Lack of consensus delays construction of third indigenous aircraft carrier

The Navy has a difficult task ahead to convince the other two services, as well as elements in the Navy itself, that India needs a third, large, expensive carrier

A fortnight ago, an opinion column in this newspaper argued for the early construction of a second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) for the Indian Navy. The first indigenous carrier, IAC-1, which has been constructed by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, will soon be commissioned as INS Vikrant. Alongside INS Vikramditya, which was bought from Russia in 2014, the Navy will then operate two 44,000-tonne carriers.

The proposed 65,000-tonne IAC-2, which would take at least another decade in construction, would be the fleet’s third carrier. With one of those under repair or refit at any given time, the Navy would still have two