Keel laying for Aircraft Carrier Vikrant in January, 2009

Kochi, Nov 27 (UNI) In a major step forward in the production of the indigenous aircraft carrier 'Vikrant', the keel laying for the warship will be done in January, 2009 and it is expected to be commissioned by 2013, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command (SNC), Sunil K Damle said today.

Addressing a press conference here, Vice-Admiral Damle said that a recent review of the aircraft carrier at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.

(CSL), indicated that ''the project was on way to meeting its timeline.'' The production of the aircraft carrier had started at the CSL in April, 2005, when the first plate was cut. A modular outfit strategy was being adopted for the construction of the warship to reduce the building time and enhancing the quality, he added.

In another ''red letter event'' for the Indian Navy, the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala in Kerala is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January, 2009.

Training for all Naval cadets would commence at the Academy from June, 2009.

The Academy would have the capacity to train 750 personnel at any given time, he said.

Foreign countries also were showing an interest in sending their Naval personnel for training to the Academy, Vice-Admiral Damle added.

UNI ARC DK1545