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Originally Posted by mweber24
50 million for a functional LPD is a steal. It is not as capable as a LPD 17, nor will it last as long, but it doesn't cost 1.5 billion (actually more) either. It should be noted that the US Navy STILL uses this class of ship and expects to for years to come. If you expect a ship as old as an LPD to be free of maintenance costs, you have never served on a ship. The well deck works, the plant will move it, and it can carry troops, and land helicoptors. The combat systems equipment and C2 equipment was marginal while in use for the US Navy, India would be better off gutting the ship in any case.
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India wants to create a new amphibious force, the American ship which might have only a life for 10 years, is supposed to familarize Indians with the use of
LPD's. Indians will be buying either the mistral class or Austin class to be built at ho,e.
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As for the contract stipulations, let me put it clearly:
The US does not want India to invade Pakistan (or Burma, or Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh) to sieze territory using a former US ship. Might be bad for US relations with these countries, no? Using the ship to fight terrorists or to DEFEND against another nations attacks (perhaps by conducting an amphibious counter attack) is not generally considered offensive use by the United States (we do it all the time for our defense).
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We have never invaded a country except 71, when we did we split it into two. If we do invade Burma I would expect the world to think of it as a boon.
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Bottom line, if you don't want any strings attached to your military equipment, build it yourself.
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We have the French, British, Russians and Germans hovering around us like bees. We have always bought from them. India is one of the few countries which can buy from very damn place on earth. If the Americans cant play ball they will loose out on the most lucrative arms buyer in the world. We pay money unlike your other allies we dont buy on aid nor do we ever want to also.
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As for Russian gear, you could not pay me enough to serve on ANY of their death traps. Damage control nightmares, designed to kill their users. Keep in mind, the US PRIDES itself on minimizing its own casualties, the Russians had a habit of taking shortcuts to look tough and not giving a crap about the individual, especially a conscript. Russian equipment is tactically (in some cases) impressive, but operationally and for long term use, it is junk. You would have been better off trying to get an Essex class carrier built in WW2 than Gorshkov, a failed design when it was new (a CV with a bow full of missiles? how stupid was that...)
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We have an aircraft carrier currently being built in my city for the past 2 years. Gorshkov was a mess and is a mess. It was bought so as to give India an aircraft carrier 'fast' to replace our ageing viraat. We all know how that worked out. Now we have Gorshkov coming in 2011, and IAC(Indian aircraft carrier) coming in 2012. Our third carrier(already approved by parliment) coming in 2015, there are talks of a fourth which will be taken up after the first IAC gets commissioned.
Regarding the Gorshkov CV design. You are looking at from a American prespective. From the Soviet Prespective it was built to counter-the American carriers, its purpose was not to 'be' like the American carrier which had another uses of power projection etc. Do I think it is a good solution, No. But they had their reasons to put missiles int he baku and kuzentov. Their projected nuclear carriers which were never built because of Soviet collapse was based on the American design.