A big stick for the Indian Navy

In the new military architecture emerging in the Indo-Pacific, a third aircraft carrier will be needed to effectively counter the Chinese Navy

Aircraft carriers — the name for warships that carry fixed wing fighter aircraft — have been in the news recently. In July, a flotilla of British warships, led by an aircraft carrier, the Royal Navy’s flagship, Her Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth (HMS QE), transited through the Indian Ocean on her way to the South China Sea. This was the QE’s first operational tour of those contested waters and was intended to demonstrate the “Indo-Pacific tilt” in London’s security policy. In early October, the QE joined two American carriers — United States Ship (USS) Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson —