India's 60-Year-Old Ambition for a Three-Carrier Navy Remains Unfulfilled

Indias ambition to operate a three-aircraft-carrier navy remains unfulfilled even after more than six decades, highlighting the financial, technological and strategic challenges involved in expanding the countrys maritime capabilities. Despite significant progress in indigenous defence manufacturing and naval modernisation, the Indian Navy continues to operate two aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya, while its long-standing plan to maintain a three-carrier fleet remains uncertain.

The idea of operating three aircraft carriers dates back to the early years of Indias naval development. The objective was to ensure that the Navy could maintain a strong presence across both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal while keeping another carrier available whenever one of the vessels underwent maintenance or a scheduled refit. However, financial limitations, changing defence priorities and the enormous cost of constructing and operating aircraft carriers have repeatedly slowed the plan.

Indias aircraft-carrier journey began in 1961 with the commissioning of its first INS Vikrant, acquired from the United Kingdom. The vessel played an important role during the 1971 India-Pakistan War, particularly in naval operations along the eastern maritime front. After serving the country for more than three decades, it was decommissioned in 1997. India subsequently inducted INS Viraat in 1987, which remained in service until March 2017.

The Navys next major addition was INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Following an extensive refurbishment programme, the vessel entered Indian service in November 2013. A significant milestone followed in September 2022, when India commissioned its first indigenously designed and constructed aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. Built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, the 45,000-tonne warship demonstrated Indias growing capabilities in complex naval engineering and domestic defence production.

However, the commissioning of INS Vikrant has not fulfilled the Navys original three-carrier ambition. With two aircraft carriers in service, maintaining a continuous operational presence across Indias two major maritime fronts remains challenging, particularly when one vessel is unavailable because of maintenance or technical upgrades. A third carrier could provide greater flexibility, allowing the Navy to sustain deployments while ensuring that another vessel remains available for training, maintenance or other operational requirements.

Indias strategic position in the Indian Ocean is another important reason behind the demand for a larger aircraft-carrier fleet. The region contains some of the worlds busiest commercial shipping routes, which are essential for Indias energy imports and international trade. A stronger carrier-based naval capability would help the country protect maritime interests, respond to emerging security challenges and maintain a credible presence across the wider Indo-Pacific region.

Nevertheless, building another aircraft carrier would require a substantial financial commitment. The expenditure would extend beyond the construction of the vessel to include fighter aircraft, helicopters, weapons systems, radar equipment, supporting warships, specialised infrastructure and trained personnel. The government must also balance the Navys requirements against other defence priorities, including submarine procurement, destroyer construction, fighter aircraft modernisation and border security.

The time required to build such a complex warship is another challenge. INS Vikrants development involved years of design, construction and testing before it entered operational service. Although India can now draw on the experience gained from that project, another indigenous aircraft carrier would still require extensive planning, investment and industrial coordination.

The future of the third aircraft carrier has also been affected by discussions over replacing INS Vikramaditya. In recent years, attention has increasingly focused on the proposed second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, commonly referred to as IAC-2, which could eventually replace the ageing Russian-origin vessel. However, replacing an existing carrier and expanding the fleet to three vessels are two different objectives. While a replacement would help maintain Indias existing carrier strength, a third operational carrier would represent a further expansion of its maritime capabilities.

Chinas growing naval strength has added another dimension to Indias aircraft-carrier debate. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy has expanded its carrier fleet and continues to invest in advanced naval aviation and maritime technologies. Its increasing presence across the Indo-Pacific has raised concerns in New Delhi, particularly regarding the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean. Although India does not necessarily need to match Chinas naval strength ship for ship, maintaining a capable carrier fleet remains an important element of its maritime strategy.

At the same time, changing patterns of naval warfare have raised questions about the cost and vulnerability of large aircraft carriers. Long-range anti-ship missiles, submarines, unmanned systems and advanced surveillance technologies are transforming maritime combat. This has strengthened arguments for investing in a balanced naval force that includes aircraft carriers, submarines, missile systems and modern surface combatants rather than concentrating resources on a single category of warship.

India has already demonstrated that it can design and construct an aircraft carrier domestically through the successful development of INS Vikrant. The next challenge is deciding whether the country has the financial resources, industrial capacity and long-term strategic requirement to operate an even larger fleet. The acquisition of 26 Rafale-M fighter aircraft from France for carrier-based operations is also expected to strengthen Indias naval aviation capabilities.

More than 60 years after the commissioning of its first aircraft carrier, Indias three-carrier navy dream remains unfulfilled. While INS Vikrant represents a major achievement in the countrys defence manufacturing journey, the decision to build another carrier will depend on the governments assessment of future maritime threats, operational requirements and competing defence priorities. For now, India continues to strengthen its two-carrier fleet while the possibility of achieving its long-standing three-carrier ambition remains a subject of strategic debate.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from idrw.