Jaishankar is playing the cheer leader role. India still has insurgence in Northeast(Christians) and central (Maoist). If there is indeed enough hostility between China and India, these insurgence will receive some weapons. On the 3rd carrier, I think that is almost certain in the works, because India is expected to invest almost $2 billion on TEDBF.
Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter bd popeye
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Neither but the navy seems to me to be more ineffective. Indian Navy is a hodge podge of different ships and planes that can't really talk to each other and have different logistics chains.
Russia also did their great job of making sure Indian carrier Vikrant has an elevator size exactly accommodating a folded Mig-29 and then making carrier Mig-29 have the deepest folding wings so no other plane can be lifted by the Vikrant elevator. They also made sure that Indian Mig-29K has the worst radar possible with only 120 km detection distance for a 5 m2 target.
When people tell me that Russia is "anti China" for selling weapons to India I just burst out laughing without bothering to refute them.
Pretty much. What's the alternative...them buying American platforms?
Even if it was not a top fighter, dropping the N-LCA programme is quite a tomato in the face moment... even if it was not what they wanted, it was way better to continue than stopping at this point. Way to late in time but it would have been a good trainer and light 4th generation fighter. These would have fit on Vikrant elevator without problems.
Modern single jets don''t work very well on ski jumps. By the time you've reinforced them for carrier operation they end up being underpowered. The only one is the F-35B. It has vertical landing instead of arrestor recovery, and there are questions about its reliability....remember the one that went for a swim last year.
No matter how bad the LCA is, it can at least take off and land. I doubt the naval variant would be able to do that with a meaningful load.
A light fighter is still a light fighter... payload would have been small but having something is way better than nothing anyway...The naval was supposed to have the bigger engine (f414). India is trying to jump the ladder to a bigger design with the HAL TEDBF , still a long way to go...
Is this not par for the course for said country?
We will see if they make it fit after modifications or just drop the ball again and buy from something else. They are active to start program and not finishing them. It's sad actually.
At least their helicopters programs flying and in production with HAL Rudra and HAL LCH and ARJUN tanks working. It's a start to build upon for the land forces.