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Russia Moves Mistral Stern Construction to France
The construction of the stern for the first Mistral helicopter carrier being built for the Russian Navy will be finished in France because a Russian shipyard cannot meet the deadline specified in the contract, a senior Russian defense official said Tuesday.
“We will have the whole stern made there [in France], we won't take risks so as not to delay the contract,” Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov told reporters on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget.
Borisov said the decision had been made as it became evident that the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg, subcontacted to build the stern for the ship, was not going to meet the deadline...
MiG 29K in flight over the Indian islands
@Dillinger I think it is not unreasonable to assume that the US would dictate such conditions- just like the Russians did with the Viki (MIG-29Ks and KA-31s/28s). So they could very well dictate the entire air group ie helos (S-70B) and the fighters (SH/F-35C) and maybe even the AWACS (E-2D/V-22). Now this is a big "if" because, frankly speaking, the EMALS is advanced tech but I don't know whether the Americans have India over a barrel in the same way the Russians did with the Viki deal. But then again they do have a monopoly on both steam and EMALS catapult tech. What is interesting here though is that the IN has shown some strong interest in almost all this gear- V-22/E-2D, S-70B (in the final stages of the N-MRH deal and looks to be the front runner) and even F-35 (also remember the IN was breifef on the FireScout UAS). So it isn't as if such a package deal would be unfortunate for the IN, in fact it may well be a case of "many birds, one stone".
Coming to the fighter, I'm actually of the opinion that the IN is more interested int he F-35C for the IAC-2 than the SH. With the emergence of the J-31 and other 5th gen fighters who are said to be designed with carrier ops in mind, the IN can only be looking at next-gen fighter options for 2020 and beyond (IAC-2 and beyond).
I have non doubt the IN would much rather prefer a N-FGFA or N-AMCA fighter for the IAC-2 but God only knows when they will ever be ready for operational service. As such the F-35C is the only next-gen carrier fighter option available to the IN- the way I see it. It would make sense for the IN to go for the F-35C anyway without eve factoring in a EMALS package deal, if the N-FGFA and N-AMCA do not materilise in the next decade or so.
The F-18 SH is a damn good machine and the "Silent Hornet" with internal weapons pods, CFTs and improved avionics even more so. But I wouldn't bet on a SH going up against a VLO 5th gen fighter and coming out all that well.
A few Grolwers and a couple of F-35Cs would do nicely though!
If the IN can sway it this is the deal they should be looking to get:
-EMALS
-E-2D
-S-70B
-V-22 (for supplies/utility role)
-EA-18G Growlers
I'm sure I'm living in fantasy-land but oh well- a guy can dream!
Bracing myself for the onslaught from @sancho!
The Growler is just in a class of one right now bro- maybe by 2020 the situation will be different. And, yes, if the N-FGFA is available by the time the IAC-2 is ready (2022-4) then- hell yeah, go for it! But if it is nowhere in sight and the N-AMCA is just as absent then you can't have a $2+ BN USD asset sat around with no fighters to fly off it- this would be the most absurd situation and the poorest of poor planning. The F-35C is a tried and test (by that time) platform and a safe, off the shelf, bet that will be ready to step into the breach- should the situation arise. Ideally I'd LOVE a N-FGFA line up on the IAC-2 and beyond with maybe even a mix of N-FGFAs and N-AMCAs.By 2020, we'll be requiring all of E-2Ds (for CATOBAR-based AEW ops), S-70B (looks like it's winning),
V-22 (in a varied type of roles), and EMALS (if IN prefers them).
But I don't see any use for EA-18G or F-35C because we can fit existing MiG-29K/KUB or shore-based
MKIs with advanced electronic equipment while for fighter role, we will have naval FGFA.
Just my 2 paisa.
The Growler is just in a class of one right now bro- maybe by 2020 the situation will be different. And, yes, if the N-FGFA is available by the time the IAC-2 is ready (2022-4) then- hell yeah, go for it! But if it is nowhere in sight and the N-AMCA is just as absent then you can't have a $2+ BN USD asset sat around with no fighters to fly off it- this would be the most absurd situation and the poorest of poor planning. The F-35C is a tried and test (by that time) platform and a safe, off the shelf, bet that will be ready to step into the breach- should the situation arise. Ideally I'd LOVE a N-FGFA line up on the IAC-2 and beyond with maybe even a mix of N-FGFAs and N-AMCAs.
Let's hop bro! But I can only base my projections on what I know right now and there has been very little talk of the N-FGFA/PAK-FA to date and I am not eve sure whether the Indian side/HAL has built this design/requirement into the contract with the Russians- maybe @sancho knows more on this.All I can say is that I honestly think a bunch of N-PAKFA prototypes will already be flying by the
time IAC-1 (Vikrant) is commissioned. By the time IAC-2 is commissioned, we can have all
the carrier-borne FGFAs we need!
By 2020, we'll be requiring all of E-2Ds (for CATOBAR-based AEW ops), S-70B (looks like it's winning),
V-22 (in a varied type of roles), and EMALS (if IN prefers them).
But I don't see any use for EA-18G or F-35C because we can fit existing MiG-29K/KUB or shore-based
MKIs with advanced electronic equipment while for fighter role, we will have naval FGFA.
Just my 2 paisa.