India's old and new aircraft carriers. Image courtesy of The Times of India, February 23, 2015
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INS Vikrant "2" on launch November 2014. Photo courtesy.
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India is gradually expanding its carrier force. India may have 2 carriers by 2019. Whether both will be fully commisioned then is a question mark. Basically India may be maintaining parity with China's slowly emerging carrier capability. Major commissioned.
Major milestones are:
2016 - expected retirement of INS Viraat. It was acquired from UK 1987 – 28,000 tons displacement, 11 Sea Harriers.
2016 - INS Vikramaditya rebuilt
and handed over by Russia 2013. It will
be India’s only commissioned carrier for 3 - 4 years after INS Viraat is decommissioned. 45,000 tons, 24 MiG-29Ks.
2019 - INS Vikrant "2" India’s first
indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-I), launched 2014, under construction 2016-17. Perhaps commissioned by 2019. 40,000 tons, 12 MiG-29Ks, 8
Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). Construction of Vikrant has already been delayed by four years
with repeated technical and budgetary issues. The "2" is sometimes informally used as Google searches simply for "INS Vikrant" often turn up the preceding INS Vikrant that was decommissioned in 1997.
2030 - INS Vishal (may be completed 2030) known as indigenous aircraft carrier-II (IAC-II), maybe nuclear
propelled, 65,000 ton (displacement equal to China’s carrier Liaoning). May feature Electromagnetic
Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) being developed by the US for its new Ford class
supercarriers. EMALs would allow full sized carrier aircraft, like the Super Hornet,
to be launched. Vikramaditya’s and Vikrant’s ski-jumps only allow up to MiG-29 weight aircraft. If a successful
design Vishal may be the first of class for 2 to 3 more 65,000 ton carriers (perhaps around 2035-2040)
allowing Vikramaditya to retire.
India, like Russia, US, and
even Australia often under-estimate the costs and build time of weapons systems. Politicians,
bureaucrats, military officers and arms builders all can underestimate the cost-length-complexity of their projects. The main aim appears to be placating the public and Treasuries whose tax-payer
dollars go into paying for weapons systems.
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