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India's upcoming second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2) is expected to see a price increase of roughly $300 million to $500 million compared to the first ship of its class, INS Vikrant.
According to sources, this extra budget will fund crucial design changes enabling the warship to launch and recover advanced unmanned aerial systems, including Medium and High Altitude Long Endurance (MALE and HALE) drones and deck-based combat drones.
While this preliminary estimate is yet to be officially confirmed, the project is awaiting final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The original ship, INS Vikrant (designated IAC-1), was constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited for approximately ₹20,000 crore to ₹23,000 crore ($2.5 billion to $2.7 billion).
This price covered the vessel's complete engineering and building process, though it excluded the cost of its full weapons package and embarked fighter jets.
Ordered in 2004, the carrier took about 13 years from its keel-laying in 2009 to its commissioning in September 2022.
This lengthy timeframe highlighted the steep learning curve India’s shipbuilding sector overcame to master the production of warship-grade steel, complex aviation facilities, and system integration essentially from scratch.
For the new carrier, the Indian Navy is opting for a "repeat order" strategy. Instead of designing a larger, entirely new supercarrier right now, IAC-2 will closely mirror the 45,000-tonne design of INS Vikrant.
This practical decision helps the defence sector mitigate financial and scheduling risks while moving closer to the Navy's long-term goal of maintaining a three-carrier fleet.
Cochin Shipyard has noted that by reusing the established design, supply chains, and technical expertise gained from IAC-1, the construction timeline for IAC-2 could be drastically cut down to just seven to nine years.
Where the second carrier will notably depart from its predecessor is in its aviation capabilities. Naval leaders have confirmed that the ship’s flight deck and internal facilities are being redesigned to handle next-generation unmanned aircraft.
This includes deck-based unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) derived from projects like the DRDO Ghatak, as well as HALE drones that offer far greater maritime surveillance range than traditional early warning helicopters.
Consequently, the IAC-2 air wing will pioneer a modern blend of piloted fighter jets flying alongside autonomous reconnaissance and strike platforms, reflecting the Navy's emerging focus on manned-unmanned teaming operations.
Despite these technologically ambitious upgrades, the financial increase over the first ship remains strictly contained. Pushing the total cost to around $3 billion represents only a 20 percent premium over the higher-end cost of INS Vikrant.
This relatively modest price bump will cover the effects of inflation and rising material costs, as well as the necessary modifications to the flight deck, hangars, and command systems required to manage mixed operations.
Reusing the proven Vikrant-class hull is the primary reason for this cost control, as it completely bypasses the expensive, extensive research and development phase that made the first carrier's development so lengthy.
The Indian Navy aims to secure formal government clearance for IAC-2 in 2026. The Defence Procurement Board has already reviewed a baseline proposal for the project—initially estimated around ₹40,000 crore—before the drone-specific modifications were fully integrated.
If current projections hold, this strategy will deliver India’s second domestically built aircraft carrier a decade faster than its predecessor.
It will also serve as the Navy's first major operational step toward integrating drone warfare into carrier strike groups, setting the stage for the much larger 65,000-tonne supercarrier (IAC-3) concept that remains under long-term study.
