India’s Aircraft Carriers

Context (TH): The Indian Navy’s two aircraft carriers demonstrated twin carrier operations.
India currently operates two aircraft carriers: the Russian-made INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant.

History of Aircraft Carriers in India

It was India’s First Aircraft Carrier purchased from the U.K.
It was active during the Goa Liberation Operation in 1961 and played a crucial role in the 1971 war.

It was India’s second Aircraft Carrier, purchased from the UK. It was commissioned in India in 1987.
The British Royal Navy originally commissioned it as HMS Hermes.

Russia’s refurbished Admiral Gorshkov was commissioned into the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya in 2013. Commissioned in 2013, it is India’s third carrier.

The First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is named in honour of her historic predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant (R11).

A proposal for a second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-II) has been moved by the Navy.
The Defence Procurement Board cleared the proposal in September, and it awaits approval from the Defence Acquisition Council.
IAC-II aims to replace INS Vikramaditya when its lifetime ends.

INS Vikrant, one of the carriers, is indigenously designed and constructed.
It has a total area exceeding 12,450 m2, equivalent to about two and a half hockey fields.
Built at a cost of around ₹20,000 crore, it boasts 76% indigenous content.
Vikrant can accommodate an air wing of 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, and indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters and Light Combat Aircraft (Navy).
It employs the STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Recovery) method for launching and recovering aircraft.