India Aircraft Carrier: INS Vikrant Will Disrupt ‘Military Balance’ Claims China
An India aircraft carrier called the INS Vikrant is India’s first home-built aircraft carrier manufactured in New Delhi.
Just the other day, India’s first nuclear powered submarine called the INS Arihant was activated, making it the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine built since the Cold War.
The India aircraft carrier the INS Vikrant weighs 37,500 tons, has a maximum aircraft capacity of 36 aircraft, and cost about 750 million USD. This India aircraft carrier is actually the world’s smallest aircraft carrier, but it still boasts a lot of military power compared to the majority of nations.
Besides the India aircraft carrier, only so many nations in the world boast aircraft carriers. The United States has 10 aircraft carriers, with the USS George H.W. Bush being the last of the Nimitz supercarrier lineup, which can carry 85 aircraft. Starting in 2015, the United States will launch the Gerald R. Ford as part of the Ford class of aircraft carriers. The Enterprise name will be making a comeback in 2025 if all goes to plan.
All in all, all of the nations outside of the United States have a combined 13 aircraft carriers. England’s sole aircraft carrier is the HMS Illustrious, which will be replaced by the HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2017. France has the Charles de Gaulle and Russia has the Admiral Kuzhetsov. China’s single aircraft carrier the Liaoning was actually purchased from Ukraine, although China is said to be working on its own aircraft carrier design.
The India aircraft carrier still has several years of outfitting before it’s fit for duty in 2018. India’s aircraft carrier lineup includes the upcoming INS Vishal, which will be 25,000 tons larger than the INS Vikrant, cost about 1.5 billion USD, and hold much larger aircraft.
China is already claiming the India aircraft carrier will “further disrupt the military balance in South Asia.” China and India actually fought a border war back in 1962, with China defeating India for land.
What do you think about the India aircraft carrier called the INS Vikrant?
