Aircraft carriers as conventional deterrents

Indian arguments for carriers emphasize peacetime presence and conventional deterrence alongside their combat power. Nuclear forces address existential and weapons-of-mass-destruction threats, but they offer an awkward response to attacks on ships, trade, or cables below that threshold. A government relying solely on nuclear deterrence would face a choice between disproportionate escalation and tolerating the attack. Carrier groups provide a visible, mobile conventional response with substantial strike capability. This continues a deterrent function once performed by battle fleets, whose mobilization signalled the ability to fight. Visible police patrols provide a smaller-scale analogy for how a continuing presence can discourage hostile action.