Indigenous Aircraft Carrier launch delayed by six months

NEW DELHI: The launch of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ( IAC)--country's largest under-construction home-built warship--has been delayed by six months and it is expected to take off sometime in the middle of next year.

Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said the IAC programme has suffered "setbacks" due to a delay in supply of critical equipment such as gearboxes.

There are certain milestones to be completed in the IAC programme after which we are looking to launch it "sometime by the middle of next year," he told reporters.

Defence Minister A K Antony had told Parliament earlier this year that the 40,000 tonne vessel would be launched this month.

Verma said being the first attempt of its kind the Navy faced several challenges in evolving the design which is being implemented by the Cochin shipyard Limited.

"There has been a setback of sorts. As some of the key equipment such as the gearboxes have not come in time. These have to be first put in the ship before it is launched. The yard is trying to make up for it," he said.

IAC will be India's second aircraft carrier along with the Admiral Gorshkov which is undergoing a refit at a shipyard in Russia.

Asked about the delays in issuing tenders for procuring six submarines under "Project 75 India", Verma said the Navy doesn't want to go a for a process which may result in a single-vendor situation that could lead to restarting the whole process.