Next aircraft carrier might also be a small one, says Admiral Kumar

Successive navy chiefs have publicly stated that INS Vishal, the expected name for IAC-2, would be a 65,000-tonne carrier that would embark 55-60 aircraft

Calling the commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, IAC-1, on September 2 “a seminal event in the history of the nation and the navy”, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral R Hari Kumar, sprung a bombshell in his customary Navy Day-eve press conference with the observation that the second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), might be a copy of IAC-1, rather than the expansive aircraft carrier that had so far been expected.

INS Vikrant is a 40,000-tonne carrier that can embark about 35 aircraft, including helicopters. Successive navy chiefs have publicly stated that INS Vishal, the expected name for IAC-2,