With Eye On China & Pakistan, India Developing 3rd Aircraft Carrier – Free PDF

GS Paper II

• International Relations
  • India and its neighborhood – International relations
  • Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting the Indian interests
  • Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
  • Important International institutions, agencies, their structure and mandates

What is aircraft carrier?

• 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.

What we are discussing?

• At present, India has two aircraft carriers – INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant,
• While it is planning to develop the third – INS Vishaal by 2030.
• The question arises why is India developing a fleet of aircraft carriers?

3 primary reasons

• The first is the support of a conventional war against Pakistan, which would involve strikes against Pakistan naval assets and land bases.
• Second, the carriers make the Indian Navy the preeminent force in the Indian Ocean, better able to command the area than any foreign competitor.
• The third prong involves geopolitical competition with China.
• Regarding Pakistan, Vikrant and Vikramaditya would struggle in strike operations,
• Because of limitations on aircraft weight, although they certainly would attract Pakistani attention.
• Meanwhile, the Indian Navy being the preeminent force in the Indian Ocean,
• Indian carriers will always have better access to bases and support facilities in the Indian Ocean than China, the UK, or even the US.
• Thus the presence of the carriers facilitates the projection of Indian power and the management of trade protection.

• The third and main reason, competition with China – Beijing has managed to leapfrog Indian naval aviation development in a relatively short period of time.
• Although China lacks India’s experience with carriers,
• It boasts a remarkably efficient shipbuilding industry and an increasingly sophisticated aviation sector, making it less dependent on foreign technology.
• Although India may struggle to keep up with Chinese construction,
• It can leverage geography (proximity to bases) to its advantage in the most likely areas of any conflict.

India’s focus on Aircraft carrier

• Despite considerable economic challenges,
• India took carrier aviation very seriously in the years after independence.
• Unlike China (or even the Soviet Union), India focused on carriers instead of submarines.

INS vikrant INS Viraat

• INS Vikrant, a Majestic-class light carrier, served from 1961 until 1997, fighting effectively in the 1971 war.
• INS Viraat, formerly the Centaur-class carrier HMS Hermes, joined the Indian Navy in 1987 and served until 2016.

INS Vikramaditya

• The operational INS Vikramaditya, former Kiev-class warship Admiral Gorshkov, was inducted into service in 2014.
• The 45,000-ton INS Vikramaditya could operate around twenty MiG-29K fighters, along with utility helicopters.

• The ship offered the Indian Navy the chance to redevelop its aviation muscles,
• After years of operating only VSTOL (vertical and/or short take-off and landing) aircraft from Viraat.

INS Vikrant

• The new INS Vikrant, a 40,000-ton ski-jump carrier built in India’s Cochin Shipyard.
• Laid down in 2009, Vikrant was expected to finally enter service around 2020, With an air wing similar to that of Vikramaditya.

Aircraft used on the carriers?

• For the time being, India has decided to stick with the MiG-29K as its primary naval combat aircraft,
• Rather than the Su-33, the F/A-18, or the Dassault Rafale.
• Both Boeing and Dassault remain at least somewhat hopeful of exporting carrier-borne fighters to India.
• The Indian Navy also contemplated developing a navalised version of the HAL Tejas, but (for now) has wisely rejected.

INS vishal

• With one large carrier in service and another on the way, India has become one of the world’s pre-eminent naval aviation powers.
• India has committed to carrier aviation and has the resources and experience to develop a successful force.
• The next step in India’s naval aviation project will be INS Vishaal, a 65,000-ton conventionally propelled, domestically produced CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) carrier.
• With experience gleaned from the experience with Vikrant, the design and construction of the carrier will hopefully go more smoothly.
• It appears as if India will have unprecedented access to US technology for the construction of Vishaal,
• Including the EMALS electromagnetic catapult system used on the Gerald R Ford class.
• Unlike Vikrant or Vikramaditya, Vishaal will be able to launch and recover heavy strike aircraft, as well as early warning planes such as the E-2 Hawkeye. Vishaal is supposed to enter service by 2030.

Q) Which of the following statements regarding Baltic Dry Index?

1. It is a freight index and indicates the robustness of trade and shipping services.
2. It is issued daily by the New York-based Baltic Exchange.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 & 2
4. None of the above

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