The Indian Navy Chief has put forth a requirement of at least three aircraft carriers for the navy in order to counter China’s increasing naval might. The Naval Chief expressed concerns over China’s ongoing naval expansion in terms of aircraft carriers and warships. As of now, INS Vikramaditya is the only aircraft carrier India has and the Indian Navy has expressed a strong desire to add another aircraft carrier to the earliest.
China projected to have 10 aircraft carriers by 2049
The Chief of the Indian Navy also stated that China is expected to have 10 operational aircraft carriers by 2049 and to counter that India needs at least 3 aircraft carriers. While an indigenous aircraft carrier is already being constructed at Kochi, the proposal for a third aircraft carrier has not yet found a nod from the defence ministry due to the funds’ requirement of the project.
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The third warship which is yet to be approved by the defence ministry will be the largest warship ever prepared in India if it gets a green signal from the authorities.
The Naval Chief explained that the overall strategy of the Indian Navy is centred around the operation of Carrier Task Groups enabled with multi-dimensional and state of the art surface and air platforms. He further added that the navy is pushing for the third aircraft carrier in order to have the threshold force to carry out all operations.
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The Indian Navy by having three aircraft carriers wants to ensure that at any point in time there would be at least two aircraft carriers at the sea to guard India’s security concerns.
The Indian Navy’s Chief also opined that the way of the future lies in the operation of aircraft carrier battle groups to project power. The Indian Navy is certainly keeping an eye on the presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean and its plans to augment its presence in the region.
