Documents
India Cochin Shipyard Limited
Vikrant
India's first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, operating a STOBAR air wing of MiG-29K fighters and helicopters from a ski-jump bow, making India one of a small number of nations able to design and construct its own carriers.
In service since 2022 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
40,000
t
28
kn
7,500
nmi
0
VLS
1,700
crew
💲 ≈ $3,100,000,000, Approximate total program build cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
National export licensing
Subject to India export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2022. Status: active · ~1 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$7.8B – $11B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Compatible munitions & weapons
Publicly reported weapons the Vikrant can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- Aircraft air wing
- VLS cells
Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship, a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming.
- 0 Bottom 2% of warships
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 262 m
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- MF-STAR multi-function radar
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $3,100,000,000 Stronger than 24% of warships
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 1 Stronger than 15% of warships
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 45% of warships
Specifications compiled from public Cochin Shipyard Limited and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) 
Fincantieri Bergamini class (FREMM) Frequently asked questions
What is the main armament of the Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant? +
The Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant's primary weapon is the Aircraft air wing.
What is the Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant used for? +
The Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant is a warship typically used for air superiority.
How many countries operate the Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant? +
The Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant cost? +
The Cochin Shipyard Limited Vikrant has an approximate unit cost of 3,100,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
