The Varyag/Shi-Lang 
The Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov
Posted on 07/18/2012 6:24:57 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
From Russia With Love? China vs. India Carrier Showdown
There’s a pronounced aerial component to Asia’s march to the seas.
The Indian Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the soon-to-be-commissioned INS Vikramaditya, recently took to the Barents Sea for its second shakedown cruise. After putting the ship through its paces, the Russian shipyard Sevmash will reportedly deliver it to the Indian Navy at year’s end—culminating a prolonged, painful, sometimes comical overhaul process that converted the Soviet “aircraft-carrying cruiser” Admiral Gorshkov into a more conventional flattop featuring a ski jump for vaulting short-takeoff warplanes into the skies.
Meanwhile, China’s first carrier, the Soviet-built vessel formerly known as Varyag, is underway for its longest sea trials since first casting off lines last summer. It will reportedly cruise the Bohai Sea for 25 days. Whether New Delhi and Beijing intend to build blue-water fleets around carrier task forces is no longer in question. They do, and they are.
Which aspiring sea power has the advantage in carrier aviation, China or India?
Tough to say.
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) probably gets the nod from a purely material standpoint, whereas the Indian Navy holds the edge in the all-important human dimension.
One caveat. I’ve come to doubt how meaningful side-by-side comparisons of armaments are when abstracted from their larger political, strategic, and geographic context. They have an unearthly feel. Battle is the arbiter of which force is superior. Myriad factors like geographic distance, logistics, the number and capability of escort ships, and the availability and striking power of shore-based fire support shape tactical engagements. Indeed, they can decide the outcome.
Think about it. If the two fleets met in the China seas, Chinese commanders would bring not just the PLA Navy surface fleet but short-range submarines, aircraft flying from airfields ashore, and
(Excerpt) Read more at thediplomat.com ...
The Varyag/Shi-Lang The Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov
India will never find all the bugs buried in that ship.
One ping
India’s Russian carrier technology is better than China’s Russian carrier technology.
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