Aircraft
Indian Navy Embarks on Quest for Fighters for Indigenous Carrier
The Indian Navy has plans to field at least two indigenous aircraft carriers, and would like to populate their decks with home-grown fighters
Two LCA Navy technology demonstrators have been built, the first of which is seen during ski-jump launch trials in 2016. The test facility at Goa is equipped with undercarriage restraints that allow the aircraft to apply full power before being released. (photo: Aeronautical Development Agency)
Two LCA Navy technology demonstrators have been built, the first of which is seen during ski-jump launch trials in 2016. The test facility at Goa is equipped with undercarriage restraints that allow the aircraft to apply full power before being released. (photo: Aeronautical Development Agency)

As India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (INS Vikrant, IAC-1) reaches its third and final phase of construction at the Kochi Shipyard in South India, with sea trials to start in mid-2020, Chief of Naval Staff Sunil Lanba confirmed to AIN that the design for the follow-on IAC-2 has been frozen. India currently has one aircraft carrier, the refurbished 44,000-tonne Soviet-era Kiev-class carrier INS Vikramaditya, which is equipped with RAC MiG MiG-29K fighters.


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