Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

The newly-built INS Vikrant undocking, 2015 (Indian Navy) The Indian military is undergoing what may be its most significant reorganisation since India’s independence, with considerable implications for its future strategic posture. One important issue that has been brought to the fore is the role of the Indian Navy as a regional power projection force built around three aircraft carriers. The government’s decision on this issue will have significant implications for the region. The Indian Navy currently operates one carrier, the 45,000 tonne INS Vikramaditya, with a second, the 37,500 tonne INS Vikrant, having just entered sea trials. Both are “ski-jump” carriers. But the Indian Navy regards a third “flat-topped” aircraft carrier, the planned 65,000 tonne INS Vishal, with superior power projection capabilities, as an absolute necessity. The navy’s plans for a three-carrier based force structure, first proposed in early 2000s, has been accepted in principle. It would allow the navy to ...