An unprecedented step for the country.. The Indian Navy MiG-29K makes its first night landing on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier

An Indian Navy (IN) MiG-29K fighter jet made its first night landing on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier on May 24, 2023.

The Hindustan Times quoted Indian Navy officials as saying that this landing is a significant milestone in the operation of the Indian-made aircraft carrier.

INS Vikrant entered service with the Indian Navy in September last year.

Indian Navy spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Vivek Madhwal commended the Navy crew and pilots for their skill and professionalism in completing the challenging night trials of landing.

#WATCH | Indian Navy achieves another historic milestone by undertaking the maiden night landing of MiG-29K on INS Vikrant. This is indicative of Navy’s impetus towards aatmanirbharta: Indian Navy

(Video: Indian Navy) pic.twitter.com/VxmKZdTssx

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2023

This achievement follows the successful landing of the MiG-29K on INS Vikrant in February.

For INS Vikrant, the aircraft carrier has a local content of 76%. The INS Vikrant can carry more than 30 aircraft, including the new fighter, the MiG-29K, the Kamov-31 helicopter, the MH-60R multirole helicopter, and an advanced light helicopter.

The INS Vikrant with a displacement of 45,000 tons was built at the Cochin Shipyard at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore. With the ability to build aircraft carriers indigenously, India has joined the United States, Britain, Russia, France and China.

Officials noted that the navy is also considering building a second indigenous aircraft carrier to boost India’s naval prowess in the far seas.

INS Vikrant is the fourth aircraft carrier operated by the Indian Navy after the first INS Vikrant of the United Kingdom (1961-1997), INS Viraat of the United Kingdom (1987-2016), and INS Vikramaditya of the former Soviet Union which has been in service since 2013.

The INS Vikrant is 262 meters long, 61 meters high from keel to keel, and has a flight deck of 12,500 square meters or the equivalent of 10 Olympic-size swimming pools.

The aircraft carrier with 2,300 cabins and a crew capacity of 1,600 has an operating range of 7,500 nautical miles and a top speed of 28 knots.