Austin: Mate it’s a pleasure reading your posts (how ever long) at least they don’t dribble on and restat the same point over and over again (like my lecturer from Programing did last year- no wonder I can’t Program)!

Ok some points raised here, (Actually I’m suprising myself by actually talking in a thread about India- whilest I have nothing against them, i can’t stand the “We’re better than them attitude that haunts these threads, same goes with Pakistani, Chinese and American threads).

India will join the elite club of nations with indigenous aircraft carrier when defence minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the steel cutting of the Air Defence Ship at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on the 11 April 2005. With the 37,500 ton ship, India will join the ranks of Russia, United States and Britain, the only other three countries with this capability.

Excuse me, what about France, Italy and Spain? Argentina has plans also but as yet they have no ship.

The ADS will operate a mix of aircraft which will include the MiG 29K, LCA, Sea Harrier, ALH Dhruv and the Kamov 31 helicopters.

So the Naval Teejas will be a deffinate then? When are they planning on getting this into prototype form and flying?

The ship will have the capacity of accommodating at least 20 aircraft at a time.

So the design is going to be quite small then? Imean to operate those type of a/c all at once you would have small numbers available, possibly a compliment such as this:
6x Teejas
4x Migs
4x Sea Harriers
2x Dhurv’s
2x Ka-31’s

Not really a good force is it? though I think one type would suplant another, say Migs instead of Harriers, thus increasing the compliment of that particular type.

“The Gorshkov would be able to operate the MiG 29Ks only whereas we would be able to deploy both the LCA and the Mig 29K on the ADS”, says Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

I really can’t see the Indians being happy with this idea, and the thought of Sea Harriers deploying on the Gorshkov would not only appeal to me, but some people in the higherarchy of the IDF. Though I would also like to see the Teejas on her, this may happen with a refit that india has not mentioned.

The ship would be able to accommodate around 1600 officers and men on board. The ship can carry maximum 30 aircraft of which 17 could be accommodated in the hangar.

hmm is it just me or is this a contradiction in terms already? They state bavoe this that the ship will hold 20 a/c, yet here they state 30 and that only 17 will be in the hanger, what about the rest? If there are going to be 20, then where are the other three? If 30 that leaves almost half the force somewhere else, ludicrous.

The ship will have two runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires.

I take it the two runways mentioned will be like the Kustenzov, and the landing strip will be the angled flight deck, but is Three wires enough? Carrier doctrine has shown over many years that four wires are best, three might lead to many over shoots.

The ship after construction and trials is scheduled to be inducted in to the navy in 2012. After its induction, India will have two aircraft carriers in service as the INS Viraat would have been de-inducted by then.

De-Inducted??? I’ve never heard it called that before! So when is Virrat due to be paid off?

Jonesy: As always mate you make some very good points backed up with hardcore logic, I bow to you 😉

Still what would the possibility of a modernday Ise class be, incorporating the features that you mention? A ski jump aft and the harriers could land Vertical, some coiuntries would be interested in that, though I must admit that the San Class and the Ossumi class would probably be better for this.

Jonesy: Skyhook frigates would be interesting to say the least. I would have thought that those who design them would have taken the fuel bunkerage into account. Our Seahawks on our Adelaide class fly at least 20 times each deployment between Sydney and Japan or the US, if what you are saying is true, then perhaps our FFG’s have a bigger fuel reserve?

Anyway back the Skyhook, A SH equiped frigate with a usable compliment of Sea Harriers (Say 4) would be roughly the same size as a modern F-124 of the German navy IMHO. This would be able to carry enough stores and weapons to equip the force and be used in a different form to what we would know, these would be like Marine ships used to go in and give covering fire to support small action groups. Or maybe they could be used as a front to establish no fly zones whilest a major action group is gathered and sent in! In anycase, I think there would be a use for these ships with their small force.

PII: Mate I’ve read many books over the years that state this fact, including one which had an account from an RN pilot who raced a Yak pilot once up around Norway I think it was.

I have a book here called “Soviet Weapons of War” and it too states that it Forger was not as good as the harreir in the speed department.

That’s it Steve, thanks, personally both ideas in that paper where very valid and it was the famous British Politicians that killed off such a successful idea.

Imagine the Skyhook Frigates in service today, how many harriers would be out there? Every builder would add this as an option into their design. The killing off of the skyhook also killed off the harrier sales and any hopes of marketing a replacement on a global scale.

Maybe Australia will follow soon and finally retire the old DHC-4 Carribou’s before something bad happens to those!!!

I’m sticking with my Trainer Mig, mainly because I know that Crobato is from Croatia 😉 He’s thin the area most likely to find this type of plane!

OK Crob, you’ve had your fun mate, what is it???