Focus: GS-III Internal Security Challenges
Why in news?
- The Navy is expected to get the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL)-built twin-engine carrier aircraft by 2032. It will replace the MiG-29Ks in service which are scheduled to start going out by 2034.
- The Navy currently operates Russian-origin carrier INS Vikramaditya and expects to have the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-I) Vikrant operational by 2022. With a second carrier to come in, the Navy is already evaluating a global tender for 57 carrier-based twin-engine fighter aircraft.
- The Navy currently has 45 Russian MiG-29K aircraft and its officials had stated that there will not be enough aircraft to operate from both carriers.
Points for prelims
- The Indian Navy currently operates one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya (Procured from Russia and later modified)
- The second, INS Vikrant (Also called as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-I)), is under construction by Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, due for commissioning in 2022.
China currently has two aircraft carriers, with a third in early construction, and a fourth planned for some time in the mid 2020 or 2030s.
