India.. Enters the Era of Nuclear Aircraft Carriers

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

**Arab Sea_Follow-ups:** **After India was ahead of China in the number of aircraft carriers, it is planning to build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to close the gap with the Chinese People's Liberation Army.** **In 1961, just a decade and a half after its independence, India became the first country in the so-called Third World to own and operate an aircraft carrier; it purchased it from Britain and it entered service as the "INS Vikrant," and the carrier played a pivotal role in the siege of Dhaka during the Indo-Pakistani War in 1971.** **By the late 1980s, while India was already operating two aircraft carriers, the "INS Viraat" and the "INS Vikrant," China did not have any aircraft carriers; Beijing did not acquire its first aircraft carrier until 2012, when the refurbished "Varyag" aircraft carrier, which it purchased from Ukraine in 1998, entered service in the Chinese Navy under the name "Liaoning."** **However, the clear advantages that the Indian Navy enjoyed over the People's Liberation Army Navy did not last long.** **By 2025, China was operating two aircraft carriers and conducting sea trials on the third carrier, Fujian, which weighs 80,000 tons, according to the Eurasian Times.** **Locally Developed Aircraft Carriers** **The Chinese Fujian aircraft carrier, developed locally, is the second in the world to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults, enabling the Chinese Navy to launch heavier and larger fixed-wing aircraft, loaded with more fuel and weapons.** **With the exception of China, only the United States possesses an electromagnetic catapult launch system; China is also working on building a fourth aircraft carrier, Type 004, which is rumored to use nuclear propulsion.** **Meanwhile, India, which acquired an aircraft carrier more than half a century before China, and was operating two carriers while Beijing had none, has been discussing the need for a third aircraft carrier for many years.** **Now, after nearly a decade of discussions, New Delhi has finally made its decision and given its initial approval to build India's third aircraft carrier, which may even be nuclear-powered.** **Advanced Technologies** **Under the 15-year roadmap set by the Indian Ministry of Defense to modernize its army, called the "Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap," India may build its third aircraft carrier, which may also feature a domestically made Indian twin-engine fighter jet on board.** **However, since building an aircraft carrier takes between 10 and 12 years, New Delhi may ultimately have only two aircraft carriers, as the Indian aircraft carrier "Vikramaditya" will be nearing the end of its lifespan by that time.** **India commissioned its first indigenously developed aircraft carrier, the "INS Vikrant," in 2022; it is 262 meters long and has a full displacement of approximately 45,000 tons.** **The carrier was built at a cost of 200 billion Indian rupees ($2.26 billion) by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and can accommodate about 30 fighter jets and helicopters.** **India currently operates MiG-29 aircraft from the Indian aircraft carrier "INS Vikrant," and its total domestic content is 76%.** **If India succeeds in building a third aircraft carrier, it will be able to maintain the specialized technical capabilities required to design and build aircraft carriers with a ski-jump deck.** **It is worth noting that India would be among only six countries in the world to possess this expertise, along with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia.** **More importantly, India's next domestically developed aircraft carrier may be equipped with a nuclear propulsion system, marking a quantum leap in its operational capabilities.** **Nuclear carriers can stay at sea for longer periods and more quietly, giving New Delhi the opportunity to enhance its presence and power globally.** **It is worth mentioning that only two countries have so far been able to produce nuclear aircraft carriers: the United States and France.** **It is widely believed that China is working on building its fourth aircraft carrier, Type 004, which is rumored to be nuclear-powered.** **In March of this year, the Eurasian Times reported that satellite images of the prototype of China's fourth aircraft carrier, codenamed "004," reveal that it will have nuclear propulsion and will be similar in size to the largest US warship.** **Building and deploying a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier takes a long time, however, the ability to develop nuclear propulsion for the next generation of warships will give India greater ability to operate advanced systems, such as electromagnetic launch platforms, radars, and high-tech weapons; it will also eliminate the need to regularly refuel the ship, increasing its range.** **The new aircraft carrier may also be equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system; as mentioned earlier, to date, only two countries, the United States and China, have mastered the electromagnetic aircraft launch system.** **Therefore, if this idea succeeds, it will place India in the elite group of countries that possess this advanced technology that allows the navy to launch heavier aircraft more efficiently and quickly.** **Electromagnetic catapults use large magnets to launch aircraft, and the vision document also aims to purchase five Automatic Carrier Landing Systems (ACLS).** **In detail, the document states: "Aircraft recovery system for the safe recovery of the deck-based multi-role fighter under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) and Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)."** **Enhancing Indian Air and Naval Capabilities** **India is also planning to equip the Indian Navy with an unspecified number of new generation aircraft for operations on board aircraft carriers, tentatively named TEDBF (Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter), and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA); both aircraft will be produced by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).** **The document also includes a vision for the purchase of an unspecified number of Deck Based Multi-Role Helicopters (DBMRH) and Naval Utility Helicopters (UH-M), which will be developed by HAL.** **The Indian Navy is also seeking to purchase 40 AESA radars for fighter aircraft.** **Furthermore, the Navy wants to buy 650 "stand-off guided bombs" for deck-based fighter aircraft, designed with laser or infrared for terminal guidance, and an INS + satellite system for mid-course guidance, to operate day and night and target land and floating targets.** **The Indian Navy also intends to purchase 40 dual-band multi-function radars and more than 15 X-band Doppler weather radars, in addition to 10 next-generation frigates, seven advanced warships, four landing platform docks, 100 fast interceptor craft, 150 long-range torpedoes, and lithium-ion batteries for submarines.** **Together, these platforms will form a powerful boost to the capabilities of the Indian Navy. A nuclear aircraft carrier equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system, along with domestically made twin-engine fighter aircraft operating from its deck, will elevate India to the ranks of the world's leading countries.** **It will also open the door to new opportunities for defense industry exports. Moreover, these capabilities are essential to enable India to project its power in the Indian Ocean region and beyond into the Pacific Ocean.**