India’s plans for a formidable aircraft carrier fleet is at present in the realm of uncertainty. The Indian government is having second thoughts over the huge cost it may have to incur if it decides to go in for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for the future. Geopolitics looks at the current processes and tries to make sense of it.
In just over a year – between September 2016 and now – India’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2) narrative has changed drastically. And that is because the Indian Navy has rejected the Naval Light Combat Aircraft in its present configuration and has placed its bets on acquiring a foreign combat plant that can do a ski-jump take-off, as an alternative to the indigenous aircraft.
The first time the trouble regarding India’s IAC-2 was mentioned in the Indian media was in September 2016. The reportage on the subject said that the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was prudent about the money he spent as the nation’s security head. He preferred to save money for the nation and the first savings he would want to do was on the development and construction of IAC-2, which was being envisaged as an over 65,000-tonne mammoth sea-faring asset with nuclear power as its propulsion system.
The reports said the plans for IAC-2 (or INS Vishal, as per reports in the Indian media for some time now) were off the priority list and the drawing board. The reports claimed that the project would receive no funds due to the estimates of high cost for construction of the aircraft carrier. This thinking had seeped into the Indian officialdom’s mind after their consultations with the American and Russian counterparts on the project.
This story is from the December 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
India's space economy set to soar
India's burgeoning space economy could see a substantial increase in its global share by 2040. At present, India's space sector contributes a modest $8 billion to the overall cake. However, the government has set its sights on an ambitious target, aiming for a five-fold surge in India's share of the global space economy.
CRITICAL NEED TO BOOST CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE FLEET
VENUGOPAL MENON explains why India cannot afford to view the critical deficiency in Submarine force levels lightly
BEEFING UP OUR SUBMARINE FLEET
In the last week of March, the Indian Navy displayed its submarine prowess. Eight of its submarines operated together in the Western Indian Ocean Region, a first in three decades, and one of its Scorpene submarines sailed to the Andaman Nicobar Islands, overlooking the Malacca Strait, a critical choke point for China. But how is the comparison with China? RITU SHARMA reports
ENHANCING CRUISE MISSILE CAPABILITY
India’s cruise missile capability has largely evolved as a credible conventional level deterrence since the turn of the new millennium. But much more needs to be done, writes AMARTYA SINHA
BOOSTING DEFENCE EXPORTS
Earlier, India was known to be an arms importer. But today, the country has come out of its comfort zone and found a place in the list of top-25 arms exporter nations argues AMARTYA SINHA
ENHANCING INDIA'S AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES
Project NETRA represents a proactive initiative by ISRO to safeguard India's interests in space by mitigating the risks posed by space debris and other hazards, says GIRISH LINGANNA
THE HIMALAYAN TRIANGLE: WHY INDIA KEEPS BHUTAN SAFE FROM CHINA
India, given its special relationship with Bhutan, has been very wary about the possibility of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of a boundary agreement between Bhutan and China, writes SIMRAN SODHI
TROOST, DESAI AND SANCTIONS
The Western sanctions against companies and individuals doing business with Russia have produced a complex set of reactions with lobbyists and shell companies working overtime to beat the rap. A GEOPOLITICS Bureau report
THE KOREA-GATE
India attaches great importance to “three principles of inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity’” for creating the basis for working more closely with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific such as the Republic of Korea (ROK), better known as South Korea for “a free, peaceful and prosperous region”. Prakash Nanda dissects the relationship and the way ahead
Pushpak RLV-TD successfully lands autonomously
ISRO achieved another significant milestone in reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology with the successful landing of Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, autonomously on the runway.