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Friday, December 12, 2008

Three navies building aircraft carriers

China — Russia, India and China will be building aircraft carriers for their navies almost simultaneously over the next five years or so, using many of the same design concepts, technologies and equipment. This is unprecedented in the history of shipbuilding.

The three countries are currently enjoying healthy political relations, smoothing the way for Russia’s continued military cooperation with both China and India with regard to aircraft carrier technologies.

The news that China is about to start building its aircraft carrier is no secret in either Russia or Ukraine.

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2 comments:

  1. "Unprecedented" is the wrong word, I think. Prior to WW2 the US, Japan, and Great Britain all had very active carrier programs. Germany, France, and Italy were toying with carriers in a half-hearted way.

    After WW2 many Western navies, including Canada and Netherlands kept war-built light carriers on the strength for twenty years or more. It was the advent of the helicopter and the antiship missile that terminated the golden age of light carriers, since they enabled frigates to carry similar firepower at far less cost.

    I think the latest carrier craze is a post-Cold War development related to the receding nuclear threat and newfound prosperity due to globalization. Carriers are seen as essential symbols of power in the new world of limited wars against weak adversaries.

    Given the global economic collapse, I would be very surprised if Russia's very ambitious carrier program got much traction. India has a long history of inefficiency and graft in its military-industrial complex and its economy is very closely tied to that of the US. They might build a carrier, but it won't appear for a generation. China certainly has the cash reserves to convert its export economy to an inward-focused one but, as the author noted, they are engaged in a very expensive program to catch up with Western military technology on all fronts simultaneously. Something has to give.

    Britain's carrier project is the first casualty of the economic crisis. Their delivery date has been delayed and if the economic crisis goes on another year it seems very likely (to me, anyway) that the second one won't get built.

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  2. Whats great is that China is bound to have EVERY detail of Australia's Collins Class Sub now that an Israeli Jew has installed and written code for the sensor and weapons systems which are allegedly U.S/Israeli modified systems.

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