Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to meet Indian Navy personnel onboard INS Vikrant

INS Vikrant: The indigenous aircraft carrier has been named after her illustrious predecessor — India's first aircraft carrier — that played a vital role in the 1971 war.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Goa on a two day visit on May 29 and May 30, where he will also interact with Indian Navy personnel onboard INS Vikrant.

News18 reported that the Indian Navy vessel is currently sailing in the Arabian Sea, and during his visit, the defence minister will interact with the crew and Navy personnel onboard the aircraft carrier.

What is INS Vikrant?

Built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore, INS Vikrant was commissioned into the Navy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2022.

The vessel was designed by Indian Navy's in-house organisation — the Warship Design Bureau (WDB), and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. And the 45,000-tonne aircraft carrier has an indigenous content of 76 percent.

INS Vikrant is 262 metres long, contains 15 decks and 2,300 compartments. It has an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles and can hold 30 aircraft at a time and a crew of 1,600.

The indigenous aircraft carrier has been named after her illustrious predecessor — India's first aircraft carrier — that played a vital role in the 1971 war.

Significance of defence minister's visit

Defence minister's interaction with INS Vikrant's crew comes on the heels of heightened tensions with Pakistan after India retaliated to Pahalgam attack which took place on 22 April, where 26 innocent people were killed by terrorists of The Resistance Front — an offshoot of Pak terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 against terrorist facilities across Pakistan, and in a carefully planned military response targeted key locations linked to terror organizations. Indian forces struck Muridke in Punjab province — which is home to Lashkar-e-Taiba's sprawling 200-acre headquarters situated 40 kilometers from Lahore. Additional strikes hit Bahawalpur known as Jaish-e-Mohammed's stronghold, plus terrorist facilities in Kotli and Muzaffarabad within Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

Defence officials described the strikes that took place between 1.05AM to 1.30AM at night, as "precise and restrained," purposefully avoiding Pakistani military installations to prevent unnecessary escalation. The operation marked a historic collaboration between India's Army, Air Force and Navy - their first joint offensive since the 1971 conflict.

The attack on terror bases led to Pak offensives, which were successfully thwarted by the Indian armed forces. In retaliation, India carried out strikes at military installations in Pakistan until the early morning of May 10.

The countries reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with effect from 5 pm on May 10.

Defence minister in Goa

On May 29, the defence minister will also preside over the flag-in ceremony of INSV Tarini at Mormugao Port in Goa.

The event will formally mark the culmination of the eight-month-long sea odyssey of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini and the two women officer on board, a Navy spokesperson said.

The vessel had been flagged off by Navy Chief Adm Dinesh K Tripathi from Naval Ocean Sailing Node in Goa on October 2 last year.