India exercises it new carrier with its existing carrier in joint operations

India's newest carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, R33, which India paid the Russians to rebuild and refit from the old Russian Admiral Gorshkov vessel, arrived in the Arabian Sea off of India.

It was greeted by India's other carrier, the INS Viraat, R22 and its task force.

The two groups then combined and began performing joint exercises. The two carriers, three guided missile destroyers, four guided missile frigates, and a replenishment tanker made up the combined group.

The INS Virkamaditya will embark an air wing of 20 Mig-29K strike aircraft which have already been purchased from Russia and have already been delivered and worked up into an operational wing in India. The Viraat operates a wing of 12-16 Harrier aircraft.

The Indian Navy has already launched the INS Viraat replacement, the INS Vikrant, which will be put into service in 2016 and will embark 24 Mig-29K aircraft.

The Indians have taken the Hermes and kept her going all these years. They will decommission her in 2014 or 2015 as their new Vikrant comes into service, another CATOBAR carrier...this one of their own design, but very similar to the Italian Cavour.

The Mig-29K is what is saving the Mig factories now. Most builds are going to Sukahoi. The Indians will end up buying at least 45 of these aircraft, and perhaps as many as 70. They are decent, very decent aircraft.

The Chinses J-15 is modeled after the SU-33, but I would not call it a “copy.” The Chinese took a single prototype aircraft (ore-production) they got from the Ukraine and married it to all of the improvements and upgrades they put to their J11B. With a lot of composite structure, new avionics, a glass cockpit, new radars, and new sensors and weapons systems (it will be able to use most of the Chinese air to surface as well as air to air weapons, it is a modernized and improved SU-33. A very capable aircraft that our F-18 and later F-35 pilots will all take very seriously.

Anyhow, I have been keeping very close track of the PLAN for the last 14+ years.

The Rising Sea Dragon in Asia
http://www.jeffhead.com/redseadragon/

Also of all of the current aircraft carriers of the world:

World-wide Aircraft Carriers
http://www.jeffhead.com/worldwideaircraftcarriers/

I have spent a lot of time in India, in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi.

They do have a lot of poverty...but they are making some progress there, especially in the last 15 years. But there is a LOT more to go. THeir caste system, thugh officially not part of their “law,” is nonetheless so engrained into their culture that it is defacto “law.” But some progress is being made there too. It’s just slow.

Someone said we pay for their poor...not really. It is true American charitable organizations help, and a lot of Christian churches do missionary and outreach work there. They also receive UN monies...which part of which does come from the US. However, there is not enough money in the west or anywhere else to address their ills. They are going to have to help themselves and rise out of it.

Yes, there is a lot of corruption in their government...but sadly, there is within our own too.

Here’s the thing. India is a critical player in southern Asia...and their form of government and their basic instincts are a lot closer to our form of government than Pakistan or others. India should be a natural ally to us in the region, and particularly with the containment of China.

Someone else asked why they do not feed their poor more instead of developing nuclear weapons.

Seriously?

They are staring down the barrels of two loaded nuclear “guns.” The Pakis have nuclear weapons. The Chinese have nuclear weapons. India had to have a deterrent to those two...and it has worked. Hard to feed the poor if they are destroyed by a foreign, belligerent powers.

I am glad to see the Indian Navy coming of age. We will need their help and I hope we keep making overtures to them, and selling them more military technology and growing closer to them. It would be good to get them, over time, out of the Russian camp...or at least in a multi-polar relationship that includes us.

As I said...our carrier task force in the Indian Ocean will feel a lot better...particularly in coming decades as the Chinese continue to rise...with a couple of friendly carrier groups from the Indians available to assist if, God forbid, it ever becomes necessary.

I was pondering that idea after I posted...something that Obama and other leftest here in the US want to do - to shift the responsibility over to countries like India - so the US, British, or French Navies don’t have to get involved...i wonder if Japan will start resizing or be allowed to re-size - Taiwan has been - and now begins a whole new era of rising sea powers....with trade as it is coming from the Asia arena - seas will become an economic hotbed of activity...it already is now!

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