Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

bd popeye said:

When I look at these photos of the ROKNS Dokdo I see some outstanding workmanship by the Koreans. I also see similar fittings, doors hatches, etc to the USN.

Remember the ROKN is building two possibly three more of these type ships.

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With all the excitement about the PLAN NAval review and the vessels that attended, and with the recent developments of the

...we missed this great pic of the Russian work on the Indian

Seems like she has a new paint job, has completed the hull work, and been floated to anbother spot for final fitting too.

Jeff great photo. Pics of that ship are hard to find.

Vakramaditya, Varyag are proof how difficult it is to build and maintain an CV buy nations not ready for the financial burden of building, operating and maintaining CVs and their associated air wings.

These ships have been in re-fit off and on for several years..Who knows when they will ever merge as fighting ships

bd popeye said:

Jeff great photo. Pics of that ship are hard to find.

Vakramaditya, Varyag are proof how difficult it is to build and maintain an CV buy nations not ready for the financial burden of building, operating and maintaining CVs and their associated air wings.

These ships have been in re-fit off and on for several years..Who knows when they will ever merge as fighting ships

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Agreed. The Russians have allowed their capability to build and miantian carriers to fall into almost complete disarray.

They built several of those "Flogger" carriers, and then two of the Kuznetsov, one of which they are now maintaining fairly well. But that was a long time ago and you have to maintain that ship building capability and keep at it if your want to retain that capability.

The Indians are building their own now..but they are fledgling and have a long way to go. Same for the PLAN and anyone else wanting to embark on that road for the first time.

The UK has had the Illustrious class to work on and kept them up to speed...but the new QE class are much larger and more complex so they will have to reaquire a lot.

The French have maintained ongoing capabilities with one or two vessels, but really, only the US has maintained a large infrastructure and necessary capability over the years.

Now, more and more nations are re-aquiring it.

It will be interesting to watch and the thing will play itself out over several life times...meaning you and I will watch it start, but it will be our grandkids, late in their life, who will end up seeing who actually can maintain such a capbility.

It will be interesting to watch and the thing will play itself out over several life times...meaning you and I will watch it start, but it will be our grandkids, late in their life, who will end up seeing who actually can maintain such a capbility.

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Jeff, I'm pretty sure that one nation will maintain a viable Carrier force in the future.

After all when a nation has 11 of these;

PORTSMOUTH, England (April 5, 2009) The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) is anchored in the English Channel as a ferry prepares to transport Sailors to Portsmouth Harbor. (US Navy Photo/released)

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...and 11 more of these..

ROTA, Spain (March 13, 2009) The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) is moored at Naval Station Rota, Spain during a scheduled port visit.(US Navy Photo/released)

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..Well else what can one say?

That's the end of my nationalistic bravado..

bd popeye said:

Jeff, I'm pretty sure that one nation will maintain a viable Carrier force in the future.

After all when a nation has 11 of these;

[qimg]http://i43.tinypic.com/2q83t7b.jpg[/qimg]

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...and 11 more of these..

[qimg]http://i40.tinypic.com/243pwl2.jpg[/qimg]

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..Well else what can one say?

That's the end of my nationalistic bravado..

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In addition to the vessels themselves...there is so much else that goes into the building and support of them.

The UNREP capability and all the vessels that go with it.

The large numbers of CG and DDG eccort vessels and SSNs to ensure their safety.

The bases and naval facilities to support hem at home and abroad.

The training...what other nation buys 200+ advanced, jet training aircraft simply to train their pilots before ever turning them loose on the top line fighters?

See my T-45C Album here on SD

Such huge commitments are necesaary if a nation wants a large carrier and amphibious assault capability.

Good to see that the Vikram project finally seems to be moving to conclusion! I have my doubts about how suitable the ship is for STOBAR operations but I hope it works out in the end, mainly because I'm a big MiG-29 fan and I'd love to see them finally operating off a carrier!

As with Varyag for PLAN, Vikram's role is primarily to allow for the training of a core of CARQUAL pilots for the indigenously designed ships which will follow by the end of the next decade. Both nations went for a surplus Russian ship, but the Indians gave the work to Russia and conducted it in the full glare of publicity. In contrast China has played it's cards very close to it's chest. The Varyag project could have suffered even more technical problems and cost overruns than Vikram but we're unlikely to ever know!

Both the "Vikram" & Varyag may well be used as a training carrier. But as I've pointed out I'm sure those nations will not fully dedicate those ships to a training role. Even the USN has no dedicated training carrier. Training for pilots is done on whatever ship is available. As for the crew they are trained by seasoned crewmembers as they report aboard. Plus the USN has a abundance of fully trained carrier sailors.

bd popeye said:

Both the "Vikram" & Varyag may well be used as a training carrier. But as I've pointed out I'm sure those nations will not fully dedicate those ships to a training role. Even the USN has no dedicated training carrier. Training for pilots is done on whatever ship is available. As for the crew they are trained by seasoned crewmembers as they report aboard. Plus the USN has a abundance of fully trained carrier sailors.

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IMHO, both navies will use those carriers operationally to one extent or another.

BTW, the deck of an operational carrier is one of the most dangerous places on earth. If you haven't ever seen it, nothing illustrates that better than the following video:



Well worth the watch.

OMG!

He has to be one of the luckiest people ever to have lived!!

Neutral Zone said:

OMG!

He has to be one of the luckiest people ever to have lived!!

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Pretty phenominal.

Apparently, his helmet coming off as it did because it wasn't strapped on, and being sucked into the engine first saved his life becaused it FOD'd and stopped the turbine in the engine before his body could.