We have managed a much more difficult feat. Integrating a reactor in a sub is much more difficult than in a ship.
Consider the reactor, power transmission, all electric systems,
EMALS, together it is tougher than anything we have done.
Sarcasm noted. Russia is all we need. No problems. We already jointly developed the current reactor.
The only trouble being Russia is as clueless as us when it comes to making a next generation aircraft carrier.
JVs. Nuclear propulsion is no longer as complex now as it had been in 1988.
JVs with whom? Propulsion along with a lot of other requried techs is still difficult, even if one is making another ship of a established class.
We are inducting more than just 2 ships of the same class. The next development will happen immediately after the completion of the P-15 project. We are a growing Navy not a stagnant navy.
The plans are for two medium-large aircraft carriers, and thats it.
we will soon be in an arms race with China.
We are in a arms race with PRC, however they are no USSR or USA.
There is no comparision between the industrial and technological capabilities of the US or Russia compared to India. We do not have many companies vying for a single project in India. It will soon change in a decade. BSNL had to compete with Tata Indicom for setting up a part of the AFNET. If the Viper is chosen in the MRCA deal, LM will be satisfying the offset clause with a JV with Tata in the development of some new systems.
And thats why we have to be careful.
We cannot buy the same technology that is being used on the Nimitz. Even the French go into a JV for developing a catapult system for the CDG. The Nimitz system was obviously too big.
Its a USN Type C13 catapult.
A Electro-Magnetic Launch for Carriers based on a all electric ship is the way to go, the size of the ship doesnot matter, its a system, all it needs is the electricity.
IN has requirements for much larger capacity reactors. The 80MW reactor is obviously not enough. Expect new reactors in the future.
We can expect a whole new design from the reactor, generator to the propulsion, still it will take some more time.
We are getting carried away from what France is now and what India is now. I am talking about the 2020-2030 period. I read a CIA report somewhere that said IN is expected to be among the top 3 in the world by 2025.
France has what, 1 carrier, 4 SSBNs, 6 SSNs, some 20 destroyers and Frigates. And half of them due for retirement. France still cannot setup the funds required for the new carrier she requires.
By 2020 we plane to have some 40 destroyer and Frigates, 3 carriers, 5 SSBNs, 1 or 2 SSNs etc. We are trying to achieve a gola of being a global force by 2030.
Private participation will only increase our ship building capability. In the 2020 period, we are mainly working on replacing our existing ships that are due for retirement. But, post 2020, IN will work on capacity buillding rahter than replacement.
In the future, IN may as well be a 500 ship navy competing with the navies of US, China and Russia.
MN: 1 aircraft carrier, 1 helicopter cruiser, 2 amphibious assault ships, 2 Landing Platform Dock , 23 frigates(official term for destroyer/figates), 9 corvettes, 4 ballistic missile submarines, 6 nuclear attack submarines, with plans to include newer classes of ships the funding problem will remain, its not a good time to allot funds.
IN by 2020: 30 destroyer and frigates, 3 carriers, 3 large amphibious assault ships, the SSBN and SSN part has not been commented on in any details, first 3-5 will lean towards SSBNs.
3 P15A, 4 follow ups to 15A, 3 Delhi class, 7 P17A, 3 shivalik class, 3 modified Talwar Class, 3 Talvar class, 3 BP class, 12-18 corvettes.
Well a lot of things can happen in the future
As of date a lot of our ships are imported. With a lot of French equipment. Except for their newest ships and nuclear propulsion, their ships and our ships are almost the same in technology.
They have rafales taking off and landing from the CdG, they have successive classes of nuclear submarines (SSNs and SSBNs) with a active program working on the next class, they had commissioned the first La Fayette class back in 1996, first of the Horizon class is in service.
Less imports and more JVs in no way makes us technological outcasts. We have so many JVs with Israel and every one of them is world class. We are working on the mayawi suite which will be used on the LCA and Israeli F-35. In 2000, the Israelis built a more advanced version of the Greenpine for us. We are working on new radar systems for our ships.
If JV includes joint development, us it is of great advantage to us.
Israel can not use its home developed systems on the F-35, that is not a option for them.
LCA's radar will be the 2052 initially. DRDO has already initiated the development of a new radar with the Israelis for future LCA variants. As for the engine, how long do you think India will continue using the foreign engines. Maybe in a decade we will have Kaveri on the LCA.
I think the very first LCA planes will have 2032.
May be in a decade, may be in two, however it’s not worth waiting for that to happen before inducting the LCA, and that is what I have been arguing about.
Private companies have the best management and the projects are almost always well managed. It depends on how well the military is funded and how well the military funds the private sector for development. Do you think LM and Boeing developed the F-22 by themselves? US govt paid most of the money.Also, private companies in ship building means more ships can be built quickly.
Yes that will happen, and the US gov. pays the initial amount of money for these projects, however it’s a long time before our private firms start churning out F-22s or Sea wolfs.
It’s a start, lots of distance to cover, many decades probably.
This is happening only now. I am talking about a decade in the future, when India has a decade of experience building almost 60 ships for the IN using imported design principles. We have requested for help in modular construction for the new stealth frigates. Do you think, in a decade, we will stand up and ask for help again? No.
After the first few steps we are capable of walking on our own.
In a decade, we still very well might be importing gas turbines, radars, missiles etc. In a couple of decades we will be exporting all of that.
I do not think the complete indigenous projects are feasible in a 2020 time line.
Nevertheless, integration is not something that will take an entire decade to acheive. Standardization helped a lot.
Not a clue depends on the design, the current array is not that complicated (as compared to the Tophat), however it’s a project that will keep on churning out successive generations for a long time to come, and must not be rushed, its too important.
(Coming up with successive generations of T/R modules will take).
We will find many planes like that. This is a good start.
or this though it was never finished.
The Russians plan on operating 6 ACs. So, expect them to make new aircraft for Carrier aviation. We can get into JVs with Russia if the Americans play spoilsport. After all the deadline is only after 2020.
Both these planes never flew from a carriers catapult so are of no help at all.
I do not even know when they plan to start the design study or the type of designs they are considering, so can not comment on that, they do not seem to have any current capability to design these type of planes, however if they do plan 6 carriers, we can develop a plane with them, at least the risk and costs will be cut down a little.
USA will sell us almost any equipment/technology short of military reactors even consulting from the firms doing the development/construction of the current Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers; they will not however allow us to modify their equipment.