Will India's aircraft carrier be a troublemaker?

Reportedly, India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier, the 40,000-ton INS Vikrant, will commence sea trials this month. It is due to go into active service next year. It was named after the first aircraft carrier India bought from the United Kingdom, which was retired in 1997 and turned into a museum.

According to Indian media reports, the INS Vikrant has a total length of 263 meters and a width of 63 meters, and it is powered by four gas turbines that give it a maximum speed of 30 knots (55 kilometers per hour). It can carry 30 to 40 fighter jets on board.

The sea trials are mainly to test the power system of the aircraft carrier and assess whether the power generation system can support each system under extreme conditions.

According to the original plan, the sea trials were due to be held over about two years. Now New Delhi has decided to shorten that period to make sure the vessel can enter service next year, in time for the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the country's independence.

Work on the design of the ship started in 1999, and the work to build it began in 2005. Initially, the Indian Navy hoped it could be launched in 2010, and put into active service in 2014.

However, a series of accidents that have happened over the past few years delayed its handover again and again. As a result, it has been launched three times.

Despite this, India has become the sixth country after the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China to develop the capability to design and build aircraft carriers.

Although it will take some time for the new aircraft carrier to form real combat capacity, its launch, while the COVID-19 pandemic is raging in India, demonstrates the power of India's manufacturing industry and the country's maritime ambitions.

Notably, more than 40 battleships of various sizes are under construction in India, and the future will give the answer to the question whether that is good or not for the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

The name Vikrant originates from the Rig Veda, an ancient Indian religious book written in the Sanskrit language, meaning "a hero". Hopefully, New Delhi will not misuse that ambition and confidence.