INS Vikrant marks coming of age for India's shipbuilding industry

Next week on September 2, the first 'Made-in-India' aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, will be commissioned at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, Kerala, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) delivery to the Indian Navy is a landmark event in India's defence shipbuilding industry. It has propelled India to a select club of six countries that possess the capability to build such large and complex warships. It has also demonstrated how the push for indigenisation and self-reliance can galvanise the nation's industrial prowess in achieving such a remarkable feat.

Although the Indian Navy has operated three aircraft carriers since 1961, all have been second-hand imported from the UK (one carrier) and Russia (two). India's aircraft carrier programme is all set for a tectonic shift with the IAC-I 'Vikrant' commissioning as the Indian Navy pushes for a third carrier to retain its combat edge over China in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Its construction began in 2009 when the keel was laid and launched in water in 2013. Built at the cost of Rs 20,000 crore, it is the largest and most complicated warship to have ever been designed and constructed in Indian maritime history. The warship would be capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, and indigenously manufactured advanced light helicopters (ALH) and light combat aircraft (LCA Navy).

Vikrant is the first to be conceptualised, designed, developed, and built in India. Everything has a first, from getting the drawings right to making a warship of 45,000 tonnes while integrating the engine, aviation complex and radars. These are technologies no country shares with another nation. It is not just the culmination of a two-decade effort to make a carrier; it addresses the core of the policy decision of owning an aircraft carrier.

The journey of India's defence shipbuilding

India's defence shipbuilding began in 1960 when Indian Naval Ship Ajay, a 120-tonne Seaward Defence Boat, was delivered by Garden Reach Works, now known as Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata. This journey has been breathtakingly incredible, from a 120-tonne craft to a plus 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier. It signifies a whole-of-nation approach, where the Indian Navy, the defence shipyards and DPSUs, DRDO, academic institutions and several other agencies integrated to form an ecosystem that has matured over the years.

Promoting Aatmanirbhar Bharat

The Government's focus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat has given further impetus to developing indigenous warship design and construction capabilities. Moreover, the Indian Navy has moved forward in tandem with its 'Indigenisation Plan (2015-30)' which envisages leveraging "the industrial might of the country, whether it is the public sector, the Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs), the large private industries or medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) to achieve the goal of self-reliance of the Indian Navy.

According to the Indian Navy, 39 of the 41 warships are currently under construction at Indian shipyards. These vessels include complex and technology-intensive platforms like next generation corvettes, frigates and destroyers, and submarines.

Why do we need an aircraft carrier?

Utilising over 21,000 tonne of particular grade steel, over 2600 km of electric cables, and over 150 km of pipelines, with enough power to light up a township and spread over an area of about 53 acres, Vikrant is veritably a floating fortress. The 262 m long and 62 m wide Vikrant displaces nearly 43000 T when fully loaded. The ship has around 2200 compartments, designed for a crew of about 1600, that include specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors. At a top speed of about 28 knots, the IAC can readily be deployed to an area of potential threat.

More importantly, an aircraft carrier protects other ships, including other warships, against hostile aircraft, called 'air defence' in military parlance. Over India's land territory, the responsibility of air defence rests with the Indian Air Force. However, on the high seas, where the merchant ships ply, the shore-based aircraft are constrained by their reach and lack of air bases at sea. In such a scenario, the aircraft carrier can operate continuously and without any constraints, thereby protecting its ships. Within the protective 'umbrella' of an aircraft carrier's air defence, other ships like frigates and destroyers can perform their task of offensive strikes and other missions effectively.

The induction of the IAC in the Indian Navy will be a 'game-changer' in the current regional maritime security dynamics. The IAC will boost India's naval defence capabilities with the in-service carrier INS Vikramaditya. It is well-known that China, which has been demonstrating an increasingly aggressive posture along the land boundary with India, is also attempting to get a foothold in the Indian Ocean and dominate the Indo-Pacific region. It acquired a naval outpost in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa in Indian Ocean Region. It has also invested in developing the Gwadar port in Pakistan. The Chinese Navy will use these basing facilities to support its ships.

Recently, China also launched its third aircraft carrier, Fujian, rapidly building two more aircraft carriers and a fleet of destroyers and frigates. These developments are a cause for concern in the Indian security establishment. Unsurprisingly, several eminent defence experts have advocated that India should build a third aircraft carrier to counter this threat. Fortunately, this view has also been endorsed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, which has observed that a force level of three aircraft carriers for the Indian Navy is an "unavoidable requirement to meet any eventualities".

Making a solid case for the third carrier, Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral Satish N Ghormade recently said that "the indigenous ecosystem has been created by building the IAC. The stage is now well set to take the next step forward to indigenously build the next aircraft carrier to ensure the expertise gained is utilised to the maximum in times to come".

Plough-back effects

The IAC guarantees unimpeded freedom of maritime trade and commerce. Moreover, India, being a maritime nation, transacts over 95 per cent of its trade through the sea route. It also signals national resolve to safeguard India's interests from potential adversaries. Secondly, although aircraft carriers are capital intensive, they will typically continue to be in service for over four decades or even more. Lastly, given that the IAC project has 76 per cent indigenous content, such projects boost economic growth across all sectors, from major players to medium and small enterprises. To conclude, INS Vikrant showcases India's 'can do' approach and an increasing belief and confidence in indigenous products.

(Author is a journalist who writes on defence, strategic affairs, and technology)