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.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
MDL and TKMS partnership becomes sole bidder for India’s $8 billion P751 contract
The partnership is understood to be the only remaining contender for the contract which could be signed in 2026.
-
HII revenues down in 2024, but Mission Technologies arm blooms
The shipbuilder has been dealing with a pre-Covid 19 backlog as well as winning new business.
-
Egypt wins $625 million US deal to modernise its Ambassador IV fast-attack ships
The State Department said the sale will increase the Egyptian Navy's tactical capabilities.
-
US Navy seeks the best combinations of crewed vessels with commercial UAVs and USVs
The service will conduct Operation Southern Spear to identify the most appropriate manned/unmanned formations for domain awareness and counternarcotics operations.