INS Vikrant: India’s 1st Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

Blue-water capability: 

1. INS Vikrant extends India’s reach far beyond its coasts. A carrier strike group enables India to operate across the Indian Ocean and beyond, fulfilling its goal of a blue-water navy. (Blue-water navy refers to a maritime force capable of operating across deep oceans far from home, distinguishing it from coastal navies.)

Power projection: 

1. With its air wing, Vikrant can patrol, defend, and strike across sea lanes. It bolsters India’s ability to protect trade routes and respond to crises (e.g. evacuations or disaster relief). 

2. Carrier-based jets can target threats long before they reach Indian shores. In effect, Vikrant projects force and deters adversaries.

Symbol of indigenization: 

1. As a largely home-built flagship, Vikrant exemplifies Make in India. It demonstrates India’s capacity to produce advanced warships. 

2. With 76% indigenous content and involvement of dozens of domestic firms, Vikrant is a concrete achievement of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India). 

3. Its commissioning placed India among the few nations (US, UK, France, Russia, China) capable of building carriers.

Regional deterrence: 

1. Deploying INS Vikrant sends a strategic message to neighbours. Its recent moves during the India Pakistan war and tensions underline its role in deterring maritime threats and potential attacks on India.

2.  In a crisis, Vikrant can swiftly launch aircraft to dominate contested waters, altering regional military calculations. 

Maintaining Influence in Indian Ocean Region:

1. India’s security is directly linked to and closely enmeshed with that of the Indian Ocean and the adjoining littoral region (IOR)—the area of its primary strategic interest.

2. The Chinese “pearls” in the Indian Ocean, besides addressing Beijing’s strategic vulnerability in terms of its energy imports, is likely to be aimed at “displacing” India’s influence in the IOR.