Britain may sell its Aircraft Carrier to India

[bengalraider]

Arihant was indigenous and thus rose patriotism among youngsters. But ask them if they would wish to see virat's battle group go to ins vikrant2 or indian queen elizabeth, they would all endorse the former. Taking in the queen will take india's logistical nightmares to a whole new level.

A new battlegroup is being planned for the ADS based upon Talwar's and kolkata's with scorpenes and the INS jyoti(planned yet to be finalized), the Viraat had a battlegroup based upon the older kashin 2 class destroyers and godavari frigates(the delhi class might have come in though) she is also generally accompanied by the INS Shakti(that role may have been transferred to the INS aditya) and rumored 2 kilos/209's(some even say an akula already transferred secretly from russia in 1991).

 

[F-14]

But Br the IN has floted a tender with the Italian ship maker Fincantieri the Following is qouted from BR

Fincantieri announced in Oct 2008 that it won an order to build a fleet tanker, with an option for another, against competetive bidding from leading international players, especially from Russia and Korea. The vessel, which will be built at the shipyards in Liguria, for delivery at the end of 2010, will be 175 metres long, 25 wide and 19 high and will have a displacement at full load of 27,500 tonnes. The ship will be powered by two 10,000 kW diesel engines which will enable it to reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and its propulsion system will feature an adjustable blade propeller. There will also be a flight deck on board for medium-heavy helicopters (up to 10 tons). The ship will accommodate up to 248 passengers – crew and supplementary personnel. Equipped with double hatches, the vessel will be able to service four ships at the same time. In accordance with the new Marpol regulations of the International Maritime Organization concerning the protection of the environment, this will be the first ship of this type to be built with a double hull thereby improving protection of the fuel tanks and avoiding the risk of pollution in case of collision or damage.

Furthermore, in August 2009 it was announced that the Indian Navy has exercised its option for a second fleet tanker which was included in the contract signed in 2008, with delivery in the last half of 2011.

According to an interview published in Defenseworld.net in May 2009, senior BEL executives stated that as part of the offsets for the first fleet tanker, Fincantieri, in 2008, placed an order worth 14.3M euros for the supply of Composite Communication System, Versatile Communication System, ESM System, Electric Opto Fire Control System and their integration on board the fleet tanker. BEL will implement this order in 2009. BEL also expects a follow on order in FY 2009-2010 for the second fleet tanker.

Bharat-Rakshak.com :: NAVY - Fleet Tanker

 

[bengalraider]

@ F-14 AFAIK one Fincianteri vessel is intended to replace INS Shakti, which is due for decommisioning(it's sister ship the INS Deepak has already been decomissioned). About the second tanker let's just say extra logistics is never a bad thing to have.

 

[Rage]

I'm just dying to get into this debate, but a serious lack of time and a jam-packed schedule means that I can but participate only nominally

So, some more illustrations, I hope these will help quantify the debate:


* Varyag (speculative); Vikramaditya (under retrofit); Viraat (post-MLSU, active service); Gerald R. Ford (under construction)

And I also found this interesting image on comparative carrier / groups fielded, and US carrier battle groups, I thought I'd throw in:

 

[bhramos]

hi Rage,
why IN gave more preference to hellicopters then fighters.

 

[p2prada]

hi Rage,
why IN gave more preference to hellicopters then fighters.

We don't have enough submarines. Pakistani Navy has submarines as its primary. India needs more ASW capability. Thus, the helicopters.

 

[gopalking]

Do India still have the money for the British carrier?
We already stuck in the Russia and indigenous carrier.

 

[Yusuf]

Money is not an issue with India these days. With the booming economy and its increasing security demands has made available for the armed forces plenty of money. In fact, each year money is under utilized and returned back to the finance ministry. So there you go.

 

[frankenstein]

has there been any comment from ministry of defence or indian navy about Britain willing to sell its Aircraft Carrier to India

 

[Vladimir79]

We don't have enough submarines. Pakistani Navy has submarines as its primary. India needs more ASW capability. Thus, the helicopters.

Not to mention S&R, AEW, maritime surviellance, anti-piracy, anti-shipping, commando raids..ect.

 

[sandeepdg]

The QE certainly is a very good buy, but that may never happen considering the price issue of close to 5-6 billoin dollars, which is a very big amount, now matter what others say that money won't be an issue with the IN and also the Brits are just speculating, they are not considering it seriously. Also, buying the QE will kill the ADS project.

 

[icecoolben]

0„5 2 billion carrier a good buy. A good buy of one carrier when u can build three at the same cost. Even if paymet for the carrier stretched out by 6 years india would be spending an estimated 2% of its annual budget every year on a single purchase, the aircrafts meant to accompany the ship would cost another 0„5 1.5 billion raising the expenditure cumulatively to 4%. This is what is meant by putting all our eggs in a single basket. Hope india shys away from this deal which has the potential to cripple its industry and militray arsenal.

 

[Yusuf]

With a great portion of money meant for purchase being returned back to the Fin Min every year, yeah we have no money to buy a carrier!!

 

[Vladimir79]

With a great portion of money meant for purchase being returned back to the Fin Min every year, yeah we have no money to buy a carrier!!

So use the money to increase production of IAC. India could become an exporter of carriers to maritime nations. Putting Indians to work and the possibility of making a profit should take precedence to buying a carrier you will get ZERO work orders for.

 

[Yusuf]

So use the money to increase production of IAC. India could become an exporter of carriers to maritime nations. Putting Indians to work and the possibility of making a profit should take precedence to buying a carrier you will get ZERO work orders for.

IAC is also coming along. But the QE is a major leap for India. Indias own super carrier is still a distance away. If India has the money to spare and the requirement, then there is no harm in going for it. If the Navy didnt need it, it would not have sent the EoI for nothing.

 

[blade]

When the prensent and future requirments of indian navy is considered along with the business potential associated with indigenous construction of Aircraft carrier its very hard to see wheather an indigenization of this kind of defence iteam is of any real help to indian navy or just an attempt to satisfy false ego. Rather than buliding a 48,000 ton AC an out right purchase of a couple of AC's from international vendors whould'nt have been too bad a decision where as in the same span of time the ship yard coud have come up with a couple of destroyer or a trio of frigate. As its been prooved beyond doubt that indian defence body suffers heavily due to lack of top class planing. I will not be surprized if indigenous ADS turns out to be another inapropriate step. An outrageously sloppy deal
on Goroshkov is some what understandible when looked from the prism of high tech help that India continues to receive from Russia but a decision of bulding something which we are going to procure in a mximum number of 3 leaving other vital requirements severely delayed is always questionable.

 

[sandeepdg]

0„5 2 billion carrier a good buy. A good buy of one carrier when u can build three at the same cost. Even if paymet for the carrier stretched out by 6 years india would be spending an estimated 2% of its annual budget every year on a single purchase, the aircrafts meant to accompany the ship would cost another 0„5 1.5 billion raising the expenditure cumulatively to 4%. This is what is meant by putting all our eggs in a single basket. Hope india shys away from this deal which has the potential to cripple its industry and militray arsenal.

Yes it is, its a 60000 ton brand new carrier..... not an old non-functioning AC sitting in an Arctic shipyard for 20 years for which we are paying around 2.5 billion dollars. Plus how many AC do you think that India can build at one time with just one shipyard capable of building such ships ?? Only one. As Yusuf said, the Indian super carrier is a long way off, probably more than a decade away... and it is supposed to be of similar size as QE. Why wait for 10-12 years, when we can get one now ? And also, i clearly pointed out that 5-6 billion dollars is a huge amount, i never said it is cheap. Anyway, good quality stuff is never cheap. Its not that i meant that the Indian Navy will buy it right away, i am just saying that it will be a great technological leap for IN if we can buy it.

 

[ppgj]

On 30 September 2002 the MoD announced that the Royal Navy and RAF will operate the STOVL F-35B variant. At the same time it was announced that the carriers would take the form of large, conventional carriers, initially adapted for STOVL operations. The carriers, expected to remain in service for 50 years, are designed for, but not with, catapults and arrestor wires. The carrier is thus said to be "future proof", allowing it to operate a generation of CATOBAR aircraft beyond the F-35.

Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

so we can't operate mig 29k or N-lca. which a/c you want to buy? is f-35 available? if yes, are you ready to pay their price?

Yes it is, its a 60000 ton brand new carrier..... not an old non-functioning AC sitting in an Arctic shipyard for 20 years for which we are paying around 2.5 billion dollars.

beleive your navy. they have made their homework.

Plus how many AC do you think that India can build at one time with just one shipyard capable of building such ships ??

right. but why do we need en masse production? our threat perception has been taken care of by our IAC and the russian one.

Why wait for 10-12 years, when we can get one now ?

even for QE, we have to wait another 7-8 yrs. by then both our aircraft carriers will be in operation. besides it needs design changes with arrestor cables to turn into a STOBAR AC.

 

[Yusuf]

Ppgj, it has already been said that if the deal goes through they will make it a ski jump with arrestor cables.

 

[p2prada]

The QE sale may also be a rumour similar to the Kitty Hawk sale. yawn