Swasti Rao
India’s strategic interests in the Indian Ocean Region require a strong naval presence across both its Western and Eastern flanks. Ideally, this would mean operating three aircraft carriers—two actively deployed while the third undergoes maintenance or upgrades. This has long been the Indian Navy’s vision for achieving true blue-water capability.
Within naval circles, aircraft carrier command is often seen as the pinnacle of naval leadership, fuelling an ongoing rivalry between proponents of carrier-based power projection and those advocating for submarine dominance. However, financial and operational constraints have forced the Navy to scale back its ambitions, with only two carriers in service for the foreseeable future. The third carrier—the size of INS Vikrant, when commissioned, will likely serve as a replacement for the ageing INS Vikramaditya rather than expanding the fleet. While the long-term goal remains three carriers, this reality is unlikely to change for at least a decade or more.
The government’s recent decision on carrier acquisition has sparked intense debate over whether it signifies a fundamental shift in India’s naval doctrine or simply a pragmatic adjustment by focusing on more nuclear-powered submarines, or SSNs. However, the evolving strategic landscape suggests that rigid binary perspectives may no longer be sufficient to understand India’s maritime security challenges.
No comments:
Post a Comment