A new report from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Washington-based think tank, makes the case for the United States offering India the latest technology and aviation systems for its next-generation aircraft carrier, INS Vishal. Proceeding from the agreement reached by the two countries to form a working group to explore the joint development of the new aircraft carrier, the Carnegie report says the US offers should include electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMAlS), E-2C/D Hawkeye for airborne early warning and battle management and the fifth-generation F-35C lightning strike fighter.
“The principal objective underlying bilateral cooperation should be to ensure that India’s next-generation aircraft carrier -- to include its air wing and its capacity for combat operations -- will be superior to its Chinese counterparts,” says the report, titled: “Making Waves: Aiding India’s Next-Generation Aircraft Carrier”. Authored by Carnegie’s noted South Asia expert Ashley Tellis, the report notes that while the Indian Navy has already begun design work, wide-ranging cooperation with the United States will have enormous potential, offering India the opportunity to “acquire the most capable warship possible”.
“Such collaboration would increase the Indian Navy’s combat power and would resonate throughout the Asian continent to India’s strategic advantage,” it says. As part of the major push for cooperation, the report calls upon the United States to consider changes to its current policy to allow for discussions about nuclear propulsion technology to make the integration of EMAlS technology a viable option for Vishal.
“No country today would profit as much from collaborating with the United States in carrier design and construction as India at a time when its local dominance in the Indian Ocean is on the cusp of challenge from China’s People’s liberation Army Navy, which commissioned its first aircraft carrier in 2012,” it says, stressing US assistance would send a powerful signal to China and to the other littoral states.
While speaking about the chance to co-develop a large and consequential weapon system, the Carnegie report says that on the Indian side, the Narendra Modi Government would need to reconsider its predecessor’s opposition to signing various bilateral defence agreements, effectively “preventing Washington from being able to supple India with various high-end defence systems”