US aircraft carriers add an edge to Iran offensive. Where does India stand?

Aircraft carriers of the US Navy have played a central role in the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Prior to the start of hostilities, Washington deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R Ford along with their escorting warships in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, respectively. Aircraft from these carriers were involved in strikes across Iran beginning February 28. Aircraft carriers are among the most expensive defence systems ever built, and are mobile military bases. By the way, out of the 15 countries that have them, only eight countries, including India, have aircraft carriers that can store, maintain and launch both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Returning to the Iran theatre, as the US looks to scale up its offensive against Iran, the US is also considering deploying a third aircraft carrier, the USS George HW Bush, along with its battle group in the Middle East, according to Forbes.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported that the United Kingdom was preparing its carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, to sail toward the theatre. French newspaper Le Monde also reported that France has deployed aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle along with other warships in the eastern Mediterranean to provide defensive support to allies threatened by the widening Middle East conflict.

"To put it simply, countries that aspire to strategic international influence have aircraft carriers," Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, former First Sea Lord (head) of the Royal Navy, told the BCC in 2012. Among the largest and most expensive weapons systems ever built, aircraft carriers are far more than just an ordinary warship.

With onboard air wings that can range from roughly 20 to 75 aircraft depending on the vessel, and with accompanying carrier strike groups consisting of destroyers, frigates and support ships, they function as floating military bases.

Their ability to sustain long-range air operations, command naval formations and conduct a wide variety of missions allows countries to project power and influence far beyond their shores. As former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger put it, "An aircraft carrier is 100,000 tons of diplomacy."

So what are aircraft carriers? How are they used? And where does India stand in this regard?

An EA-18G Growler prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury. (Image: US Department of War)

WHAT IS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER?

An aircraft carrier is a dedicated warship capable of hosting, deploying, and maintaining combat aircraft with space for crew, supplies (food, munitions, fuel, engineering parts), and propulsion.

Unlike other warships, aircraft carriers feature long flight decks which allow fighter jets, helicopters and surveillance aircraft to take off and land. They also carry hangars, maintenance facilities, fuel storage and command centres that allow aircraft operations to be sustained for long periods while the ship remains at sea.

Modern day navies deploy aircraft carriers as the centrepiece of carrier strike groups. These are formations which also feature warships like destroyers, frigates, submarines, alongside supply and replenishment ships that both extend the striking power of the carrier, and help defend the vessel.

Aircraft carriers are designated based on their size, propulsion, aircraft compliment, and their method of launching and recovering aircraft. The largest of the lot, the US Navy's supercarriers are powered by nuclear reactors, carry up to 75 aircraft (depending upon the ship), and use an advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to make planes airborne.

Others, including China's Fujian and India's INS Vikrant, use conventional diesel turbines for propulsion, carry a compliment of between 50 and 30 aircraft and use cable or ski-jump assisted systems to launch their jets.

The first aircraft carriers were developed after World War One, when combat aviation was still in its infancy. The British were the first, building the HMS Argus in 1918, followed by Japan's IJN Hosho and the American USS Langley in 1922.

Britain's HMS Argus, commissioned in 1918, was the world's first aircraft carrier ever built. (Image: WikimediaCommons)

HOW ARE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS USED? WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

The aircraft carrier quickly surpassed other warships after its introduction because it could strike targets far beyond the range of naval guns and torpedoes. By deploying fighter and bomber aircraft, carriers allowed fleets to conduct operations across vast distances with far greater flexibility and precision than battleships or cruisers.

The Second World War demonstrated this power. In 1940, aircraft from the British carrier HMS Illustrious struck the Italian fleet at Taranto, disabling three battleships. The concept was repeated in 1941 when Japanese carrier aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, sinking or damaging 21 American ships and drawing the United States into the war.

During the conflict, US Navy carriers steadily weakened the Imperial Japanese Navy in decisive battles such as Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. By the end of the war, the aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the dominant capital ship of modern navies.

The aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which demonstrated the formidable striking power of aircraft carriers. (Image: WikimediaCommons)

In the modern era, aircraft carriers remain among the most powerful instruments of power projection. Functioning as floating airfields and mobile command centres, they allow nations to deploy combat aircraft anywhere in international waters and sustain operations far from home territory. A modern carrier strike group, typically consisting of a carrier, escorting destroyers, cruisers, submarines and supply vessels, can launch airstrikes, enforce air superiority, conduct surveillance and coordinate naval operations across large regions.

According to the Centre for Strategic and Studies, power projection refers to a state’s ability to move military forces, equipment and logistics over long distances and sustain operations in distant theatres, enabling governments to influence events abroad, support allies and deter adversaries without relying solely on domestic bases.

Analysts at the RAND Corporation note that carrier strike groups allow countries, particularly the US, to maintain a persistent military presence in key regions while retaining the flexibility to launch air or missile strikes and defend themselves against enemy threats. Because they can operate for months at sea while carrying their own aircraft, weapons and logistical support, aircraft carriers enable nations to project military power far beyond their shores, shaping events on land while remaining outside the immediate reach of many adversaries.

A carrier strike group, like this one centered around the USS George Washington enables nations to project power across the world. (Image: US Navy)

WHICH COUNTRIES OPERATE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS?

Building an aircraft carrier, maintaining it, providing its compliment of aircraft, training its crew, and protecting it when out at sea, is a prohibitively expensive task which only a few countries can afford. Globally, 15 nations have at least one or more carrier in their inventory. However, only eight navies possess a vessel that can operate both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. These include, the US, China, the UK, Japan, France, India, Russia, Italy among others.

The US remains the largest operator of aircraft carriers, operating 11 supercarriers of the Nimitz and Gerald R Ford class, each of which can carry up to 90 aircraft each (note, they usually carry less), and are propelled by nuclear reactors enabling sustained deployments without refuelling across the world. This includes the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest warship in active service, and currently operating in the Red Sea, launching strikes on Iran.

USS Gerald R Ford, the largest warship in active use, which is currently in the Red Sea taking part in Operation Epic Fury against Iran. (Image: X/USS Gerald R. Ford)

China comes next, operating three aircraft carriers. This includes the Soviet-derived Liaoning and the indigenously made Shandong and Fujian carriers. These are conventionally powered carriers, capable of operating up to 50 jets. A fourth aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered Type-004, is reportedly under construction since 2024, and is said to have been designed to rival the US' Ford class carriers.

Aircraft carrier Fujian, China's latest indigenously built carrier, seen here transiting through the East China Sea. (Image: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)

The UK has two carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class, the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales, each capable of operating up to 60 jets each, and using conventional gas turbines for propulsion.

The UK's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, seen here during a visit to Hobart, Australia. (Image: X/Royal Navy)

France operates one carrier, the Charles de Gaulle. Unlike most other carriers in the world, the de Gaulle is powered by an onboard nuclear carrier (similar to its US counterparts) and can operate a maximum of 40 jets at a time. Similarly, Russia also operates one carrier, the Kuznetsov, although it has not been in active service pending repairs since 2017.

The French aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle, is the only carrier outside the US Navy that uses a nuclear reactor for propulsion. (Image: US Navy)

HOW MANY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS DOES INDIA HAVE?

India has a long history of operating aircraft carriers. The country was the first nation in Asia to operate an aircraft carrier after World War Two, when it commissioned the INS Vikrant, an overhauled British Majestic class vessel, in 1961. The Vikrant was be used in the 1971 War, blockading East Pakistan and launching strikes against Pakistani shipping and land targets.

The INS Vikrant was not only India's first aircraft carrier, but also the first such vessel to be operated by an Asian navy post World War Two. (Image: WikimediaCommons)

Currently, India operates two aircraft carriers; the INS Vikramaditya, a refurbished Kyiv-class carrier acquired from Russia and commissioned in 2013, and the indigenously built INS Vikrant (R11), which was commissioned in 2022. Both carriers can deploy up to 36 aircraft each, including the Mig-29 carrier based multirole fighter, and helicopters like the Sea King, MH-60R and HAL Dhruv for anti-submarine work and transport.

India's two aircraft carriers, the Vikrant (R11) and the Vikramaditya, are seen here conducting a joint carrier operation in 2023. (Image: X/Indian Navy)

In an age where weapons like low-cost drones and hypersonic ballistic missiles were seen by many as having made the aircraft carrier and its battle groups more vulnerable, and less relevant, the 2026 Iran war, which saw jets from US carriers strike targets across Iran and defend the fleet from counterattacks, continues to demonstrate the continued relevancy of the vessel.

While they are large, prohibitively expensive to build, and resource intensive to deploy and protect, the mighty aircraft carrier allows militaries to not only strike targets around the world while remaining out of reach of enemy defences, but also gives nations the ability to project power and influence through "100,000 tons of diplomacy", around the world. They are floating military bases, which can be deployed across the world.

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