When India's first self-made aircraft carrier "Vikrant" was still under construction, the Indian Navy launched a construction plan for the IAC-II "Vishal" aircraft carrier. According to information previously released by India, the "Vishal" will be a medium-to-large aircraft carrier with a displacement of more than 60,000 tons. However, this plan has now changed. Recently, the Indian media "India Defense News" website stated: On the eve of Indian Navy Day 2022 (December 4), Indian Navy Commander Admiral Hari Kumar said: The Indian Navy has suspended the construction plan of the "Vishal" aircraft carrier . The reason given is that the performance of India's first self-made aircraft carrier "Vikrant" has exceeded expectations.
Screenshots of Indian media reports
Indian media said: The "Vikrant" aircraft carrier that will begin sea trials in 2021 proves that India has become one of the few countries in the world that can build aircraft carrier ! At the same time, after the "Vikrant" aircraft carrier was put into service, the Indian Navy found that the overall performance of the aircraft carrier greatly exceeded expectations. Therefore, the Indian Navy temporarily shelved the construction plan of the larger "Vishal" aircraft carrier. India's second self-made aircraft carrier will be the medium-sized aircraft carrier with the same tonnage as the "Vikrant".
India's first self-made aircraft carrier Vikrant
Indian media also said: In the long run, the Indian Navy still needs larger tonnage aircraft carriers. At present, the Chinese Navy already has two 60,000-ton medium-sized aircraft carriers and one 85,000-ton class aircraft carrier. Class large aircraft carrier, the Chinese Navy will become a maritime force with 7 aircraft carriers in the future, and at least 3 of them are 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. If the Indian Navy does not install aircraft carriers with larger tonnage, it may lag behind China in terms of sea control and maritime deterrence capabilities. Therefore, the Indian Navy needs to continue to go all out to build ships!
CG image of INS Vishal aircraft carrier
Did you see it? The Indian media compared the Indian Navy with the Chinese Navy again. It seems that the Indian Navy would not know how to develop without comparing it. However, I believe that netizens are accustomed to India's tendency to compare with China everywhere! However, the Indian media attributed the shelving of the "Vishal" construction plan to the fact that the performance of the "Vikrant" exceeded expectations. This reason is obviously far-fetched. The author believes that the main reason why India suspended the construction plan of the "Vishal" aircraft carrier is that India does not have the ability to build medium and large aircraft carriers!
The Vikrant has been launched three times.
As we all know, even if the two aircraft carriers adopt the same carrier-based system configuration and carry the same carrier-based aircraft , the one with the larger tonnage obviously has an advantage, because the larger tonnage means that it can carry more carrier-based aircraft. When the performance is the same, the number of carrier-based aircraft is very important! According to the Indian media, the Indian Navy needs to continue to go all out in shipbuilding to avoid "falling behind the Chinese Navy." If considered from this perspective, it is reasonable for the Indian Navy to choose the larger tonnage "Vishal" for the second self-made aircraft carrier, rather than continuing to build a medium-light aircraft carrier with the same tonnage as the "Vikrant".
The Indian Navy does yoga on the deck of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
Besides, the so-called performance of the "Vikrant" exceeding expectations is just the Indian Navy and the Indian media talking to themselves. Whether it has exceeded expectations is another question. Even if the performance exceeds expectations, how powerful will the overall performance of an aircraft carrier with a displacement of 40,000 tons be? Isn't it that the performance can reach the level of a 60,000-ton medium and large aircraft carrier? Therefore, it is untenable for the Indian media and the Indian Navy to attribute the suspension of the "Vishal" aircraft carrier construction plan to the "Vikrant" performance exceeding expectations. The real reason is that India is currently unable to build an aircraft carrier with a larger tonnage!
Liaoning aircraft carrier
With aircraft carrier special steel, arresting cable systems, carrier-based aircraft, radar air defense systems, power systems, etc. all being purchased as ready-made products, the Indian Navy took 23 years to build the "Vikrant" aircraft carrier. This has fully demonstrated India's shipbuilding capabilities! If India starts building the "Vishal" with a larger tonnage after the "Vikrant", it is not that India will never be able to build it, but it will take a long time to build such an aircraft carrier with a tonnage of more than 60,000 tons. If it takes more than 20 years to build a "Vishal", the Indian Navy simply cannot wait, because the Indian Navy's current plan is to form a three-carrier battle group as soon as possible! If we continue to build an aircraft carrier of the same class as the "Vikrant" that already has some experience, the construction time will inevitably be shorter and the certainty will be greater. This is the fundamental reason why the Indian Navy has suspended the construction of the "Vishal"!
Shandong aircraft carrier
The Indian media said that the Chinese Navy will have 7 aircraft carriers in the future. The author believes that this is not an exaggerated number, but that our country has the ability and need to equip 7 aircraft carriers! At present, the Chinese Navy has 3 major fleets. If 7 aircraft carriers are installed in the future, each fleet can have at least 2 aircraft carriers, and the other one can be used for training or support. This can ensure that each fleet of the Navy has an aircraft carrier available at any time. The 7 aircraft carriers, plus several nuclear-powered super aircraft carriers, will also give the Navy a stronger ability to maintain the security and sovereignty of our country's territorial waters and protect our country's maritime trade routes!
Fujian aircraft carrier
As for what the Indian media said, the Indian Navy needs to continue to go all out in shipbuilding to not lag behind the Chinese Navy. The author believes that the People's Liberation Army has never compared with other militaries. All the development of the People's Liberation Army is based on its own defense and mission needs. The improvement of the People's Liberation Army's equipment performance and scale will also be used for defense, rather than for comparison with other countries. However, it is too difficult for the Indian Navy to continue to go all out in building ships to catch up with the Chinese Navy!
Imagination of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
The Chinese Navy has completed the development of upgrading a medium and large aircraft carrier, building a medium and large aircraft carrier and a large electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier in more than ten years. Currently, China has world-class ship construction technology and industrial system, China can completely manufacture any subsystem required for the aircraft carrier on its own. From a technical perspective and shipbuilding capabilities, there is indeed a huge gap between India and our country. Although we will not deliberately "race" with the Indian Navy, it is an impossible task for the Indian Navy to catch up with the Chinese Navy!
