I see, I will ask Maz at BR. The models you posted have some VLS at the rear just before the Hangar. Any idea what they contain?

Those are Barak launcers.

Although the P17s will have a good weapon complement of around 30+ Shtil, 16 Barak-1, 8 3M-14E missiles, A244S torops, RBU-6000, and 76mm SRGM and two Kashtans. The fact that a ship coming out in 2009 with an arm launched SAM is a bit disappointing.
I guess, the AD layers of the P17s will be 0-5km covered by Kashtans, 5-15km covered by Barak, 15-30km covered by Shtils.

The ship will also have six illuminators as opposed to the four, previously believed. What I am not sure about is if these six illuminators is a four Orech plus two STGR configuration or six Orechs plus two STGRs.

Having the ability to carry two 10-ton ASW helos also makes this ship hit above her weight class. IMO, this ship class is a mixed bag. It has good capability but the age of some of its systems is worrisome. Particularly the Fregat, RAWL-04, Orech and Shtil. One would have thought that a ship that will be joining the fleet in 2009 will have some more contemporary systems.

Yes, I agree about the launch from wingtip. I think that the coastal footage from the UAV are real, but i have serious doubts about the “plane” and the hit. Very powerful “record unit” by the way… Survived the impact, the explosion …the fall to the sea… and the inmersion in the water?…

Is just my opinion of course…

The footage was being transmitted real time to the ground control station.

Could it be some sort of a testbed for the RTIP and/or the BAMS competition?

A couple of “new” pics of the Vikramaditya models

More Russian naval pics here

Hence from the above, the Tejas is equivalent to the Rafale in terms of technology, and will be superior if AESA radar is installed on the same.

I’d hold off on claims like these till the bird flies in FOC configuration. The Tejas has high ambitions and is spec’d out in a manner that takes into account its time of entry. But comparing it to a plane that is seeing combat sorties now, is very premature.

If any one thing that has the potential to kill this program is its engine development. By all accounts, the ball has been dropped in this aspect of the program and is a giant target for those who want this program closed. In every other aspect, the program has made acceptable progress.