India launched a 37,500-ton indigenous aircraft carrier Monday in its bid to join a select group of nations capable of building such warships.

The carrier INS Vikrant, meaning courageous, was unveiled at a shipyard in Kochi in southern India, defense ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told CNN.

The warship will undergo extensive tests in the next few years before it is commissioned into the navy, he added.

The INS Vikrant, which is 260 meter (853 feet) long and 60 meter (196 feet) wide, can carry MiG 29K fighters and light combat aircraft, he said.

Only the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and France have the capability to design and build such warships, Kar said.