Indian Navy shows off capabilities China has yet to replicate

The Indian Navy posted a one-minute video and several images on Twitter on June 10, announcing that the two aircraft carriers had conducted exercises with more than 35 aircraft in the Arabian Sea. "The exercise was aimed at demonstrating our formidable capability to sustain sustained air operations across vast maritime domains and underscores our commitment to safeguarding India's national interests," the Indian Navy said.

Hải quân Ấn Độ phô diễn năng lực Trung Quốc chưa làm được - Ảnh 1. — Two Indian aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant (below) and INS Vikramaditya during a recent exercise

Two aircraft carriers participated in the exercise, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. In addition, the operation also involved more than 35 aircraft, many warships and submarines.

CNN quoted military analysts as saying that this is a great achievement of the Indian Navy and that even China has not been able to do it.

Among countries that own aircraft carriers, only the United States has conducted exercises with two at the same time, according to CNN's recent history. Just last week, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan of the US Navy operated together in the Philippine Sea.

China and Britain both have more than one aircraft carrier but are not believed to have ever conducted joint operations with both ships.

The $3 billion INS Vikrant, commissioned in September 2022, is India's first indigenous aircraft carrier. The INS Vikramaditya was built during the Soviet era and was later decommissioned by Russia and sold to India. After being refurbished, the ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2013.

Researcher Collin Koh at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (Singapore) assessed: "The Indian Navy has decades of experience and expertise in aircraft carrier operations. This is perhaps their key advantage over the Chinese Navy, their main rival in this field, despite the Chinese Navy's relative progress in its indigenous aircraft carrier program."

Indian warships during a recent exercise in the Arabian Sea

China currently has two aircraft carriers in service. The Liaoning was purchased from Ukraine, while the Shandong was built domestically. The third, the Fujian, was also built domestically but has not yet been commissioned.

Analyst Carl O. Schuster, a former US Navy colonel, said the operation of two Indian aircraft carriers shows the freshness of the country's navy. India commissioned its first aircraft carrier in 1961 and got the second one in 1987. During the two periods 1987-1997 and 2013-2017, India had two aircraft carriers in service simultaneously.

“Remember, the Indian Navy has always been a highly trained, disciplined and highly proficient force,” said Schuster. In recent years, India has increased its cooperation with other navies in the Indo- Pacific region, and Schuster said that joint exercises and relationships have helped expand New Delhi’s operational knowledge and experience.

China's increased activity and presence in the Indian Ocean has become a major security concern for India, so expanding and modernizing its navy is seen as a measure to counter that concern.

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