Russia officially offered India its class aircraft carrier Shtorm. The proposal was put forward last week during a meeting at the Russian embassy. India would have ready a check from 12 / 15 billions of dollars for the construction of a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Despite the economic availability, the country is not able to design and develop a modern carrier.
The international support requested has attracted all the major builders on the planet who have competed to grab Indian sympathies. The Russian offer could close at 12 billion, a few weeks after the memorandum of understanding signed between India and the United States for technological cooperation.
To grab the Indian sympathies, the Pentagon, aware of the substantial funds available, had put on the negotiating table the EMAILS technology or Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. The electromagnetic launch system allows flexibility of use for a variety of platforms that can take off from the carrier at full load. Despite the joint working group on technological cooperation, nuclear propulsion has never been discussed. This is why the Russians proposed the project Shtorm of the Krylov State Research Center and Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau.
The 23000E Project Shtorm, a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier, was revealed to the public in June of the 2012. Long 330 meters and wide 40 with a draft of 11 meters, the Shtorm has been designed to navigate at a maximum speed of 30 nodes (over 55 km / h). According to the Krylov State Research Center and Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau, the carrier will be able to carry stocks for the crew composed of 5000 sailors, for a maximum of 120 days. The class Shtormfinally, you can board aircraft up to 100. The carrier will be equipped with both ski-jump that of electromagnetic catapults.
In the proposal, Moscow states that there will be no limitation to the sharing of technology, compared to the partial one advanced by the Americans. The Indian navy is the main external operator of the MiG-29K Sea Fulcrum. The Indians are already building two aircraft carriers equipped with electromagnetic catapults. There Vikrant, variant "stobar" from 40 thousand tons, will enter service in the 2017. There Vishal, variant "catobar", take-off assisted by catapult but recovery arrested by 65 thousand tons, will enter service in 2022.
Since the 2000, India has been looking for a new carrier. The options were limited. At that time the only available construction sites (United States, France and Italy) were considered too expensive for India, which is why, in the 2004, they fell back on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, built in Soviet times. For the update, according to the agreements with Moscow, India would have paid 974 million dollars. A year before the delivery (2007), the Indians realized that they would not receive the aircraft carrier on time and that they would have to shell out other 2,9 billion dollars to complete the upgrade of the class carrier Kirov. The only sea trials cost 550 million dollars.
Named "Vikramaditya", it entered service in January of the 2014. A decision on the class aircraft carrier Shtorm is expected in the coming weeks. If the Russians were to sign the agreement, the US would also lose the ability to supply the embarked component. The Pentagon, in fact, hoped to place between 60 and 100 F-35 in India.
(photo: web)
