INS Viraat is a Centaur-class aircraft carrier in service with the Indian Navy. It was the flagship of the Indian Navy before INS Vikramaditya was commissioned in 2013.

It is the last British-built ship serving with the Indian Navy and was the oldest aircraft carrier in service.

It was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's HMS Hermes and was transferred to India in 1987.

India

Name:
INS Viraat

Acquired:
May 1987

Recommissioned:
12 May 1987

Decommissioned:
November 2016 (planned)

Refit:
April 1986, July 1999, Mid-2003-November 2004, August 2008-November 2009, November 2012-July 2013

Homeport:
Mumbai, Maharashtra

Identification:
Pennant number: R22

Motto:
Jalameva Yasya, Balameva Tasya (Sanskrit: "He who rules over the seas is all powerful")

Status:
in active service

General Characteristics

Class and type:
Centaur-class aircraft carrier

Displacement:
23,900 tons standard
28,700 tons full load

Length:
226.5 m (743 ft)

Beam:
48.78 m (160.0 ft)

Draught:
8.8 m (29 ft)

Propulsion:
2 × Parsons geared steam turbines; 4 boilers with 400 psi, 76,000 shp (57,000 kW)

Speed:
28 knots (52 km/h)

Range:
6,500 mi (10,500 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)

Complement:
Maximum 2,100;
1,207 ship's crew,
143 air crew

Sensors and processing systems:
1 × BEL/Signaal RAWL 02 air radar
1 × RAWS 08 air/surface radar
2 × BEL Rashmi navigation radars
1 × EL/M-2221 STGR fire control radar
1 × Plessey Type 904 radar
1 × FT 13-S/M Tacan system

Sonar:
1 × Graseby Type 184M hull-mounted sonar

Electronic warfare & decoys:
1 × BEL Ajanta ESM

Decoy:
2 × Knebworth Corvus chaff launchers

Armament:
2 × 40 mm Bofors AA guns
16 × Barak SAM VL cells
2 × twin AK-230 CIWS

Aircraft carried:
Up to 26 aircraft, including
16 * British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS51
4 * Westland Sea King Mk.42B-C
2 * HAL Chetak
4 * HAL Dhruv