Is Pakistan Acquiring An Aircraft Carrier? | Countries That Operate Aircraft Carriers #Pakistan
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The aircraft carrier has always been regarded as a conspicuous symbol of a country’ seapower and a modern aircraft carrier is a formidable platform providing navies and their governments with a vast array of military and diplomatic options at sea and ashore.
There are only nine countries in the world that possesses and operate an aircraft carrier. They are China (1), France (1), India (1), Italy (2), Russia (1), Spain(1), Thailand (1), United Kingdom (2) and the United States (11).
Aircraft carriers are big, bulky and extremely expensive to build, operate and maintain. Factoring in the total life-cycle costs of an associated carrier air wing, five surface warships and one fast-attack submarine, plus the nearly 6,700 men and women to crew them, it costs about $6.5 million per day to operate each strike group. This sums up to an approximately US $2.37-bn p.a.
The Indian naval Chief, Admiral Karambir Singh, has mentioned that the Indian Navy is planning to maintain three aircraft carriers to keep pace with China, which is projected to have five or six within a decade.
Pakistan’s Navy is one of the smallest in the world with 5 Submarines and 9 Surface Warships most of them old and out-dated. It still dreams of catching up with India with an aircraft carrier battle group to patrol the Arabian Sea and enter India’s backyard. The possibility of Pakistan ever being able to acquire an Aircraft Carrier is very less due to its poor economy condition unless China helps it to acquire one of its old carrier.
The Indian Ocean is the only ocean where many of the major carrier-operating navies have been present in recent years. This list includes France, India, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is expected that China which has deployed ships and submarines since 2008 and established a full-fledged naval base.
The presence of multiple carrier operating navies in the Indian Ocean could make for an interesting strategic mix and perhaps lead to the re-writing of the doctrinal principles of carrier operation in the 21st century.
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