Indian aircraft carrier "fourth child" is coming

India's domestic aircraft carriers will officially serve on August 15th. "At that time, India will become the sixth country that can build aircraft carriers after the United States, Britain, Russia, France, and China."

The Indian Stan Times said on the 10th that the Indian Navy's first domestic aircraft carrier "Victor" returned to the mother port in Kachin after ending the fourth sea test on the 10th local time. Next it will complete all delivery preparations and will officially serve on August 15. "At that time, India will become the sixth country that can build aircraft carriers after the United States, Britain, Russia, France and China."

Speaking of the "Vikrant" is also very aggrieved. Its related development plans began in 1999, when only the United States, Britain and Russia were able to develop modern aircraft carriers in the world. If the "Vikrant" can really launch the water in 2010 as the Indian Navy's earliest plan and serve in 2011, and they can really "have their own domestic aircraft carriers before France and China."

As a result, due to the repeated changes in the plan, insufficient technical reserves, and the supply of key shipbuilding raw materials, the construction progress of the "Victor" has repeatedly delayed. Since the laid keel in 2009, it has been engaged in the launching ceremony three times. When the "Vikrant" was tested in the port in 2020, the "Verate" aircraft carrier who was originally prepared to partner with it had retired, and India's long -awaited triple aircraft carrier formation has never taken shape.

But no matter what, the "Vikrant" is always in service. Applying the words that Chinese military fans are very familiar with recently. It joined the Indian Navy in 1961, participated in the Indo -Pakistan War, retired in 1997; the second "Verate" aircraft carrier also came from the UK and retired in 2016; "Super Raiwang" aircraft carrier is in service.

According to a photo released by the Indian Navy, the Vikrant conducted a relatively complicated test in the fourth sea test, including the take-off and landing test of India's domestic advanced light helicopter (ALH), carried the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter jet Used to test in the glory and deck, as well as solid ammunition firing of AK630M speed guns.

As for the combat capability of the "Vikrant", the first thing the old driver wants to emphasize is that don't compare with the Fujian ship of the "third child" of Chinese aircraft carriers -anyway, we are running in the "strongest world" direction Chase. But in all fairness, the paper data of the "Victor" is indeed good: the full -load displacement is about 40,000 tons, the total length is 262 meters, the width is 60 meters, and the maximum speed is 28 knots. It has a 14 -story deck with 2,300 compartments, which can accommodate 1700 crew members, including the cabin specifically prepared for female officers. According to the Indian media, about 76%of the "Vikrant" is produced by India, including the main hull's main construction materials, navigation communication systems and key weapons. In terms of combat capabilities, the "Victor" uses the "skating take-off/blocking landing" mode of typical Russian aircraft carriers. Early warning helicopters, US-made MH-60R multi-purpose helicopters and domestic AlH helicopters.

It is really necessary to compare, the "Vikrant" can really represent India, and the "Izumo" class light aircraft carrier that has just renovated Japan competes for "second in Asia". Although the "Izumo" can be equipped with an US-made F-35B stealth fighter, this is the biggest advantage of it than Indian aircraft carriers. In fact, because the "Izumo" uses the "Slide and takes off/vertical landing" mode, the landing weight of the F-35B is greatly limited, especially the loading and battery life capacity during daily training are affected. In addition, the "Izumo" flight deck space of only 20,000 tons is limited, and the dispatching difficulty is very difficult.

The "Vikrant" is also a medium -sized aircraft carrier who uses the diagonal deck, which is more calm in the fighter aircraft and recycling. In addition, it also has obvious advantages in the number and type of carrier-based aircraft, especially the card-31 warning helicopter, which has obtained the basic aircraft carrier air situation perception. In contrast, the Japanese "Izumo" without a early warning aircraft can only fight under the cover of the Japanese shore -based airliner or supplement as a US aircraft carrier, and lacks the independent ocean combat capabilities of Indian aircraft carriers.

As for the weakness of Indian aircraft carrier-based aircraft, the Indian Navy now intends to purchase new carrier-based aircraft to replace the active MiG-29K. At present, the "Ge Ge Geuretic M" of Dasau in France and the F/A-18E/F "Super Hornets" of the Boeing Company of the United States are included in the candidate list. Since the beginning of this year, these two fighters have conducted combat capabilities at Gua's Indian Navy Base. The Indian Navy is about to release a detailed report on their performance to determine the final procurement object.

In addition, there are speculations that as the US-India relations continue to approach, the possibility of providing F-35B stealth fighters to India in the future will not be ruled out, thereby further improving the combat capabilities of Indian aircraft carriers and making them in terms of carrier-based aircraft performance Watch it with the "Izumo" in Japan-don't forget that Japan has not got the F-35B ordered by the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The Indian Navy claims that with the service of the "Vikrant", India will temporarily tie China in the number of active aircraft carriers.Obviously, the Indian Navy still takes the main prevalence of China.No matter how we laughed at the various tossing of Indian domestic aircraft carriers during the construction, but in the principle of "the enemy is widening", it is still an opponent who cannot be underestimated in the future with its advantages in the Indian Ocean.Source: Matthew Tu, an old driver No. 10

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