Beijing, August 28: China’s first indigenously designed aircraft carrier on Monday started its second sea trial from its shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. The aircraft carrier weighing 50,000-tonne is likely to get inducted into the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) in 2019. Before its commissioning, it will undergo a series of trials. Currently, China has only one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

India has also one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya and has at least 50 years of experience in operating aircraft carriers. India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier is INS Vikrant is likely to be commissioned into the Indian Navy by October 2020. Vikrant, currently under construction at Kochi. The carrier is likely to be handed over to the Navy by December 2018 for conducting trials. Vikrant borrows its name from India’s first aircraft carrier. The 20,000-tonne INS Vikrant was purchased from the United Kingdom.

INS Vikrant is 262 metres in length and has a displacement of 37000 tonnes. It features STOBAR (Short Take Off, Barrier Arrested Recovery) with a ski jump and can deploy up to 30 MIG 29K fighter aircraft. However, India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), INS Vishal, is still awaiting approval of the government. According to media reports, India will no longer commission its second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) in the 2030-2032 timeframe. The delay is mainly due to declining budgets and technological hurdles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2018 11:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).