For India, the sea is not only a trade route, but also the biggest basis of the country’s security and economy. More than 90% of India’s international trade takes place through sea routes. Petroleum, gas, food grains, machines and other essential goods reach the country only through ships. If the enemy blocks these sea routes during any war or tension, then India’s economy can have a major impact. For this reason it is considered necessary to strengthen the Indian Navy. Now the discussion is intensifying in India regarding the need for a third indigenous aircraft carrier.
Many defense experts say that India needs at least three aircraft carriers. He believes that India’s geographical position is such that it has to keep an eye on two large maritime areas simultaneously. First, the Arabian Sea, where there are sea routes connected to Pakistan and West Asia. Secondly, the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean area, where China is continuously increasing its influence. In such a situation, India will have to maintain a strong presence on both sides.
Debate over aircraft carrier costs
Some people say that aircraft carriers are too expensive and are not very safe against submarines and missiles in today’s era. But military experts consider this thinking wrong. He says that an aircraft carrier never works alone. The entire carrier battle group moves with him. This includes destroyers, frigates, submarines, helicopters and fighter aircraft. All these together protect the career.
The biggest strength of an aircraft carrier is its fighter planes. These aircraft can continuously keep an eye on a large area of the sea. Can detect enemy submarines and ships and can also attack immediately if needed. Experts say that the sea cannot be controlled only by submarines. Submarines can definitely cause damage to the enemy, but only the aircraft carrier group can maintain continuous dominance over large areas of the sea.
Why the need for a third aircraft carrier?
Another major reason behind the need for three aircraft carriers is maintenance. Any big warship has to be sent to the dock from time to time for repairs and upgrades. If India has only two carriers, only one will be available for operations while one is under repair. Due to this, one of the maritime fronts of the country may become weak. But if there are three carriers, two will always be ready for battle and one will be able to go for repairs.
At present India has two aircraft carriers. First is INS Vikramaditya and second is indigenous INS Vikrant. INS Vikramaditya is quite old. It is believed that it may have to be retired by the mid or late 2030s. Its structural audit is to be done around 2035, which will decide whether it can be used further or not. The problem is that it takes more than 10 years to build a new aircraft carrier. If work on the third career is not started now, then after Vikramaditya’s retirement, India may have only one career left.
Emphasis on indigenous technology
Economic arguments are also being given in support of the third aircraft carrier. Critics say that such a big warship will cost too much money and will affect development plans. But its supporters say that if weapons are purchased from abroad then the money goes to other countries. Whereas if India itself builds aircraft carriers, then the same money keeps circulating in the country’s economy and creates employment.
INS Vikrant is considered a great example of this. About 76% of the amount spent on this project was used within India. That means most of the money reached Indian companies and industries. About 30 thousand tons of special warship steel was used in the construction of this warship, which was completely made by Steel Authority of India Limited i.e. SAIL. This made India self-reliant in making warship grade steel.
2 thousand people got employment from INS Vikrant
The construction of INS Vikrant created about 2 thousand high-tech jobs in Cochin Shipyard. Apart from this, about 12,500 indirect jobs were created in other companies and supply chains. More than 550 big companies and more than 100 MSMEs were involved in this project. Many Indian companies manufactured machines, electronic systems and other important equipment.
According to experts, every Re 1 spent on Navy creates an impact of about Rs 1.82 in the Indian economy. That means it is not just defense expenditure, but also strengthens industry, technology and employment.
Defense experts believe that in today’s world a strong navy is necessary for any big country. For India, the third aircraft carrier is not just a warship, but is being considered a big symbol of maritime security, economic strength and self-reliant India.
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