India is sour again! After seeing the launch of my country's third aircraft carrier Fujian, Indian military expert Prakash said in a high-profile manner:
At present, the Chinese navy is far from the huge and complex aircraft carrier combat experience accumulated by the US, British and Indian navies for decades. The implication is that in terms of aircraft carrier combat experience alone, the Indian Navy is the big brother.
It is true that the Indian Navy has owned aircraft carriers early enough. However, whether it was cheated by Russia in purchasing aircraft carriers or it failed several times to launch domestically produced aircraft carriers, is such an Indian Navy really worthy of being so proud?
talks and laughs with scholars, and communicates with white people. Bai Ding will take you to have a deep understanding of where the Indian Navy's self-confidence comes from.
Indian Navy
Are Indian experts qualified enough?
Can Indian military expert Prakash be considered a true expert? Don't tell me, it's true. This dear friend of once served as the deputy chief of staff of the Indian Navy and is also a senior carrier-based aircraft pilot. From a professional perspective on , this guy is really an expert. So is what this expert said true?
Judging from the combat experience of aircraft carriers, countries such as the United States and Britain had researched aircraft carriers as early as the eve of World War II, and throughout World War II, they applied aircraft carrier operations into practice.
Whether it is in the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, the shadows of aircraft carrier operations of these two countries can be seen. In terms of actual combat experience with aircraft carriers, Britain and the United States are indeed experienced..
Experience in using aircraft carriers
After talking about the United Kingdom and the United States, let’s go back and look at India. India’s earliest aircraft carrier was in the early 1970s. Although that aircraft carrier was a second-hand product that was eliminated by the British, the Indian Navy Indeed, it also has an aircraft carrier.
So has the Indian Navy really used aircraft carriers in practice? This is true. During the third India-Pakistan conflict, the Indian Navy also sent its only aircraft carrier to the battlefield and achieved considerable results. According to this view, what this Indian expert said does make some sense.
So since the first half of what this expert said is correct, is the second half of the sentence true? This is more questionable. First of all, the United States and the United Kingdom do have experience in large and complex aircraft carrier operations. Does India really have it?
The aircraft carrier under construction in India
The answer is non-committal. Even if the Indian Navy had an aircraft carrier in the 1970s, it had indeed experienced actual combat. However, I really don’t agree with it in terms of its size and complexity, especially when the Indian Navy’s opponents are not even equal to itself. , how much experience can they have?
It is nothing more than an actual battle. In today's military modernization, what can such an actual battle prove? With , we can completely achieve or exceed the so-called actual combat experience through training, simulated actual combat, and even learning from foreign military forces. So from this perspective, this Indian expert can say that half of is true, and the other half is a boast about .
In fact, this dear friend can understand what he said. After all, the Indian Navy had aircraft carriers in the last century. Now that it has been surpassed by our country, I feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Indian aircraft carrier
Its own domestically produced aircraft carriers frequently have problems. Compared to our country's domestically produced aircraft carriers which are launched one after another, India will naturally be a little envious and jealous, which is not incomprehensible.
It is no exaggeration to say that aircraft carriers are simply a thorn in the heart of India, and India has never been able to let go. What is the reason for this?
What is outrageous? India's domestically produced aircraft carrier has not been in service for 24 years. During the construction period, the design was changed many times and it was even made way for civilian ships.
Since the 1970s, India has really tasted the benefits of aircraft carriers. Therefore, in 1999, the Indian Parliament approved the plan to build a domestic light aircraft carrier . However, what India itself did not expect was that this domestically produced aircraft carrier not only failed to enter the scene, but also made it the laughing stock of countries around the world.
India's domestic aircraft carrier
The road to India's domestic aircraft carrier
This domestic aircraft carrier, named "Blue Sky Guardian" by India, initially started construction in 2006 and was designed by the French. Originally, the Indians had high hopes for this aircraft carrier.
However, their investment in this aircraft carrier, which they have high hopes for, is only US$470 million, and the construction period is expected to be about 4 years. How outrageous is ?
First of all, in terms of investment amount, take the United States as an example. The budget for building just one destroyer can reach 14.5 billion U.S. dollars. India has a budget of less than 500 million U.S. dollars and wants to build a larger design. A complex aircraft carrier is simply a pipe dream.
Then let’s calculate the construction cycle again. India’s construction time of 4 to 5 years is quite outrageous. Even the United States takes 6 to 7 years to build an aircraft carrier. Where does India get its confidence?
Aircraft carrier construction
Some people may say that India itself is building a light aircraft carrier with a displacement of more than 40,000 tons. It is reasonable that it takes less time or money. Well, even if it makes sense, let’s start building it. However, since the construction started in 2006, India's domestically produced aircraft carriers have begun to be disrupted frequently.
From the name to the tonnage, from the design to the framework, it can be said that it has been changed from beginning to end.
To give an inappropriate analogy, let's say that India wanted to build a car at the beginning. After constant modifications, the car was not built, and the drawings have become and a large truck .
However, what is even more outrageous is that the construction of the aircraft carrier started in 2006, and the keel will not be installed until 2009. The Indian shipyard said at the time that the aircraft carrier would be completed in four years, not the aircraft carrier, but only the keel of the aircraft carrier.
Installing the keels
I thought that the keels were all installed, and now we could start construction. However, what followed was a long shutdown.
The reason for the suspension of work is said to be that the quality of some parts is not up to standard, or to make way for civilian ships. In short, this aircraft carrier, which has high hopes, has been postponed indefinitely.
As for when to postpone it, from striving for 2014, it was postponed to no earlier than 2018, and then the service time was changed to 2025.
Those who knew that India was developing aircraft carriers, but those who did not know, thought that India was designing spacecrafts.
The construction process of the aircraft carrier
What is even more intriguing is that this semi-finished aircraft carrier has been launched into the water several times. We don't know why India's aircraft carrier is so tossing. The next time someone else's aircraft carrier is launched into the water, India has to launch it three times. What's even more exaggerated about
is that the original budget was only less than 500 million U.S. dollars. Until now, the complete aircraft carrier has not been seen, but the budget of has reached an astonishing 2.81 billion U.S. dollars, which is nearly 6 times more.
Fortunately, I don’t know whether it’s the banknote capability that has worked, or whether India has started to take it seriously. , the domestic aircraft carrier, has once again changed its service time and is expected to enter service in August 2022.
I don’t know if you believe it or not at this time, but Bai Ding is not very sure. It is said that India's own aircraft carrier is still a piece of cake, but instead it judges others. I really don't know where India's confidence comes from.
India is confident
However, what is even more strange is that India’s aircraft carrier journey is still extremely bumpy. At the beginning of the 21st century, Russia promised to give India a medium-sized aircraft carrier with a displacement of 40,000 tons for free. This made the Indians excited. Incessantly. But what happened next made India unable to laugh.
Will the pie really fall from the sky? At least India in the early 21st century really believed it.
At that time, India had begun to develop an obsession with aircraft carriers, but with the retirement of its first aircraft carrier, they urgently needed to purchase a new aircraft carrier to replace its original position.
India was already disappointed after Britain refused to sell its retired Invincible-class light aircraft carrier. But I never expected that Russia would come to help in times of need and bluntly stated that it would give a medium-sized aircraft carrier to India for free. Is there really such a good thing in this world?
Russia provides help in times of need?
Pies Falling from the Sky
It’s unthinkable to say that a pie fell on the head, but India was hit on the head by an aircraft carrier, which is a bit unusual.
At that time, India's obsession with aircraft carriers was rare in the world. After all, India was the first Asian country to have aircraft carriers, and it had also tasted the benefits of aircraft carriers. It is normal to have some obsession with aircraft carriers.
However, the aircraft carriers owned by the Indians are all obsolete and unused by others. Therefore, not only are the maintenance costs high, but their service life is also very short.
When India’s first aircraft carrier is retired, India urgently needs to find a replacement. At that time, all India could consider was the Invincible-class light aircraft carrier of its old club, the United Kingdom, and the Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier that the United States had just retired. However, neither the United States nor the United Kingdom are willing to do this deal with India.
Retired aircraft carrier
While the Indians were frowning, the Russians came with an aircraft carrier. I saw the Russians carrying a 40,000-ton medium-sized aircraft carrier, and waved their hands to express that it was free of charge.
This makes Indians laugh out of their dreams. As a common saying goes, there is no way out but there is a bright future in every village. In line with the principle that not taking advantage is a fool, the Indians happily accepted the gifts from Russia. But is Russia really so charitable? Of course,
is not the same. This is not the case. They also put forward conditions, that is, aircraft carriers can be free of charge, but the maintenance must be done in Russia. As for the maintenance fees, the Indians will naturally pay for them.
Aircraft carrier
India Think about it, it is a good deal. After all, even if you buy a British and American aircraft carrier, you have to pay for the maintenance yourself. Nowadays, it costs nothing to buy an aircraft carrier, so it is very cost-effective to pay some maintenance fees.
Therefore, the two parties finalized, India will pay a maintenance fee of 1.8 billion US dollars, and Russia will take action to repair . No matter how cost-effective this deal is, India only needs to wait for the aircraft carrier to be delivered to its hands and everything will be fine.
But what happens next is a bit magical. Russia is also half-assed in repairing aircraft carriers. First of all, the former Soviet Union built aircraft carriers in Ukrainian shipyards, so Russia is lacking in experience.
Russia has been repairing the aircraft carrier
so much that Russia has been repairing it for a long time. was supposed to be delivered in 2008, but the final delivery time was in 2013. Not only that, Russia also cost India more maintenance fees, which increased from 1.8 billion to 3 billion . Now India is really dumb and unable to express the pain of eating Coptis chinensis.
Generally speaking, it is better to have a complete industrial system and independent research and development skills in your own hands. India once had the opportunity to have a complete industrial system, but they were lazy.
Indian Industrial Manufacturing
Now when I need to conduct independent research and development, it is shelved for various strange reasons. On the other hand, our country is exactly the opposite of India. If nothing else, it can stand out in the field of aircraft carriers, right?
I don’t know what you think after reading it. You might as well discuss it with Bai Ding.
