The Indian aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant lead combined operations in the Arabian Sea.
Sanjay Atri/Indian NavyUpon Vikrant’s commissioning last year, India joined only the United Kingdom and China in commissioning a domestically built aircraft carrier in the previous three years.
It has operated two aircraft carriers on two previous occasions, between 1987 and 1997, and between 2013 and 2017.
But even with the advancements demonstrated by the dual-carrier operation, India’s carrier program still has question marks, said Childs from IISS.
It would certainly suggest that the Indian Navy could do with more carrier aircraft,” Childs said.
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