Aircraft Carriers: Hunter or Hunted?

ARUN PRAKASH, former Chief of Naval Staff tracks the growth of the aircraft carrier as the mainstay of major navies as well as the different paths in the arena of carriers and carrier aviation adopted by the major navies and what could come in the future. In a valedictory address as the Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation, "Aircraft Carriers in the 21st century: Doctrinal, Operational and Technological Challenge", he counters critics of aircraft carriers and states that optimal utilization of carrier deployment for sea control, protection to friendly units, power projection and survivability rendered them invaluable in any military's arsenal and the greater need was to overcome operational, doctrinal and technological challenges.