drone… drone… aren’t these just model planes?

Pic1
Canadian Halifax class frigate FFH 336 Montreal
Norwegian Oslo class light frigate F302 Trondheim
German Brandenburg class (Type 123) frigate F217 Bayern
Portugese Vasco da Gama class (MEKO 200 type) frigate F332 Corte Real

Pic 2
Berlin class (Type 702) multi-product replenishment ship A1412 FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Dutch Jacob Van Heemskerck (“L”) class air defense frigate F 813 Witte De With (sold to Chili)
Canadian Halifax class frigate FFH 336 Montreal
American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate (Long Hull Group) FFG 8 McInerney

Pic 3
American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate (Long Hull Group) FFG 8 McInerney
Canadian Halifax class frigate FFH 336 Montreal

Pic 4
Berlin class (Type 702) multi-product replenishment ship A1412 FRANKFURT AM MAIN

Pic 5
Berlin class (Type 702) multi-product replenishment ship A1412 FRANKFURT AM MAIN

Pic 6
Berlin class (Type 702) multi-product replenishment ship A1412 FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Dutch Jacob Van Heemskerck (“L”) class air defense frigate F 813 Witte De With
Canadian Halifax class frigate FFH 336 Montreal
American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate (Long Hull Group) FFG 8 McInerney

Pic 7
Portugese Vasco da Gama class (MEKO 200 type) frigate F332 Corte Real
German Brandenburg class (Type 123) frigate F217 Bayern

It seems all ships are flying the Dutch red-white-and-blue. If these pics are from today, then this is in recognition of April 30, the day on which the Dutch celebrate the birthday of their Queen Beatrice. This year she has been queen for 25 years i.e. a jubilee.

why is it strange for the Virkramditya to have boilers ?

It’s not strange although, with a few exceptions, most warships these days have diesel engines and/or gasturbines for propulsion.

It might – just might! – be able to mount the Erickson Erieye radar but even that may be too big.

Projected STOVL-variant, developed form the Yak-45

On the 140 without the hanger, the Box just above the guys head, is that some sort of optics? If so, why is it facing aft and not mounted high up either on the bridge or on a mast?

The boxy thing is quite common on helicopter equiped frigates. I’don’t know exactly what it is but am guessing that it is some sort of landing aid.

The two countries may not be ready yet for such cooperation in the area of naval design and construction.

In 1978, during the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina (1976-1983), the two countries reached the brink of war over control of three Beagle Channel islands, Picton, Lennox and Nueva.

Chile and Argentina share a borderline stretching over 5,000 kilometres along the length of the Andes mountains, which was established through a July 1881 treaty that also granted Chile sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan, the western portion of Tierra del Fuego and the islands south of the Beagle Channel.

After numerous territorial disputes over the channel, an international arbitration panel declared in May 1977 that the islands of Picton, Lennox and Nueva definitely belonged to Chile. But Argentina refused to recognise the ruling.

Crisis soon broke out. On Dec. 21-22, 1978, the Chilean and Argentine fleets planned to face off in the disputed waters, but unfavourable weather conditions prevented the positioning of warships, the take-off of helicopters and the landing of troops.

On Dec. 22, Pope John Paul II intervened as a mediator and named Cardinal Antonio Samoré as his representative. The resulting negotiations finally reached a successful end on Nov. 29, 1984, with the signing of a Peace and Friendship Treaty between the countries in the Vatican.

Chile maintained control of the three islands, while Argentina was granted sovereignty over the waters in the eastern portion of the channel.

While the Beagle Channel islands dispute was resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, armed incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery; Chilean territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims.

Distinguish:
– the basic fully equiped airframe (incl. fixed targeting systems and gun)
– mission fuel
– mission ordnance

Mission ordnance is subdivided into
– 1200 rounds of 30mmx113 ammo for the M230 Automatic Gun
– up to 76 (2.75 inch) Hydra-70 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets in up to 4 nineteen tube M261 Light Weight Launchers, and
– up to 16 AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles plus racks.

A single loaded M261 Launcher weighs 493 – 660 lbs, depending on the specific type of rocket loaded.

A single AGM-114 Hellfire weighs 100 – 108 lbs depending on version.

A ADEN/DEFA 30X113 B HEI cartidge weighs 442-452 grams, with a projectile weight of 245 grams (i.e. approx 1 lbs per round)

MISSION LOAD OUT:
1200 rounds of 30mm ammo = 1200 lbs
AND
16 Hellfire = 1600-1728 lbs
OR
76 Hydra rockets in 4 19-round launchers = 1972-2640 lbs
OR
8 Hellfire + 38 rockets = 1786-2184 lbs

Estimated total weight of mission ordnance
at least: 1200+1600=2800 lbs (1270 kg)
at most: 1200+2640=3840 lbs (1740 kg)

In other words, about 1,5 tons of ordnance typically