The Indian Ministry of Defense said it wants to build a new aircraft carrier, which may use nuclear power, and also use indigenous carrier-based fighter jets.
Many media outlets were surprised by this, but in fact, it's just a rehash of a plan that has been talked about for years.
When the Indian "Vikrant" aircraft carrier was still under construction, India had already announced plans to build a new aircraft carrier named "Vishal," which would have a catapult, be larger, and be 60,000 tons. The following is an image of the "Vishal" aircraft carrier concept from many years ago.
Now, India is bringing up this plan again, as it requires a catapult, and more specifically, an electromagnetic catapult, and the power system is set to be nuclear-powered. This is like trying to walk before you can crawl.
To build a nuclear-powered catapult-type aircraft carrier, India faces huge challenges with technologies such as ship nuclear reactors, electromagnetic catapults, electromagnetic arresting systems, and large-area active phased array radar on board. If India wants to purchase them from outside, the only seller available is the United States. Not to mention whether the US is willing to sell such highly sensitive technology to India, even if it does, after the aircraft carrier is built, India will have to constantly look to the US for approval. Otherwise, if the US cuts off the supply of parts, India's aircraft carrier will immediately become inoperable.
Regarding carrier-based aircraft, the Rafale and LCA might be acceptable today, but in ten years, they will become obsolete. What is India's stealth carrier-based fighter jet? It is still nowhere in sight. If India tries to develop it itself, it will take decades, similar to the LCA, and barely be usable. As for carrier-based fixed-wing airborne early warning aircraft, India has no experience at all. But if it wants to buy, it can only buy from the United States.
Regarding escort vessels, the current Kolkata-class and Visakhapatnam-class destroyers of the Indian Navy are far from sufficient. The current phase array radar detection range is too short, and the Barak-8 surface-to-air missile struggles to intercept supersonic anti-ship missiles, let alone high-speed missiles. For attack submarines, India is still relying on leased Russian ones to maintain appearances. Therefore, India must also redevelop and build escort vessels. The difficulty and cost of this are no less than those of the aircraft carrier.
Without mastering any of the core technologies, India is rushing to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which is a typical case of overambition. The result could be similar to the LCA, with slow progress, numerous problems, and the final product being outdated.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842669140600832/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.