INS Viraat

• It is the Aircraft Carrier with the longest service in the world.
• It was first commissioned as HMS Hermis in 1959 in British Royal Navy and served till 1984, further in 1987 it was sold to India. After some major refits and modifications it was commissioned within the Indian Navy.
• The ship’s Motto was the Sanskrit phrase ‘Jalamev Yashya, Balamev Tasya’ which means ‘who controls the sea is the powerful’.
• In 2017, this aircraft carrier was displaced by INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat was decommissioned. Post decommission , it was the thought of some state governments to turn this ship into a museum or hotel but it didn’t stabilize. 

Some major missions undertaken by this ship

• During the British services, it participated in the Falkland Islands war against Argentine forces.
• INS Viraat proved pivotal in Operation Jupiter in 1989 during the Sri Lankan Peacekeeping operation. 
• The ship was also deployed during 2001-02 operation Operation Parakram following the terror attack on the Indian Parliament.
• Under the Indian Flag, the ship has clocked more than 22,622 flying hours by various aircraft and spent nearly 2252 days at sea sailing across 5,88,287 nautical miles or 10,94,215 kilometers. Hence this ship was called ‘Mother’ or Grand Old Lady of the Indian Navy.

Why in the News?

• INS Viraat was taken to scrap this September.
• It was needed for the hour to enhance the existing Indian fleet so that it can challenge the navies such as China.
• Indian Navy now has only one aircraft carrier i.e., INS Vikramaditya, and INS Vikrant, which is completely indigenously made, is under construction and will be ready for sea trials soon.