This Word Means: Aircraft carrier

INS Vikrant is one of two aircraft carriers in the fleet of the Indian Navy, the other being the flagship INS Vikramaditya. It is the Navy’s most potent weapon as well as its most strategic asset, one that Pakistan simply has no answer for.

What is an aircraft carrier? How do they work?

As the name suggests, an aircraft carrier is a warship meant to serve as a seagoing airbase, one that allows for both the deployment and recovery of aircraft.

A carrier typically comes with a functional flight deck from and on which fighter jets, helicopters, and small military transport planes can take off and land, as well as a hangar to park these aircraft. Its main offensive weapon are fighter aircraft, which can ensure air superiority even in places far away from home.

But aircraft carriers are also massive, multi-billion floating targets for enemies. This is why they seldom travel alone, and generally lead what is known as a “carrier strike/battle group” comprising destroyers, missile cruisers, frigates, submarines, and supply ships. These other ships both protect the carrier and add to its offensive capabilities.

Why are aircraft carriers important?

Carriers came into their own during World War II, by which time fighter aircraft had become advanced and reliable enough to become more capable than the naval guns as offensive weapons. Aircraft carriers could strike much deeper into enemy territory than any other ship, and do so with a level of unprecedented accuracy.

Today, a carrier is considered the most potent marine military asset for any nation, and essential for any “blue water navy”, that is, a navy with the capacity to project power in the high seas. But only a very select group of nations possesses an aircraft carrier, fewer possess more than one carrier, and fewer still possess the capability to build one.

INS Vikrant was the first indigenously-built aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. Vikramaditya is a modified Russian Kiev-class carrier. The Navy plans to add a third carrier into its fleet over the next decade or so.

What are some features of Vikrant?

With a displacement of 45,000 tonnes, INS Vikrant is the largest warship to have ever been built in India. The Navy claims that roughly 76% of the ship comprises indigenous content, including 23,000 tonnes of steel, 2,500 km of electric cables, 150 km of pipes, 2,000 valves, and a wide range of finished products including rigid hull boats, galley equipment, air-conditioning and refrigeration plants, and steering gear.

Vikrant can carry up to 34 aircraft, with Russian-made MiG 29K fighter jets being its primary offensive weapon. It is operated by a crew of 1,600, and effectively operates like a small town in the high seas, one that has its own hospital with two operation theatres and an ICU, workshop for mechanics, and three galleys which can feed 600 people at a time.