Tomahawk ASMs are long retired. did the Iowa ever field Harpoons ? I am sure there is space, but one just has to go with standard fit. Kirov has the heaviest SAM and CIWS armament among naval ships and should not have a issue with a few harpoons.

26 miles ? the Kirovs heavy ASMs have a range of 100s of miles.

if you teleport them to within 10 miles of each other and let them loose, then Iowa has a chance but again the Kirov can also smack the Iowa from 10 miles with ASMs.

why not be realistic and add in the two R530Ds which the Viper has to avoid first, then the R73 (yes india has supposedly with some difficulty integrated it in non-HMS mode).
the Mirage also has a higher top speed and lighter wing loading.

these 1-vs-1 dogfights are just what PAF hopes for, but sorry thats not how the game is played in real world.

first official plate cutting for ADS was done today
http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=177102

and IN chief making some noises about larger carriers , minister sez two new shipyards
planned
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/latestnews.asp?ncode=27101

aditya I believe IAF has six mig29 sqdns, not three. pls check scramble and correct me if wrong.

has anyone taken a closeup look at Mig25 and Mig31 fuselages ? how do their fit n finish compare to say a Mig27 or Mig29 ?

experience has shown that its very hard if not impossible to put well prepared airbases out of commission for more than a few hrs. all countries have well drilled repair crews, machinery, quick setting concrete and utility helos for such situations.

Its easier to defeat flying fighters than seek them out hiding on the ground unless one has 101% air superiority like the US did in recent campaigns.

Fail Safe (1964) was a good one.

not caricature or comedy like Dr Strangelove.

some snippets….

JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – APRIL 06, 2005

India paves way for arms and upgrade package
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent
New Delhi

[Qatar Mirage2000-5]

“The fighters have 80-85 per cent of their operational
life intact,” Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said,
adding that talks would start soon. The Emir of Qatar,
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, will make a two-day
visit to New Delhi beginning on 14 April.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) team evaluated the nine
single-seat Mirage 2000-5EDAs and three two-seat
Mirage 2000-5DDAs two years ago and declared them
“suitable for induction”. They were acquired by Qatar
in 1997
………..
Mukherjee said the CCS cleared
the Rs7.62 billion purchase of 11 Dornier 228 aircraft
for maritime surveillance, along with spare engines
and a Rs4.76 billion upgrade for the navy’s fleet of
14 Sea Harrier Mk 51 multirole fighters. The Harriers
will be retrofitted by Hindustan Aeronautics in
collaboration with Israel and equipped with IAI-Elta
EL/M-2032 multi-mode fire-control radars together with
advanced avionics and Rafael Armament Development
Authority Derby beyond-visual-range air-to-air
missiles.

The CCS also approved the order of nine offshore
patrol vessels to be built at Goa Shipyard at a cost
of Rs10.89 billion. A further six platforms are likely
to be ordered later.

The CCS also revised HAL’s intermediate jet trainer
programme, saying development would now cost Rs4.67
billion against the 1997 estimate of Rs1.8 billion.
The project will be completed in nine years instead of
eight, the committee noted.

An Rs3.24 billion composite propellant facility under
the Defence Research and Development Organisation at
Nasik in western India was also authorised. This
should produce 100 tonnes of propellant annually for
the nuclear-capable long-range Agni and short-range
Prithvi missiles. The CCS further approved
establishing imagery-interpretation teams to cover the
army’s 37 divisional headquarters: a capability now
available only at command and corps levels. This will
initially cost Rs3.93 billion, plus Rs3.83 billion
annually for maintenance and operation.
———————————

JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – APRIL 06, 2005

——————————————————————————–

India to begin construction on air-defence ship
RAHUL BEDI JDW Correspondent
New Delhi

India will begin constructing its first indigenously
designed 37,500-ton air-defence ship (ADS) at Cochin
Shipyard Limited (CSL), in the southern state of
Kerala, after years of delays due to technological and
financial problems. The cutting of steel is set to
start on 11 April.

The 225 m-long and 58 m-wide Project 71 vessel, for
which Rs32.61 billion ($725 million) has so far been
allocated, is expected to enter service in 2012.
…………..
The Naval Design Bureau used a “modular approach” for
the ADS to reduce construction time and the layout for
300 of its 2,000 “compartments” has already been
dispatched to CSL, Vice Adm Prasad said.

The shipyard will follow the integrated hull outfit
and painting method for construction and the vessel’s
keel should be laid in October 2007.

Steel for the ADS has been sourced locally following a
steep price hike in Russian steel, which was
originally under consideration and a principal cause
for the programme’s delay. Some 20,000 tonnes of steel
are required.

The vessel will be powered by four General Electric LM
2500 gas turbines, producing an optimum speed of 28 kt
and a logistic endurance of around 45 days. It will
carry a complement of 1,400 personnel, including 160
officers.

Italy’s Fincantieri SpA is providing CSL designs for
integrating the propulsion system, engine room
layouts, validation of systems, tests and sea trials.

The technical part of the Fincantieri contract will
last two years but assistance will continue until
commissioning.
……………

In an unrelated development, Vice Adm Prasad said the
IN would conclude by year-end an agreement with the US
Navy (USN) to purchase submarine rescue vessels, which
it is currently lacking. The USN will also render
assistance to IN submariners in the event of a mishap.

Negotiations date from 1995 but ended abruptly after
Washington imposed sanctions on India for its 1998
nuclear tests.

The IN has already made a downpayment of $100,000 for
the rescue vessels and a USN evaluation of India’s
submarine fleet is under way.

……………