Indian Navy is short of essentials and sending out half-complete vessels

There are gaps across the board

India’s navy is beginning to see the end product of decades of confusion and a continuing neglect of strategic planning. This year, with the decommissioning of INS Viraat, India is down to a single aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) of China will soon have two of these — its existing Liaoning, and the Shandong, which is to be officially launched shortly. China, which already outclasses India in terms of the number of its submarines, will soon have more aircraft carriers, too. China has clearly learned from India’s worrisome carrier-first strategy. Putting so much energy into carriers has