It was drum and trumpet, Friday September 2 in the morning, in Kochi (or Cochin) in Kerala, in the south of India. A ceremony of more than two hours with the bench and the back bench of the general staff and the government of India, special edition televisionsand a lot of excitement on the air when Prime Minister Narendra Modi symbolically raised the ceremonial curtain on the name of the aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant.
the vikrant is of a size comparable to Charles de Gaulle French: 45,000 tons, 262 m long, 60 m wide, nearly 1,700 men on board, a speed of 28 knots. India already has another aircraft carrier still in operation, but it is smaller. Above all, it was made in Russia, bought second-hand by New Delhi, while the vikrant is a 100% Indian product: it required 13 years of work and the involvement of 500 companies in 18 of the country’s 29 states.
For India, it is therefore a source of pride and a symbol of independence. Her name, Vikrant, means “the brave” in Sanskrit. Only concern, and not the least: it does not yet have its fleet of fighter planes. India seems to hesitate between the French Dassault’s Rafale and the American Boeing’s FA18. Arbitration is expected before the end of the year.
Beyond this aircraft carrier, India is gaining strength militarily. When we think of military power, we of course think of the United States, Russia and China. But there is also India, the 4th army in the world. A few figures: 1.5 million active soldiers, nearly 600 combat planes, 800 helicopters, 4,500 tanks and 12,000 armored vehicles; and nearly 300 buildings for the Navy, including 17 submarines. Nearly 40 additional buildings are under construction in the various shipyards of the country. Not to mention that India is a nuclear power. The country devotes 50 billion dollars to its defense budget. Its objective is to acquire its industrial autonomy in this area, to stop depending on imports. That’s why the vikrant is a major symbol.
For now, India imports a lot of military equipment and its big rival is China. India is the largest arms importer in the world, along with Saudi Arabia. It first obtains supplies from Russia (half of the imported equipment, in particular the S400 anti-aircraft missiles). This situation largely explains New Delhi’s refusal to condemn the Russian attack in Ukraine. The second supplier is France, in particular with the Rafale (36 sold to India) and the Scoprène submarine licenses. Because India’s obsession is therefore to counter the influence of China. On land, the two countries face each other in the Himalayas with regular clashes, and at sea, in the Indo-Pacific zone, where China is expanding its presence. This summer, Beijing even sent a ship to Sri Lanka, at the gates of India. The launch of this aircraft carrier is therefore also a way for New Delhi to send a message to Beijing.