Few nations have the capability to maneuver alongside their two carriers, each equipped with their own air group onboard… Great Britain, with HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, would theoretically have the means to do so…barring enough F fighter-bombers -35B. The same is for Italy, which implements ITS Cavour and ITS Trieste. Japan had embarked on this path, converting the JS Izumo and JS Kaga into carriers.

United States only [avec leurs 11 porte-avions, qui plus est à propulsion nucléaire] and China [avec les CNS Liaoning, CNS Shandong et, bientôt le CNS Fujian] have such a capacity. At least that’s still the case recently… because India just joined them.

Indeed, on June 10, the Indian Navy [Indian Navy] indicated that he had just conducted an exercise that brought together his two aircraft carriers, namely INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, in the Arabian Sea. A total of 35 aircraft, including MiG-29K and MH60R, Kamov, Sea King, Chetak and ALH helicopters were deployed.

“This display of naval prowess underscores India’s commitment to safeguarding its national interests, maintaining regional stability and fostering maritime partnerships,” the Indian Navy said in a statement.

Moreover, and while the building of a new aircraft carrier is mooted in New Delhi, the Indian Navy has underscored the interest in having such a naval air capability.

Aircraft carriers “can be positioned anywhere, providing increased operational flexibility and the ability to provide rapid response to emerging threats as well as sustained air operations to protect our national interests around the world. And they provide assurance to our friends that the Indian Navy is capable of meeting our collective security needs in the region,” the statement argued.

And he stressed: “The importance of the aircraft carrier will remain important in shaping the country’s defense strategy and enhancing regional stability.”

Seamless operational integration of the two carriers @IN_Vikramaditya & @IN_R11Vikrant as well as fleet ships & submarines are strong evidence of the important role of sea-based air power & India’s role as the security partner of choice in #Indian Ocean & outside pic.twitter.com/XiW2UXloSK

—Navy spokesperson (@indiannavy) June 10, 2023

As a reminder, obtained from Russia, INS Vikramaditya [ex-Amiral Gorshkov] returned to service in 2013, five years behind schedule and a $2.3 billion bill [soit 1,5 milliard de plus que prévu]. The 45,000 tonne vessel is designed in the STOBAR configuration [short take-off, barrier-arrested recovery]meaning it is equipped with jumps and strand stops… like the INS Vikrant, which is the first aircraft carrier of Indian design.

With a displacement of around 40,000 tons for a length of 262 meters and a width of 60 meters, this ship will start operating in 2022. And only started its air operations last February.

However, the Indian Navy is hoping to get a third, which this time will be designed according to the so-called CATOBAR configuration. [Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery], like French and American aircraft carriers. Such a format would allow it to have two carrier battle groups at its disposal. Another priority concerns carrier-based fighters, the MiG-29K is not reliable enough. This aircraft will be replaced by the French Rafale M or the American F/A-18 Super Hornet.