Defence secretary Sanjay Mitra reviewed the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) project at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on Jul 19.

During the onboard visit, Mitra was given a briefing on the progress of the aircraft carrier construction by warship production superintendent Commodore Cyril Thomas. CSL CMD Madhu S Nair highlighted the shipyard’s focus on outfitting and trial activities as the project enters its final phase and re-iterated the CSL’s commitment to deliver the ship within stipulated deadline.

The ship was launched in August 2013 and presently, the main propulsion plant, power generation equipment, deck machinery and auxiliary equipment have been installed and integrated on board. Outfitting of various aviation equipment, navigation and communication equipment, weapons and sensors are progressing.

The in-house trials of the aircraft carrier’s systems by the Carrier Acceptance & Trials Team have already commenced and the sea trials are likely to begin by early 2020.