Post INS Vikrant, why India needs its second indigenous aircraft carrier soon.
The commissioning of INS Vikrant — India’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) marks a red letter day in India’s military history. It is a tribute to two decades of hard work of thousands of workers, engineers, and shipbuilders of the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) against several odds. Vikrant, which means “gallantly victorious” in Sanskrit, is a fitting tribute to India’s naval and maritime prowess and to its namesake predecessor, which played a vital role in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
The foundation for the prestigious IAC-1 was firmly established in April 2005 by ceremonial Steel Cutting. 76% of all content, including 26,000 tonnes of steel has been procured indigenously. The commissioning of INS Vikrant, catapulted India to join the niche group of countries — US, Russia, China, France, and the UK that can indigenously design, build and integrate an aircraft carrier.
India should not lose this momentum in indigenous defence production. Rather than celebrating these short-term successes, India should firm up a long-term strategic vision, particularly for its maritime security. Amidst the emanating maritime security challenge from China in the Indian Ocean, we must utilize this developed capacity to start work on building the next indigenous aircraft career — IAC-2.
Stressing upon capacity-building and capability-enhancement, the Indian Navy’s Vision Statement 2014, part of the official “Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy” document states that, the Indian Navy will -
“Optimise every resource, embrace innovation, and maximise indigenisation and self-reliance, to bridge critical capability gaps and generate credible combat power, to accomplish missions across the full spectrum of naval operations.”
Therefore, the logical conclusion is to start work on the much delayed second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2), unofficially named INS — Vishal. Mooted in 2011, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the construction of 65,000-tonne range, INS Vishal in 2015, with reportedly an initial sum of Rs 30 Cr for preparation.
Given that China, a critical strategic security threat in the Indian Ocean region, has already launched its second indigenous aircraft carrier (and has three aircraft carriers), it is critical for India to translate the impetus it has received through INS Vikrant, be expedited to INS Vishal project. India is now only the second member of the important QUAD grouping to have an indigenous aircraft carrier of its own (Australia & Japan don’t have them).
India’s geopolitical vision should not just be guided by its 1000 km radius but also positioning itself as a key player in the Indo-pacific region. The spatial limits of our concept of the Indo-Pacific stretch from the shore of East Africa to the shores of the Americas. In that context, a homemade, aircraft carrier of 65,000 tonnes plus range is the need of the hour. Former Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh had also strongly pitched for the same calling it an “operational necessity”.
In the Indian strategic security space, the commissioning of INS Vikrant has again ignited the debate on whether India should invest large sums of money for a third aircraft carrier. Some analysts have raised the question about having such huge aircraft carriers and have advised opting for smaller carriers, with shore-based aircraft and mid-air refuelling. They argue that for bigger IACs — a large amount of money also needs to be diverted for the same, with delays and overheads adding to the cost.
Critics also say that if India develops the 1062 island territories in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, with the same amount of money and builds military airbase capabilities on the same, then these could act as replenishment bases for ships passing between nine degree and six-degree channels. The counterargument to this proposal is that these could make these islands vulnerable targets to both our neighbours.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, in 2021 had strongly recommended that the Indian Navy should have three aircraft carriers. In a report submitted to the Parliament, it opinionated — “‘… the Committee were given to understand that it is desirable to have three aircraft carriers in Indian Navy. Two of them are operating in maritime zone on each of the side of Indian Coastline viz. eastern and western coasts. The third one can be used as a substitute when either of the first two undergoes maintenance as Aircraft Carriers are known to have lengthy maintenance schedules.”
The Indian military and political leadership need to take a call on the same. But they might have already initiated the solution. The Agnipath Scheme which is being implemented to cut the humongous pension bill, so that India’s military capital expenditure can be increased through fund diversion, might be an indication of the same. Capacity enhancement brings stronger regional cooperation.
India has a rich maritime history. History is the best teacher. Our records clearly show that Chandragupta Maurya, during his rule between 322 and 297 BCE, established a Nav Parishad, — which is similar to an Admiralty Division — under a Superintendent of Ships, as part of his War Office, with its charter including responsibility for navigation upon the seas, oceans, lakes and rivers. The Kautilyan maritime mandala prioritises cooperation and collaboration with maritime neighbours (as opposed to Kautilyan continental mandala). Therefore, India’s maritime raison d’etat should be founded upon advanced regional cooperation in terms of maritime safety and security.
INS Vikrant has enabled India to enter a select group of countries with a strategic advantage, and given India is now the second country in QUAD to have its own indigenously built aircraft carrier, India needs to strengthen itself through regional cooperation in Indo-pacific, to secure its long term strategic objectives.
