NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy imagining itself as a three aircraft carrier force is in for reality check as the transition is unlikely in the near future. As per sources, the next aircraft carrier, whenever it is ready for sale, will emerge as the replacement of one of the existing aircraft carriers.
Sources privy to the situation said, “By the time the next aircraft carrier, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2, is ready for deployment, INS Vikramaditya would be on the verge of completing its operational life.”
As reported earlier by this newspaper, the Indian Navy’s operational necessity required planning of two Indigenous Aircraft Carriers (IAC-2).
Navy’s confirmation for IAC-2 on the lines of IAC-1, commissioned as INS Vikrant, was given with documentation works completed in December 2022.
However, on the sidelines of Aero India 2023, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said, “Initially, we will go for the repeat order with improved capabilities. In the meantime, we will go for a study of larger carriers. By the time a third aircraft carrier is commissioned, the life-span of INS Vikramaditya may end.”
The move for a repeat order of IAC-1 is based on multiple factors; construction time, cost and trajectory of indigenisation of aviation assets. According to the Navy, for a new carrier with modern tech, ship-building facility will have to be upgraded.