One of the potentially most interesting developments to emerge from President Obama’s recent trip to India was news that the United States and India have decided to embark on cooperative efforts with respect to naval aviation. Of course, India and the United States already enjoy some degree of collaboration, as the U.S. has assisted the Indian Navy with pilot training and deck management for several years. Still, the open discussion of this relationship implies a more expansive, longer-term cooperative framework than has previous been clear.
India has taken a much different road with its carrier force than the United States. It’s current carriers are transplants from the United Kingdom and Russia, albeit with significant modification. Instead of pursuing a common design for its three carriers, the Indian Navy has settled on three different designs, with potentially serious implications for compatibility and air crew training. Both INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant will use a ski-jump to launch aircraft, a system never employed on a U.S carrier.
It will be interesting to see whether the discussion about carrier cooperation and development simply reaffirms the existing degree of collaboration, or whether it extends to operations and even naval architectures.
31/01/15 Robert Farley/The Diplomat
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India has taken a much different road with its carrier force than the United States. It’s current carriers are transplants from the United Kingdom and Russia, albeit with significant modification. Instead of pursuing a common design for its three carriers, the Indian Navy has settled on three different designs, with potentially serious implications for compatibility and air crew training. Both INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant will use a ski-jump to launch aircraft, a system never employed on a U.S carrier.
It will be interesting to see whether the discussion about carrier cooperation and development simply reaffirms the existing degree of collaboration, or whether it extends to operations and even naval architectures.
31/01/15 Robert Farley/The Diplomat
