India has been trying to prove itself as a great power and has the strength to rival China as a global military power. However, although they have always dreamed of surpassing China, they are seriously underpowered. Recently, the Indian Navy embarked on new ambitions, embarking on the construction of a second domestic aircraft carrier and even calling for overtaking China in this area. According to the Global Times, India is ready to spend about $4.8 billion to build a second aircraft carrier, which will also be their second domestically produced aircraft carrier. It is reported that New Delhi hopes to have three aircraft carriers, one of which will be deployed in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean, another in the west, and the third will be ready to be put into operation at any time as a reserve force to enhance its ability to control the Indian Ocean.
According to foreign media, India is dissatisfied with the development of China's navy and is trying to make a major breakthrough in the second domestically produced aircraft carrier, planning to increase the weight of the aircraft carrier, and introduce advanced technologies such as nuclear power and electromagnetic catapult to build a ship similar to the American Ford-class aircraft carrier, in an effort to surpass China. However, despite the investment of $6 billion, India's nuclear power and electromagnetic catapult technology has not progressed, and the tonnage of the second domestic aircraft carrier has been repeatedly reduced, eventually reaching the standard of a heavy aircraft carrier. In short, there is a stark contrast between beautiful dreams and harsh reality. India's current level of industrial development simply cannot support the manufacture of aircraft carriers. Take, for example, the first domestic aircraft carrier, which, although ostensibly made in India, was in fact designed and assembled with the participation of both Russia and Western countries.
According to a report by the US "National Defense" monthly magazine, a senior member of the US Navy expressed concern and unease when talking about the US shipbuilding capability. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Auditor General for Financial Management, Russell Lambault, made it clear that despite the global leadership of the US Navy, it could lose its advantage in the face of the PLA. He stressed that the state of the U.S. shipbuilding industry is not optimistic, especially in the competition with China, where time is of the essence, and the U.S. is wasting time. This public admission is shocking, after all, even the previously powerful US Navy admits that it is inferior to China in the field of shipbuilding. Against this backdrop, is India qualified to claim to overtake China? After all, China's Fujian aircraft carrier already uses advanced electromagnetic catapult technology, and its tonnage is more than 80,000 tons.
In contrast, even if India's new aircraft carrier is already under construction, it will be difficult to realize the desire to "turn over", let alone surpass China. This uncertainty has raised doubts about the military strength of the United States and India, and has also sparked appreciation and attention to China in the field of aircraft carrier construction.