India's First Carrier Shows New Delhi's Determination To Become One Of The World's Maritime Powers

Illustration of an aircraft carrier (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Vikrant, India's first aircraft carrier developed by domestic shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Limited, has attracted China's attention for the growing strength of the neighboring country's naval fleet.

Some observers in China see India's hard work in developing Vikrant showing New Delhi's ambition and determination to become one of the world's maritime powers.

With the Vikrant, India has two combat groups that will make a major contribution to the entire capability of its naval fleet, said Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping as quoted by Antara from the Chinese newspaper, Global Times, Saturday, July 30.

According to the Global Times, China during 1999-2022 had made a breakthrough by launching three aircraft carriers.

India's slow pace in developing its first native aircraft carrier shows just how difficult the process is.

China and India in developing their carriers started from the same source - the former Soviet Union.

The Vikrant is an extension of the Vikramaditya, the former Soviet Union's second-generation aircraft carrier, while the Chinese carrier Liaoning is also an upgrade to the Varyag, the Soviet Union's third-generation aircraft carrier.

However Liaoning is bigger than Vikrant in terms of size.

According to Song, Liaoning's combat ability exceeds Vikrant's.

He sees India as an important part of the world's main political and military power so it is inevitable that the country will make aircraft carriers an important part of its defense strategy.

Therefore, Song reminded that India's determination and ambition should not be underestimated.

In developing an independent aircraft carrier, he acknowledged that China was superior to India.

"For a country like India, which has never designed an aircraft carrier independently, Vikrant provided the technical underpinnings for the Vishal, a self-made nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that had been planned," Song said.

The Vikrant, which weighs 45.000 tons, is 262 meters long and has a maximum speed of 28 knots, was purchased from Russia in 2004.

In the development program that uses 76 percent of India's domestic content, the ship has cost 3.13 billion US dollars (around IDR 46.73 trillion), Indian media reported.

Meanwhile, China has so far operated three of its aircraft carriers which were also developed independently, namely the Liaoning, the Shandong, and the newest Fujian.

"India's aircraft carrier development process is full of twists and turns, including policy instability. This has led to changes in design thinking, instability in funding, and a lack of continuity in the manufacturing process," said Zhang Zhaozhong, a military expert at the PLA National Defense University.