3rd Aircraft Carrier: Not a Naval but a National Requirement

“Without a decisive naval force, we can do nothing definitive.” ~ George Washington

Recently IAC-1 or Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 went for sea trials. This is a stellar achievement by our scientists and engineers. Indian Navy described IAC-1 as “a most potent sea-based asset”.  According to reports IAC-1 is 75% indigenously built. When we talk about any ship whether it is an Aircraft carrier or a Destroyer it has three elements: 1. Float Element (Fabrication and Stuff), 2. Move Element (Engines, pipes, valve, etc.), and 3. Fight Element (Weapons and Sensors).

When we look upon IAC-1 we have achieved 90% indigenization in a floating element, 60 to 65% in a moving element, and around 30 to 40% in a fighting element. Finally, India has developed such a capability to build this kind of vessel. India is the 7th country after the US, UK, Spain, Russia, and China to achieve this capability. Probably by the end of 2022 IAC-1 will complete its trials and join INS Vikramaditya to secure maritime borders as INS Vikrant.

Now the debate arises is that since we already have achieved this capacity to the built indigenous carriers we should not let it whittled away. We must think about building IAC-2 or INS Vishal which the Indian Navy has been demanding since 2015. Initial planning for IAC-2 began in 2010. Initially Indian Navy was seeking to use the design of the HMS Queen Elizabeth class carrier as a basis with capacity to carrying out 65000 tons of weight and US-based EMALS system. Nothing has been confirmed yet, the proposal has been pending since 2015. Currently, India has only one operational aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is the Soviet-Russian Admiral Gorshkov class. Both INS Vikramaditya and the upcoming INS Vikrant have STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) systems.

We certainly need one aircraft carrier with EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System) that is an upgraded version of the CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) system. Because the current STOBAR system contained aircraft that are only capable to launch lightweight aircraft like Mig 29K and Tejas LCA. If we want to achieve the zenith of our Naval Capability then we must have three Aircraft carriers (two for ocean ventures and one for maintenance logistics and domestic security).

The Navy has been convincing the government that three Aircraft Carrier is an operational necessity. CNS Admiral Karambir Singh recently said that “the Navy could not remain a theatre force”. We need to invest in our naval domain. We also have a potential threat from PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) who is developing its naval assets with rapid speed.

There is certainly a budget allocation problem. Although the share of the Navy’s budget is increased from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2021, according to experts Navy still need at least 20% of the total defence budget. If the Indian Navy wants to be a Bluewater Navy and wants the ability to project power in the Indian Ocean region as the leading Naval Force in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and net security provider, three Aircraft Carriers are the basic minimum requirement so that at any given time navy can field two battle carrier groups one on the eastern seaboard and one on the western seaboard.

It is not a new requirement. In 1948 when the 1st Naval plan was approved, there was a requirement for a minimum of  three Aircraft Carriers. We can say that the Navy does not want three Aircraft carriers, but if the country wants the Navy to do what it should be doing in projecting power and the way the country wants the Navy that offers particular size and strength then the Navy needs three Aircraft Carriers. It is not the Naval requirement but it is the National requirement.