Indian Navy to lease private berth for Vikrant-class aircraft carrier
The Indian Navy has informed the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence that it intends to lease a 260m berth at an L&T shipyard in Kattupalli for its Vikrant-class aircraft carrier.
The lease would be for eight years from 2022 to 2030, as the planned base at Vishakhapatnam is yet to be completed.
India is expected to complete the first-of-class INS Vikrant in 2022, and the navy hopes eventually to have two aircraft carriers fully operational at any given time.
Each Vikrant-class carrier would be responsible for maritime security and the protection of EEZs on India’s eastern and western coastlines.
The Standing Committee has also raised some concern over the declining share of the defence budget allocated to the Indian Navy, suggesting that naval capabilities are reliant on high-value defence platforms such as aircraft carriers and frigates.
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