New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) The Indian Navy’s lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat will complete 50 years in service Wednesday, a defence official said Monday.
“The navy chief (Admiral Nirmal Verma) will be going to Mumbai tomorrow (Tuesday) and he will also be on board the vessel, on the day she turns 50,” said a senior navy official, requesting anonymity.

INS Viraat, which has a crew of 1,500 personnel, has just been given a life-extending re-fit at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd, where it was docked for the past year.

The refit has increased the aircraft carrier’s sea life with the Indian Navy till 2015.

The 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, the Centaur class aircraft carrier, was originally commissioned in the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes Nov 18, 1959.

The Indian Navy acquired it in 1987 after it had served the Royal Navy for nearly 28 years.

“An extensive refit - with brand new fire control equipment, navigation radars, improved nuclear, biological and chemical protection and deck landing aids - has increased the life of the vessel into the next decade,” the official said.

The aircraft carrier gives the Indian Navy an edge over the Chinese navy, which does not have one.

The Indian Navy’s second aircraft carrier - Russian-built Admiral Gorshkov - is expected to be inducted by 2012.

INS Viraat is pivotal to the navy’s aim to project India’s naval and air power well beyond its shores. It provides operation ground for Sea Harrier combat jets. It can carry up to 18 combat aircraft and is suited for supporting amphibious operations and conducting anti-submarine warfare.