1. Cost of EMALS is just over $700 mil for the second Ford and will likely fall to around $600-650 mil once the production stabilizes (Brar can provide more info).ShauryaT wrote:Viv S: Please go through the IN budget and please compute the costs for the EMALS and let us know under what scenario a $20+ billion carrier is affordable. The reported articles says $20 billion for the carrier only not including its aircrafts.
2. $20 bn for the ship alone is obviously nonsense. That's more than the R&D + procurement cost for the first 100 kton Ford (the succeeding vessels are cheaper).
The RN is acquiring two 70 kton carriers for £6.2 bn ($8.5 bn). In 2013, when the UK govt was planning a switch to a CATOBAR configuration (with EMALS), construction on the ship had already commenced (on fixed-price contracts) making a re-design at that stage unaffordable - the plan was dropped because the cost would go up by nearly 40% to ~£10 bn. That's still only $13.5 bn at the current exchange rate. For two carriers.
Rs 1.35 lakh crore figure is either wrong, or includes the aviation complement... or CSL intends to declare 50% profit on revenue.
Seychelles is about 2000 km south of the Socotra and the Gulf of Aden, with Mozambique further south. And while they may accept the presence of a listening post & peacetime resupply base, we've got another thing coming if we believe we can run air missions out of Seychelles in wartime. They aren't stupid enough to directly participate in a military conflict against China. Nor is Vietnam, for that matter.Also, in terms of sea control there ARE alternatives to super-duper carriers. Alternatives by way of bases in Seychelles, Nha Trang and Mozambique with LRMP and Long range bombers, which can supplement 3 ADS and its flotilla with Tanker support, AEW and if need be long range fighters such as the Sukhoi from say Car Nicobar? India has the capacity to establish this sea control of the IOR on Indian terms, without mortgaging ourselves further financially or in geo-political terms. Establishing such bases will go a long way towards projection of power than any foreign designed toy can.
The EMALS would make the Vishal a toy-can to about the same extent as the GE F404 makes the Tejas a toy-plane, or the LM2500s make the Vikrant a toy-boat. The Navy already has P-8Is in service & MQ-9s and more P-8s on order, while the S-70 is the favourite for the helo tender. At this point, its absurd to draw the line at accepting design assistance and ordering a catapult system.