“In the past, security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean have long been ignored, but today this area is a major defence priority of the country for us and we are working in every direction, from increasing the budget for the Navy to increasing its capability,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, as the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier and the most complex warship ever built, INS Vikrant was commissioned into the Indian Navy. “Vikrant is a unique reflection of India becoming self-reliant,” he said.
The ship is christened after India’s first aircraft carrier Vikrant, which played a vital role in the 1971 war. From 2013 to 2017, the Navy had fielded two aircraft carriers, the erstwhile Viraat acquired from U.K and INS Vikramaditya from Russia which is currently in service. Once Vikrant becomes fully operational, the Indian Navy will once again be able to deploy two full-fledged carrier groups significantly expanding its footprint across the Indo-Pacific.
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