Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told that India will shortly begin building its third aircraft carrier. The speaker was alluding to the ongoing Navy proposal to build an additional native carrier of the same dimensions as the 45,000-ton INS Vikrant, which was put into service in September 2022.
In 2013, Russia supplied INS Vikramaditya, another carrier for India. “That (three carriers) is not where we will stop. We’ll produce another five or six,” Rajnath declared.
India and China Expand Aircraft Carrier Fleets Amid Strategic Objectives
These are the first signs of longer-term plans to have fighter jets launched and recovered from the deck of a seagoing carrier while the vessel is underway. India has mentioned having three carriers up to this point. The requirement for a third seagoing aircraft carrier was proposed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence in January of last year. “A carrier’s reach and flexibility are far superior to military airfields in far-flung island territories,” the statement read. According to Rajnath, India has a new objective that aligns with China’s intention to acquire aircraft carriers.
China “continues to build a multi-carrier force,” according to a US Department of Defense report titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2021” that was released three years ago. By 2030, six carriers are anticipated.
Liaoning and Shandong are the two aircraft carriers that China currently operates. It began a seven-day sea trial of its next-generation aircraft carrier, Fujian, on May 1. This is the first aircraft carrier in China with electromagnetic catapults, making it the third overall. Fighter jets are launched from deck by US aircraft carriers using electromagnetic catapult technology. Jets can carry larger payloads and launch two jets more quickly with a catapult launch.
India will soon start making its third aircraft carrier. Rajnath Singh “We will not stop at that (three carriers). We will make five, six more" he added #aircraft #India #PowerCorridors pic.twitter.com/33zvxm6C4b
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) May 15, 2024
Asia’s Growing Naval Power: Carrier Developments
The 80,000-ton warship Fujian is larger than carriers built by Japan, India, the UK, and France.
Other Asian nations, in addition to China and India, are vying with one another to develop carriers and project power at sea. The Japanese have transformed the helicopter carrier JS Izumo into an F35 aircraft carrier. JS Kaga, another helicopter carrier, is being converted. By 2030, South Korea intends to introduce a carrier.
In 1961, India launched HMS Hercules, its first carrier. It was purchased used from the UK and given the new name “INS Vikrant.” Before being decommissioned in 1997, it had a significant impact on the eastern front of the India-Pakistan war in 1971.
HMS Hermes, the second carrier in India, was renamed INS Viraat after being acquired secondhand from the United Kingdom. It was decommissioned in 2017 after being inducted in 1987.
