--- title: "India’s First-Ever Supercarrier Might Be Based On The UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class" description: "BAE Systems says it has proposed a design based on the U.K. Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class to India to meet that country’s requirements for a second domestically-produced aircraft carrier and its first ever supercarrier, the future INS Vishal." date: "2019-04-04" modified: "2019-04-04" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/27290/indias-first-ever-supercarrier-might-be-based-on-the-uks-queen-elizabeth-class" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Carriers" - "India" - "Indian Navy" - "Indo-Pacific" - "INS Vikrant" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Queen Elizabeth Class" - "Sea" tags: - "BAE Systems" - "carrier aviation" - "carriers" - "catapults" - "CATOBAR" - "EMALS" - "HMS Queen Elizabeth" - "India" - "Indian Navy" - "INS Vikramaditya" - "INS Vikrant" - "INS Vishal" - "STOBAR" - "Supercarriers" - "United Kingdom" --- # India’s First-Ever Supercarrier Might Be Based On The UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class ![]() *www.twz.com* BAE Systems says it has proposed a design based on the U.K. Royal Navy’s [*Queen Elizabeth*-class]() to India to meet that country’s requirements for a second domestically-produced aircraft carrier. The Indian government is hoping that, whatever the final design, construction of the future INS *Vishal*, the country’s first supercarrier, will begin in 2022. On Apr. 4, 2019, [*Australian Defence Magazine*]() was first to report the developments after speaking with a representative from the U.K.-headquartered defense contractor at 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) trade show in Malaysia. This event ended on Mar. 30, 2019. India has been laying the groundwork for *Vishal* since [at least 2011](). The country's authorities sent formal letters of interest about possible carrier designs to BAE, as well as France’s DCNS, U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, and Russia’s central arms exporter Rosoboronexport, [in 2015](). “BAE Systems is pleased to have begun discussions with India about the potential for basing development of the second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier \[IAC-2\] project on the *Queen Elizabeth* class design,” BAE’s representative in Malaysia said, according to [*Australian Defence*](). “The U.K. carrier design has now been proven at sea and is a near match to the Indian Navy’s requirement for a 65,000-ton carrier with Integrated Full Electric Propulsion \[IFEP\], that could be constructed under the country’s ‘Make in India’ program.” At present, India has one aircraft carrier in service, the [INS *Vikramaditya*](), which displaces around 45,000 tons. This is a modified Soviet-era *Kiev*-class ship, previously known as the *Admiral Gorshkov*, which the Indians purchased from Russia in 2004. ![message-editor%2F1554396589776-vikramaditya.jpg]() *INS *Vikramaditya.*, *Indian Navy** That same year, the Indian Navy ordered the country’s first indigenously produced aircraft carrier, also known as IAC-1, the future [INS *Vikrant*](). The design is similar in many respects to *Vikramaditya* and has a displacement of around 40,000 tons. At present, she is expected to enter service in 2021. With her displacement of around 65,000 tons, the future Vishal will be significantly larger than either of these two ships. The Indians had initially considered making her nuclear-powered, as well as, before dropping those plans in favor of a conventional IFEP propulsion system. Beyond these features, the Indians have not publicly released many details about *Vishal*’s expected configuration. Most notably, there remains a question about whether it will be a Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery ([CATOBAR]()) type, like U.S. Navy supercarriers, or a Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery ([STOBAR]()) design with a ski jump in the front like the smaller *Vikramaditya* and up-coming *Vikrant*. ![message-editor%2F1554396742882-vikrant.jpg]() *The future INS Vikrant in 2015., *Indian Navy** The Indian Navy is certainly interested in acquiring a CATOBAR type aircraft carrier in the future, in general. [In the mid-2010s](), the service reportedly evaluated General Atomics’ advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the U.S. Navy’s *Ford*-class aircraft carriers. In 2017, [there were reports]() that President Donald Trump’s Administration had approved the prospective sale of the EMALS to India. [In principle](), EMALS offers substantial benefits over traditional steam-powered catapults, including the ability to fine-tune the exact amount of force the system exerts on the launched aircraft. This limits the wear and tear on the airframes, which in turn reduces maintenance and logistical requirements. The U.S. Navy also says it will help increase the *Fords*’ ability to generate sorties and launch a wider-range of aircraft, including lighter unmanned systems. https://youtube.com/embed/HQ3Ob9IF_w8 In practice, so far, EMALS [has seriously underperformed]() by every meaningful measure, forcing the Navy to reset its baseline requirements for the system. The electronically-controlled [Advanced Arresting Gear](), another General Atomics product, has also been plagued by developmental issues. The final decision could end up being tied to what the composition of India's future carrier air wings and what type of carrier-based fighter jets it plans to buy as part of a new tender. The Indian Navy has already [soundly rejected]() a navalized variant of the domestically produced [Tejas]() as overweight and is now looking to foreign designs. Russia is in the running with its MiG-29K, but India has been disappointed with the performance of its [existing naval MiG-29s](). https://youtube.com/embed/2p1QkQQe8tQ The other entrants include the [Dassault Rafale](), a naval variant of the [Saab Gripen](), and Boeing’s [F/A-18E/F Super Hornet](). Boeing has pointedly said that Super Hornet will be able to fly from a catapult *or* [ski-jump-equipped carrier](). But whether India decides to go with a CATOBAR arrangement using EMALS or steam, or stick with a STOBAR configuration, BAE will have to make significant changes to the existing *Queen Elizabeth* design. The Royal Navy's carriers are built to accommodate Short-Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) type aircraft that don't need catapults or arresting gear at all. However, the United Kingdom only arrived at this decision [after a notable debate]() over the carrier's configuration, which means that BAE has already done at least some design work on STOBAR and CATOBAR variations. “The design is adaptable to offer either ski-jump or catapult launch and can be modified to meet Indian Navy and local industry requirements,” the BAE representative explained to [*Australian Defence*](). ![message-editor%2F1554404482691-catobar.jpg]() *An artist's conception of a proposed CATOBAR configured HMS *Queen Elizabeth*. The United Kingdom did not ultimately choose this design., *BAE Systems** The design may need further adapting to meet any other Indian-specific feature or equipment requirements. For instance, the *Queen Elizabeth*-class has [a notably limited suite]() of air and missile defense systems, though the Royal Navy is now looking at how to improve those capabilities in the future. India, which faces potential threats from [both Pakistan]() and [China](), may have immediate demands for a more robust self-protection suite on its ships. The much smaller *Vikrant*, for instance, will already have four 76mm multi-purpose guns, two 32-cell vertical launch systems for either the [Barak 1]() or [Barak 8]() surface-to-air missiles, and a number of Russian 30mm [AK-630]() close-in weapon systems (CIWS). But the major advantage of using the *Queen Elizabeth* as a starting place is that it is a recently produced design that has spent some time at sea. India will build *Vishal* at the country’s [Cochin Shipyard](), but could leverage BAE’s production experience to help reduce the chances of serious issues arising during construction and causing major delays. ![message-editor%2F1554397735051-deck.jpg]() *The HMS *Queen Elizabeth*., *Andrew Matthews—PA Wire/PA Images** Just in March 2019, a delegation with Indian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at its head visited the United Kingdom. There he toured the *Queen Elizabeth* and talked with the Royal Navy about best practices for carrier construction. “I am sure we will be able to develop further synergies in our respective future carrier strike capabilities,” First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones, the Royal Navy’s top officer, said afterward. “The important thing is that by developing these capabilities in tandem, we build in a level of interoperability.” https://twitter.com/_/status/1106261480234733568 This interoperability could be a major boon for the United Kingdom, as well, which is also looking to [expand its naval presence](), as well as other military activities, in the Pacific Region. In February 2019, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said it had plans to send *Queen Elizabeth* [on a patrol]() in the [hotly contested]() South China Sea. BAE’s representative at LIMA also [told *Australian Defence*]() that cooperation with the United Kingdom would help reduce the delivery schedule for *Vishal* and potential risks. “The distributed build of a large complex carrier, having been successfully demonstrated in the U.K., could potentially assist public and private Indian shipyards in sharing roles and responsibility for construction of this important strategic asset,” he added. All of this would be extremely important given India’s drive for major industrial cooperation in all of its defense procurement, as well as its past experience buying and building aircraft carriers. The *Vikramaditya*, in particular, [was a debacle](), with Russia’s Sevmash Shipyard delivering the ship years behind schedule and over budget. Though India purchased the carrier in 2004, it only re-commissioned the heavily modified and overhauled ship in 2013. Sevmash had no previous experience with aircraft carriers or with any ship close to *Vikramaditya*’s size. The Soviet Union had built all of its carriers at shipyards in what is now Ukraine and Russians have continually pushed back plans to build new [carriers of their own](). ![message-editor%2F1554398189054-sevmash.jpg]() **Vikramaditya* in the final stages of construction at Sevmash in 2013., *Indian Navy** Difficulties with Russian suppliers have also complicated the construction of the future Vikrant. India had to construct facilities to produce the high-grade steel required after difficulties arose in buying the materials [from Russia](). This past performance can only hurt Russia’s chances for winning any final deal to cooperate on the construction of the future *Vishal*. The other two firms that India previously contacted about carrier designs, DCNS and Lockheed Martin, also do not have any recent relevant recent designs in service or under construction. DCNS, together with Thales Naval France, had been working on their own [75,000-ton displacement carrier]() concept derived from the *Queen Elizabeth*, as a replacement from the French Navy’s carrier *Charles de Gaulle*, but this program got canceled in 2013. DCNS also built the *Charles de Gaulle* in the 1980s, but this ship is significantly smaller than what the Indians have called for with the future *Vishal*. France is only now beginning to [conduct new studies]() regarding a future carrier replacement, which DCNS will certainly be a part of, as well. ![message-editor%2F1554405447865-pa-2.jpg]() *An artist's conception of the DCNS Porte-Avions 2 aircraft carrier design, which was based on BAE's CATOBAR proposal for the *Queen Elizabeth*-class., *DCNS** Lockheed Martin has never built a carrier, though it has worked together with Italy’s Fincantieri on various [other shipbuilding projects]() in the past. Fincantieri designed the Italian Navy’s aircraft carrier [*Cavour*](), but this a STOVL type that is also substantially smaller than what India is looking for. It is worth mentioning that this Italian shipbuilder has been involved in the development [of the propulsion system]() for the up-coming *Vikrant*. If India were to select BAE from this field to design its future supercarrier, it would also be significant for the company and the British economy in general, which has slowed significantly in the face of the country's [increasingly convoluted plans]() to leave the European Union. Even with the Vishal built in India, BAE systems could be looking at decades of subsequent contracts to support the ship's continued operations and craft future upgrades. Depending on how much commonality there is between the *Vishal* and the *Queen Elizabeth*-class, it could help create economies of scale that reduce the sustainment and upgrade costs of the Royal Navy's carriers, as well. There are already serious questions about whether the Royal Navy has the [personnel](), [operational budgets](), [escort ships](), and [aircraft]() to make the most of its planned two-carrier fleet. This, in turn, has led to persistent, but so far entirely unfounded rumors that the United Kingdom might just sell *Queen Elizabeth*'s sister ship, HMS *Prince of Wales*, outright to a foreign party, such as India. Of course, India has yet to make any formal decision on who will design, or help design, its future *Vishal* and it’s unclear when that announcement might come. But BAE does make a very strong case for the first Indian supercarrier to use the *Queen Elizabeth* as an established starting place. *Contact the author:* [*jtrevithickpr@gmail.com*]() ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()