Hypothetical conventional CATOBAR carriers for export.
- Thread starter proelite
- Start date
Export? There isn't many non-Western nations that can afford to operate a carrier. Saudi Arabia and maybe Iran would be the only ones that can afford it. Russia would be too proud to purchase such a big ticket item from China as they have their own ship building industries to protect. And then there's the Mistral incident to consider. Maybe a joint venture where China provides the catapults and power generation while Russia does everything else.
These countries listed might show interest. State of the art EMALs CATOBAR carrier isn't available on the market.
UAE
Pakistan
Thailand
Indonesia
Malaysia
South Africa
Brazil???
PLAN would operate more advanced variants of the ship for a high-low mix for carriers. Would be economical to have these lightning carriers around that shares hull and engines with your LHDs.
Maybe with the exception of the UAE, the rest on that list simply don't have the budget for carriers. Remember, there is a lot more to it than just acquiring a carrier with fighters (i.e. infrastructure, supporting equipment, economy, etc...). Look at what China have done in building up their carrier fleets to give you an idea on how complicated and expensive it is; and they're not done yet.
Thailand operated a carrier when their gdp was much smaller. The supporting infrastructure for all the ships will be provided by China.
Maybe the countries don't even buy it, but rent it. The ship itself can be loss leading in order to entice countries into adopting Chinese weapon systems.
If we are talking about a brand new 50k+ tonne carrier with a gen 4.5+ air wing then only the top 10-12 on this list could realistically afford it without gutting every other branch of their military. If we further narrow it down to country's willing to buy military gear from China we have a grand total of one - Saudi Arabia.
I can not see Russia buying (from anyone) what would be their flagship, at least not the current leadership.
I don't think one can calibrate the upkeep of owning a PLAN CATOBAR with what carriers traditionally cost in the west. I would argue that countries that are operating or interested in operating Western LHDs can afford the PLAN CATOBAR.
Without implying that Pakistan has any ambitions to acquire such systems in near future, but if I could chalk down a shopping list of defense acquisitions made (completed or in pipeline) by PA, PAF, and PN post 2015, nobody could possibly imagine obtaining such weapon systems while bearing in mind the country's economic circumstances and defense budget.
Thus, essentially, a nation's doctrine determines whether or not it needs a weapon system, not economy or defense budget.
I agree that a nation's defense policy sets the tone where a plan is formulated to acquire whatever is needed over time. However, to dismiss the economic (and political) reality would be disastrous. Look at the UK for example.