12/15/2023 0 Comments Us carrier battle group cost![]() ![]() The Russians and the British, having toyed with the idea of making do without carriers for nearly a decade, are coming back with one carrier each. The US operates 11 carriers and 70 submarines. The oceans now have 41 aircraft carriers that belong to 13 navies. All the same, most modern navies are seeking to balance both types of assets (carriers and submarines) and doctrines (sea control and sea denial). Pakistan, like Russia, does not have much of a coastline, and thus cannot have many bases. Book Available on Amazon & Pentagon Press India, like the US, has a long coastline and, therefore, can have bases from where carrier battle groups can operate. The doctrines also evolved out of geopolitcal compulsions. After the 1970s, however, India acquired submarines, too. While India went for a carrier as far back as 1961, the Pakistan Navy put a premium on submarines. The rivalry and divergence got reflected in the Indian subcontinent, too. The trends led to two rival maritime doctrines-of sea control (by American carriers) and sea denial (by Soviet submarines). The debate is as old as the start of the Cold War, when the US acquired carrier after carrier, while the Soviet Union went for fleet after fleet of silent submarines. Many maritime strategists, too, have been arguing for a submarine-centric force. They are visible, and therefore vulnerable, to ships, aircraft and submarines. Unlike submarines, carriers operate in battle groups-with destroyers, corvettes and frigates accompanying them-and thus have no stealth element. He added that the visible deterrence provided by a carrier battle group was something a submarine could not achieve. ![]() “They cost a packet and if hit by one enemy torpedo, all this will sink to the bottom of the sea,” said a Navy officer.Ībhijit Bhattacharyya, member of the London-based think tank International Institute of Strategic Studies, said: “Between a submarine and an aircraft carrier, the former is comparatively economical and safer to operate, is difficult to be detected, and does not require an accompanying flotilla of surface vessels.” Rawat’s comments have triggered a debate on whether carriers are white elephants. Its sister ship, which naval designers have been working on since 2012 and want to name Vishal, is expected to cost between 75,000 crore and 1.5 lakh crore. Vikrant is expected to cost 019,590 crore ($2.8 billion). India’s lone carrier in operation, the Russian-made Vikramaditya, cost a whopping 012,500 crore ($2.35 billion). The main argument against carriers is indeed their cost. He has left the call to the defence ministry, which he said might review its decision after INS Vikrant becomes operational. Or, he asked, why not develop shore-based capabilities? Rawat’s idea, apparently, is to build more submarines and develop islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea into “unsinkable strategic hubs”. He favoured submarines, citing the Navy’s worries about its dwindling underwater capability. Carriers, he said, were expensive and vulnerable to torpedoes. As chief of defence staff, whose job is to prioritise military procurement, Rawat questioned the wisdom of having three carriers. But in February, Gen Bipin Rawat poured cold water on their blueprint. ![]() India’s second carrier-Vikrant, which is the first to be made in India-is getting fitted at Cochin Shipyard naval engineers have been drawing up designs for a third. ![]() Today, though, when the Chinese navy is projecting power with two carriers, while building a third and planning for two more, India is finding itself at sea. That single carrier was enough for several decades, since no other Asian power wanted to control the Indian Ocean. When HMS Hercules joined the Indian Navy as INS Vikrant in 1961, India became the first Asian power to have an aircraft carrier. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |