INS Vikrant | Gist of Rajya Sabha TV / RSTV (now Sansad TV) - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• India entered into a select group of nations that have the niche capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier. 
• It is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau and built with state-of-the-art automation features.
• It is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India. 
• It is capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MH-60R multi-role helicopters, Kamov-31, MiG-29K fighter jets, apart from indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

INS Vikrant

• It is the biggest warship indigenously developed in India, it is five to seven times bigger than anything attempted in the past. 
• With a 45,000-tonne warship, India is now in the league of nations that are capable of making such aircraft carriers. There are only five to six countries that have this technology.
• INS Vikrant is fitted with a very advanced radar system, a surface-to-air missile (which is a collaboration between Israel and India).
• It is fitted with multiple electronic warfares.

Significance of INS Vikrant

• Commissioning of INS Vikrant is vital in terms of strategic outreach. The fact that the Aircraft carrier sits in the centre of India’s maritime strategy is undoubted.
• It is an important power projection tool that is used for both soft power as well as hard power.
• It brightens the arc of the Indian Navy.
• It gives speed, resilience, and most importantly the latest technology. 
• It will have fast gas turbine engines that can generate 88 Megawatt of power. 
• Indian Navy has always projected to have at least two operational aircraft carriers on both the eastern and the western front, as there is an increase in the number of threats.
• The inclusion of an operational carrier will boost the confidence of the Indian Navy.
• Moreover, it will give a lot of flexibility and much more muscle to the Indian Navy.
• It is also a significant achievement in terms of indigenization and project management.
• In Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, aircraft carriers are of significant help as they help in sending aid of very large amounts. This is particularly important as the Arabian and the eastern Indian Ocean region face the largest number of cyclones.
• During peacetime, it gives confidence to all the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean, that are threatened by economic, military, or political coercion. They have a reliable and preferred security partner in the form of India.
• Aircraft carriers provide naval operations with essential vitality.

Indigenization of Indian Navy

• In a span of a decade, the Indian Navy has jumped leaps and bounds. The Indian Navy is currently making 49 ships. 
• There is a significant transformation, from INS Vikramaditya to INS Vikrant. For instance, the Navy wisely took the lifts out from the deck as observed in British and American Aircraft carriers.
• There is a considerable amount of automation and modernization of electronics and radar screens. 
• The Navy has shifted to modular construction in the control room – the topmost stack of the warship.
• A new dock is being developed in Cochin that can handle a capacity of around 70,000 tonnes.

Road Ahead

• There is a need for a third aircraft carrier as a backup in case of refit or maintenance.
• The third aircraft is required to project power beyond the Indian Ocean Region. It will be essential to provide ballast to our maritime strategy.
• The international world order is undergoing a major change, so it is an opportunity for India to become a pole by itself. It implies that its action should not be dictated by others.
• The carrier deployment should be adequately planned to project effective power among the littorals.
• The carrier should not be seen in the context of combat only as it goes beyond naval operations. It is also important in terms of developmental operations.

Conclusion

• India is already consolidating its assets and showcasing the growing prowess of indigenous manufacturing. It is a major milestone in the path towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. But it should also be realized that India needs to expand its vision beyond and match China, which is growing at a very fast pace.