According to the report on the website of India Today Weekly on December 4, although the listing of the first domestic aircraft carrier in India, "Vikrand", has aroused great enthusiasm and pride, the Indian navy has now decided to "shelve" the plan to build another aircraft carrier. A few months ago, the Indian Navy put the aircraft carrier "Vikram" into active service, which is the largest warship ever built by India, with a maximum displacement of about 45000 tons. With the aircraft carrier "Vikram", India has become one of the countries capable of building aircraft carriers. It is reported that the Chief of the General Staff of the Indian Navy, Harry Kumar, said: "At present, we have shelved the plan to build IAC (Indian home-made aircraft carrier) - II. In view of our accumulated expertise, we are considering whether we should build another IAC-I (the 'Wickrand' is IAC-I - this online note). But we have not submitted the plan to the government." Recently, during the service of the "Vikram", the Indian Kachin Shipyard, which was responsible for manufacturing the aircraft carrier, said that it was confident that it would build the third aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy at a much faster speed. The shipyard said that it was able to deliver a sister ship of the same level in the next seven to eight years - the displacement was also 45000 tons, but the function was upgraded and could reflect the latest technology trend. In addition to the new aircraft carrier "Wickrand", which has not yet performed its mission, the Indian Navy is currently using an aircraft carrier "Super Sun King". According to the report, recent developments mean that the Indian Navy does not intend to purchase a third aircraft carrier in the near future. According to the plan, the third aircraft carrier should be much larger, with a displacement of about 60000 tons. It is estimated that the construction cost of the third aircraft carrier, which will be named "Vishal", is estimated to be about $7 billion, and another $5 billion to $8 billion is needed to equip it with fighter jets, helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft. In order to balance the cost of the third aircraft carrier, the Navy even worked out a plan to reduce the number of carrier based fighters from the initial 57 to 36. Bipin Rawat, the former chief of defense staff of India, publicly questioned the huge cost of building the third aircraft carrier. The Indian Air Force also opposed the idea of building a third aircraft carrier and believed that air bases on the shore could provide air support more effectively. Lavatt prefers a cruise missile submarine to another aircraft carrier. He believed that once war broke out, the aircraft carrier was "vulnerable" and the maintenance cost was high. He also suggested expanding the capabilities of coastal bases as an alternative to aircraft carriers. Rawat's comments triggered a debate on whether India should seek a third aircraft carrier. Supporters of aircraft carriers believe that maritime powers including the United States, Britain, Russia and France all own aircraft carriers. (Outlook New Times)