Vikrant-class aircraft carrier

The Vikrant class (formerly Project 71 Air Defence Ship (ADS) or Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)) is a class of aircraft carrier being built for the Indian Navy. The class represents the largest warships and the first aircraft carriers to be designed and built in India. Preparations for building the lead vessel of the class, INS Vikrant, started in 2008, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011, launched on 12 August 2013 and commissioned on 2 September 2022. The scale and complexity of the project caused problems which delayed the construction for the carrier. Technical difficulties, the cost of refitting the Soviet-built carrier INS Vikramaditya, and billions in cost overruns delayed plans for the first of the vessels to enter service.