INS Vikrant is a milestone for India; Now the focus should be on a two-engined deck-based fighter
of these Vikrant A milestone for India; Now the focus should be on a two-engined deck-based fighter
India has launched its first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, INS. turned on Vikrant, on Friday and joined a small group of countries that include the US, UK, Russia, France and China with the capacity to design and build carriers with a displacement of more than 40,000 tonnes. India has demonstrated the ability to develop a carrier, although it has been operating these ships for more than 60 years. The steel took 17 years to be cut and about ₹20,000 crore to make Vikrant a reality. Developing a viable domestic defense industry has been a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the new aircraft carrier is a sign of India’s expansion. atmanirbharta Or self-sufficiency in defence. Overall, the new vessel has 76% indigenous material but has imported significant technology, indicating the need for persistence. The carrier itself is an engineering marvel with an endurance of 7,500 nautical miles. It has about 2,200 coaches for a crew of about 1,600 including special cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors and a full-featured medical facility. Several technical spin-offs from shipbuilding include the ability to manufacture warship-grade steel, which India used to import. Its commissioning gives India and its budding defense manufacturing sector the confidence to aim further.
The Indian Navy’s ambition is to have three aircraft carriers – it already has INS . Is Vikramaditya received from Russia – and this has suggested that expertise gained from building the Vikrant could now be used to build a second, more capable, indigenous carrier. of these Vikrant The Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region will be the wind for India’s proactive maritime strategy. At the commissioning ceremony in Kochi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated India’s interest in “a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific” and Mr Modi’s idea of ’Sagar’ or security and development for all in the region. A strong navy, which is largely maritime, is also critical to India’s ambition to increase its share in global trade – INS Vikrant The backdrop of increasing Chinese activity in the region and New Delhi’s close cooperation with the US significantly expands the Indian Navy’s footprint while the MiG-29’s fighter jets will now be integrated into the fleet’s air arm. VikrantThe Navy has taken an active interest in the purchase of the French Rafale M or the American F/A-18 Super Hornet. This would require structural modifications to the ship that would allow these more capable aircraft to operate from their decks. Meanwhile, India’s plans to develop its own twin-engined deck-based fighter aircraft remain a distant dream. The focus, and priority now should be in solving the fighter jet puzzle, while also calling on another indigenous aircraft carrier to ensure that the expertise gained is not lost due to strategic myopia.