter aircraft.

Post commissioning of the aircraft carrier, efforts are currently under way to operationalise its aviation complex after which it would be ready for operational deployment.

INS Vikrant, displacing a weight of 42,800 tonnes, was commissioned into the Navy last September. The aviation trials are to be carried out post commissioning.

The Defence Ministry is taking many initiative to strengthen the forces. Lately the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has accorded approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 capital acquisition proposals for a total value of Rs 84,328 crore. This includes 10 proposals for Indian Navy and two for Indian Coast Guard.

According to the Ministry, approvals for procurement of naval anti-ship missiles, multi-purpose vessels, and high-endurance autonomous vehicles will further enhance maritime strength giving boost to Indian Navy's capabilities.