INS Airavat (L24) is the third Shardul class amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 vessel of the Indian Navy

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...

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History

INS Airavat was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 as Yard 3016. She began sea trials in July 2008 after completing basin trials in May. She was commissioned at the Eastern Naval Command

Eastern Naval Command

The Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy is one of its three major formations. It utilizes Visakhapatnam as its HQ, and has bases there and at Kolkata....

 in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...

 on 19 May 2009, by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta

Sureesh Mehta

Admiral Sureesh Mehta served as Chief of the Indian Navy from 31 October 2006 until 31 August 2009. He was succeeded by Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma. He is the first service chief from India's armed forces to be born post Indian Independence. He is married to Maria Teresa Mehta and they have two...

. She is named for the mount of god Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, the elephant Airavata

Airavata

Airavata is a mythological white elephant who carries the Hindu god Indra. It is also called 'Ardha-Matanga', meaning "elephant of the clouds"; 'Naga-malla', meaning "the fighting elephant"; and 'Arkasodara', meaning "brother of the sun". 'Abharamu' is the elephant wife of Airavata. Airavata has...

, as mentioned in the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...

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Safety features aboard the Airavat include anti-roll Flume Stabilisation System, smoke curtains to impede spreading of smoke and toxic gases in case of fire, as well as battle damage control systems. Fully loaded, she can operate independently at high seas for up to 45 days.

While primarily designed for amphibious assault operations, Airavat's missions also include Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) during natural disasters, including tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes, etc. She has a full-functioning hospital on-board and can provide stern refueling for other naval vessels.

Primary suppliers for her equipment are Bharat Electronics Limited

Bharat Electronics Limited

Bharat Electronics Limited is a state-owned electronics company with about nine factories, and few regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government & primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.BEL is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of...

, Kirloskar, Larsen & Toubro

Larsen & Toubro

Larsen & Toubro Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company has four main business sectors: technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing. L&T has an international presence, with a global spread of offices and factories, further...

, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...

, Keltron

Keltron

Keltron, Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited, is a public sector electronics company located in Kerala, a state in India. It is headquartered at the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram...

 and the Godrej Group

Godrej Group

The Godrej Group is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Godrej in 1897, Lalbaug, Mumbai...

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Deployments

On 11 July 2011, INS Airavat made a goodwill visit to Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville , also known as Kampong Saom, is a province in southern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. This port city is a growing Cambodian urban center, located southwest of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The province is named after King Father Norodom Sihanouk and grew up around the...

, Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. Between 19 and 28 July 2011, she made courtesy calls at Nha Trang

Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...

 and Hai Phong in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

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