Earlier this week, India’s two aircraft carriers led battle groups in a coordinated operation in the Arabian Sea, demonstrating the service’s “frightening maritime capabilities.”
According to analysts, this is a significant accomplishment that has only been accomplished by the United States Navy.
“This is no small feat,” said Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
According to an Indian Navy news statement, the drill was carried out by two aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, as well as a number of surface ships and submarines.
“The successful demonstration of two-carrier battlegroup operations serves as a powerful testament to the pivotal role of sea-based airpower in maintaining naval superiority,” according to the press statement.
When the $3 billion Vikrant, India’s first domestically manufactured carrier, was commissioned in September, it joined the Vikramaditya, which was acquired from Russia and started service in 2013.
With the commissioning of Vikrant last year, India joined the United Kingdom and China as the only countries in the past three years to commission an indigenously built aircraft carrier.
While both China and the United Kingdom have several aircraft carriers in their contemporary fleets, none has undertaken two-carrier operations, according to observers.
China currently operates two aircraft carriers, with a third, the Fujian, having been launched but not yet commissioned.
