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India’s second aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has China in its sights
- Sea trials of the warship are to begin as early as next month as New Delhi seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean
- India’s first domestically developed carrier will boost its offensive and surveillance capabilities, redefine its role in the Quad and make a statement about its technological prowess, experts say
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The Indian Navy is to start sea trials of its first domestically-built aircraft carrier in a move that will boost its ability to counter China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean.
Sea trials of the INS Vikrant are expected to begin as early as next month, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saying last week that the warship was set to enter active service in the first half of 2022.
Experts said the new carrier would help India project power in a region that has come increasingly under China’s influence. In May, Kenya inaugurated a Chinese-built port on Lamu island, on the country’s Indian Ocean coast, while last week, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the country might revive a plan with China to build a US$10 billion port in Bagamoyo.
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INS Vikrant will be India’s second aircraft carrier. Its first is INS Vikramaditya, a 35-year-old warship that previously served in the Russian Navy as Admiral Gorshkov before it was bought by India.
China has two aircraft carriers already in service – the Liaoning (which it built from the refitted hull of an old Soviet vessel) and the Shandong, which it developed domestically from scratch. Construction is under way on a third carrier, which according to some reports could be launched this year.
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The Indian government has called its new carrier its “most potent sea-based asset” and an “incomparable military asset”.
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