India and China have both received aircraft carriers recently.
Both the Chinese and Indian carriers are built domestically.
It will take a while for both carriers to reach their full potential.
China launched its newest and most advanced aircraft carrier on June 17th.
The first aircraft carrier to be completely designed and built in China is Fujian. The Chinese military is seen as a potential rival to the US Navy's nuclear powered supercarriers.
A number of Asian countries are getting new carriers this year. India's navy took delivery of its new ship in the last days of July.
The arrival of Vikrant is a major milestone for India, which is Asia's second largest military power and shares a border with China.
Both carriers are important firsts for their countries. This is how the two flattops stack up.
The carrier Fujian is 1,035 feet long and displaces 80,000 tons. It's slightly larger than its predecessors, which were about 1,000 feet long and displaced between 60,000 and70,000 tons.
China bought a Soviet-designed carrier in 1998 and modified it before it was put into use. It entered service in 2019.
Conventional engines limit the power they can generate and the time they can spend at sea.
The command island is slimmer and more refined than previous ones, freeing up space on the flight deck.
The ski-jump ramp and the short takeoff but arrested recovery system have been replaced by a new system.
The catapult-assisted takeoff but arrested recovery system used on US aircraft carriers is reflected in the flat deck of Fujian.
It's possible for jets to take off on a shorter deck, but they can't carry as much fuel or weaponry as they would on a longer deck. The only fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft it has in service, the J-15, is already the heaviest carrier-based fighter in service.
Bigger jets can be launched with a Catabar system. Larger aircraft can be launched like those suited for early warning and control.
During the launch ceremony, parts of the flight deck were covered, but they are believed to use an aircraft launch system that can launch aircraft more efficiently and more frequently than steam-powered catapults.
The Ford-class carriers were the only ones with EMALS. The challenges the US Navy has had with EMALS suggest that it will be some time before Fujian reaches its full potential.
The exact size and makeup of the Fujian's air wing is not known, but it is expected to be larger than the roughly 36 aircraft carried by both Liaoning andShandong.
J-35 stealth fighters, Z-20F helicopter, and even carrier-based drones are possibilities in the future.
It won't be India's first or only carrier when Vikrant is commissioned in August.
India had former British carriers in service from 1961 to 1997 and from 1987 to 2016 and the current flagship is a modified Kiev-class carrier.
Vikrant is the biggest ship India has ever built with a displacement of over 50,000 tons. According to India's Defense Ministry, it was designed and built by India's largest ship builder, Cochin Shipyard.
Vikrant is powered by four gas turbines and has a top speed of 28 knots. It has a ski-jump ramp and can carry about 30 jets and choppers.
The initial air wing is expected to be made up of the Russian-made MiG-29Ks. Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation's Rafale-M are in the running to be India's 26th carrier-based fighter.
The F/A-18 has been the mainstay of US Navy carrier aviation for decades, and Boeing has demonstrated its ability to operate on the deck of a ship. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has been demonstrated on an Indian STOBAR system. The air force of India already operates the aircraft.
India's HAL twin- engine fighter has been proposed as an indigenous aircraft. The new carrier's air wing is likely to include a mix of aircraft.
INS Vikrant is expected to help boost the Indian Navy's capabilities in the face of a rising Chinese threat.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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