India and the UK have signed a statement of intent to cooperate in designing and developing Electric Propulsion Systems for the Indian Navy
By Ajai Shukla
28th May 25
The Diplomat
Shortly before his death in a helicopter crash in December 2021, India’s first tri-service chief of defense staff (CDS) and procurement head, General Bipin Rawat, had raised a red flag over one of the Indian military’s most difficult and delayed acquisitions. Opposing the Indian Navy’s plan to implement an expansive doctrine of sea control and power projection, Rawat said the defense budget would be unable to support the expenditure of $5.86 billion-$7 billion on a second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), its aviation wing and its protective flotilla.
Instead, Rawat proposed that the navy should project power with its fleet of large capital warships (corvettes, frigates, destroyers and conventional submarines), while Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters, operating from bases ashore, could provide effective fire support without placing at risk targets as vulnerable and valuable as aircraft carriers.
India’s naval brass wasted no time in countering this argument. In the last quarter century, New Delhi has built up a formidable 180-ship navy. India’s admirals regard themselves as protectors of the global commons here, safeguarding freedom of navigation and overflight and keeping open the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) through the northern Indian Ocean. For this, New Delhi has been using its naval power robustly, especially in counter-piracy and counter-terrorism roles.
Central to these plans is the ability to project power, with the employment of its two aircraft carriers and their carrier battle groups (CBG) exercising sea control at chosen spots in the northern Indian Ocean. With a robust tradition of aircraft carrier operations inherited from the Royal Navy, the Indian Navy has the professional chops to operate its carriers as floating airfields, carrying two or three squadrons of fighter aircraft to areas hundreds or even thousands of nautical miles out at sea.
There is resolute support for the expansion of the navy’s role, especially from within the navy and its think tank, the National Maritime Foundation. Recent navy chiefs, such as Admirals Sunil Lanba and Karambir Singh, have been forthright in advocating the need for a third aircraft carrier. The two existing carriers include the 40,000-ton, Russian-origin Indian Navy Ship (INS) Vikramaditya; and the 44,000-ton “first indigenous aircraft carrier” (IAC-1), which bears the name INS Vikrant. Now the navy is pitching for a 65,000-tonne“second indigenous aircraft carrier” (IAC-2), that can fill in when one of the other two is in refit or overhaul.
This third carrier, IAC-2, which is proposed to be built in Kochi as a larger, more muscular vessel, will be called INS Vishal. It will embark two squadrons of fighters—one of Dassault Rafale fighters and one of indigenous Indian fighters. It will have a fixed-wing airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft to direct the air battle. In addition, there will be integral helicopters for anti-submarine tasks and communications duties.
After intense debate, the Indian Navy has decided against designing IAC-2 as a U.S. Navy-style “catapult-launched but arrested recovery” (CATOBAR) carrier. Nor will it feature nuclear propulsion, or even an “electro-magnetic aircraft launch system” (EMALS) that the latest U.S. carriers use to catapult aircraft off the carrier’s deck, and to recover them with an arrester wire arrangement.
The navy was eager to incorporate nuclear propulsion for INS Vishal. However, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), which developed nuclear propulsion for India’s ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), said it would take 15-20 years to develop a nuclear reactor powerful enough for an aircraft carrier.
BARC successfully developed a 190-megawatt (MW) reactor for India’s line of four-to-six Arihant-class SSBNs, of which the first two have already been commissioned. However, the larger INS Vishal requires a reactor that can generate at least 500-550 MW. That calls for developing a brand new, miniaturized reactor, ruggedized against a marine environment.
So far, the Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has not even placed a development order on BARC for a 550-MW reactor. In preliminary discussions, each side has demanded that the other one should pay because this is a “development reactor.”
This makes it possible that IAC-2 might be powered by an “integrated electric propulsion system” (IEPS), based on the same Rolls-Royce MT-30 gas turbines that drive the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers, His Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
The ministries of defense of India and the UK have signed a statement of intent (SoI) to cooperate in designing and developing Electric Propulsion Systems for the Indian Navy.
The signing, at Portsmouth, U.K., took place on Thursday during the meeting of the 3rd Joint Working Group on Electric Propulsion Capability Partnership (JWG EPCP), symbolizing the joint commitment to promote indigenous development of niche technologies.
The IEPS was first built by Rolls-Royce in limited numbers for the U.S. Navy’s futuristic Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers. It is based on gas turbines that drive generators to produce electricity. The electricity, in turn, rotates powerful electrical motors that turn the warship’s propellers, driving it through the water.
Rolls-Royce says the IEPS supplies power from “twin MT-30 engines and two diesel engines driving waterjets in a sophisticated combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) mechanical arrangement.” The company’s website says “MT30 has demonstrated excellent performance in service, powering the ship to speeds in excess of 40 knots” (74 kmph). https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/power-systems.aspx
The MT-30 turbine is regarded as one of the world’s most power-dense propulsion systems. It entered service in 2008 when it was chosen to power the high-tech U.S. Navy littoral combat ship, USS Freedom. It also powers the Italian Navy’s future flagship, the Korean Navy’s Daegu-class frigates, the Royal Navy’s innovative Type 26 city-class frigates, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s new 30 FFM frigates.
Another aspect linked with the IAC-2 tender is the Indian Navy’s on-going acquisition of 26 multi-role carrier-borne fighters (MRCBF) for operating from its future aircraft carriers. U.S. aerospace major, Boeing, is pressing hard for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to win the $5-7 billion contract.
However, that horse might already have bolted. On April 28, the governments of India and France announced the signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the procurement of 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy. The contract for 22 single-seater and four twin-seater aircraft includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics.
The INS Vishal proposal is before a high-level committee of the Indian Defense Ministry, headed by the Chief of Integrated Defense Staff. Before the year-end, it could be cleared by the ministry’s apex Defense Acquisition Council, chaired by the defense minister. Given its stratospheric cost, it will also require clearance from the apex Cabinet Committee on Security. But its addition to the Indian Navy’s arsenal will provide a significant boost to one of the most capable U.S. allies in an area where China’s sway is growing stronger.
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