Newdelhi: The country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, will be launched at the Cochin Shipyard tomorrow. With the launch, India will join a select club of five nations– the US, UK, France and Russia– that have the capability to build an aircraft carrier. The vessel will be fitted with Long Range Surface to Air Missile system, multi-function radar and Close-in Weapon System.

The INS Vikrant, which has a displacement of 40,000 tonnes, will have MIG 29K fighter jets, Light Combat Aircraft and helicopters. It will also be equipped with air-warning radar and direction finding systems. The warship has two take-off runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires. It has a length of 260 meters and maximum breadth of 60 meters. The vessel is expected to be commissioned in 2018, after extensive sea trials by 2016.