An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone.
RFA Cardigan Bay is a Bay-class landing ship dock of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Built by BAE Systems, the ship was dedicated into the RFA at the end of 2006.
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are used for military purposes.
The Durance class is a series of multi-product replenishment oilers, originally designed and built for service in the French Navy. Besides the five ships built for the French Navy, a sixth was built for the Royal Australian Navy, while the lead ship of the class currently serves with the Argentine Navy. Two ships of a similar but smaller design are in service with the Royal Saudi Navy as the Boraida-class replenishment oilers.
A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers.
The Foudre-class landing platform dock is a class of landing platform docks designed and constructed for the French Navy. Designated Transport de Chalands de Débarquement, they were intended to replace the ageing Ouragan class and the construction of four vessels was planned. Only two were built and the remaining two were instead reordered as Mistral-class amphibious assault ships. The two ships of the Foudre class, Foudre and Siroco, operated with the French Navy between 1990 and 2014. Replaced by the Mistrals, in 2011 Foudre was sold to the Chilean Navy and Siroco was sold to the Brazilian Navy in 2015.
INS Rana is a Rajput-class destroyer in active service with the Indian Navy. She was commissioned on 28 June 1982.
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Indian Navy. She entered into service in 2013.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platforms and associated support vessels for offshore oil drilling. It also builds tankers, cargo bulk carriers, passenger ships and ferries.
The Shivalik class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role stealth frigates in service with the Indian Navy. They are the first stealth warships built in India. They were designed to have better stealth features and land-attack capabilities than the preceding Talwar-class frigates. A total of three ships were built between 2000 and 2010, and all three were in commission by 2012.
RFA Wave Ruler is a Wave-class fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.
INS Shivalik (F47) is the lead ship of her class of stealth multi-role frigates built for the Indian Navy. She is the first stealth warship built by India. She was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) located in Mumbai. Construction of the vessel began in 2001 and was completed by 2009. She underwent sea trials from thereon before being commissioned on 29 April 2010.
The Komandarm Fedko class is a class of replenishment tankers operated by the Indian and Chinese navies. Four ships of the Komandarm Fedko class were constructed by the Soviet Union, later Russia, of which one was bought by India, one by China and two are in commercial service. INS Jyoti is the third largest ship in the Indian Navy after the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
INS Aditya (A59) is an Aditya class replenishment and repair ship currently in service with the Indian Navy. The ship was launched on 15 November 1993 and commissioned on 3 April 2000.
INS Karmuk is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy.
The Deepak class is a class of fleet replenishment tankers of the Indian Navy built by Fincantieri. Two ships were ordered and the first one joined the fleet on 21 January 2011, while the second joined on 1 October 2011.
INS Shakti (A57) (Strength) is a Deepak-class fleet tanker in service with the Indian Navy. She was built by Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. She is the second and final ship of her class. Shakti, along with her predecessor Deepak, the ship is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy.
INS Shakti has been the name borne by three tankers which served in the Indian Navy.
INS Jyoti (A58) is the third of the four Komandarm Fedko-class replenishment oilers. She was modified for naval use and is now being operated by the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Jyoti was the largest ship in the navy until INS Vikramaditya (R33) was commissioned in November 2013. Its primary role is fleet replenishment and sustaining blue-water operations. It was later fitted with close-in weapon systems for self-defence.
INS Vikrant is an aircraft carrier in service with Indian Navy. The carrier is the first to be built in India and was constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi, Kerala. The namesake Vikrant is a tribute to India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (1961). Vikrant means "courageous" in Sanskrit. The motto of the ship, "जयेम सं युधिस्पृधः" (Sanskrit), means "I defeat those who fight against me"(English).
India
