Sharing the Pacific with Russian, Chinese, & Indian Aircraft Carriers

Written by Dabney B. on Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

The tides are changing in the Pacific Ocean. The US has been the big kid on the block ever since the end of World War II, but it looks like the US Navy might have to share its waters with a few other power houses.

Right now, the Navy has six of its 11 aircraft ordering cialis carriers deployed in the Pacific Ocean. That number will temporarily drop to five with the withdrawal of the USS Enterprise, but it will jump up to six again in 2015 when the commissioned Gerald R. Ford takes to the seas. The strength of US Naval aircraft carriers is fairly stable, but the US might have to share the waters of the Pacific with a few potential rivals.

As we all know, Liaoning has been making headlines as China’s first aircraft carrier. This lone carrier is outnumbered six-to-one by the US, but Liaoning isn’t the only new arrival. India has recently procured the former aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and renamed it INS Vikramaditya (“Brave as the Sun”). The carrier is currently being refitted in a Russian shipyard.

 

OK, so that brings the number of foreign aircraft carriers in the Pacific up to two. That shouldn’t pose much a threat to US naval supremacy, right? The US is still sitting pretty, but the Liaoning and the INS Vikramaditya represent the beginning of new wave of aircraft carriers.

Russia intends to place a Russian Carrier Battle Group of one aircraft carrier and 15 supporting vessels into the Pacific by 2017. And that’s in addition to the six new aircraft carriers that they intend to build after 2020. China has also mentioned its plan to build new aircraft carriers, and India intends to build two Majestic class ships within the next decade.

 

 

What does all this mean? The Pacific Ocean could become a bit crowded for the US Navy within the next decade or two. This new influx of aircraft carriers will inevitably alter the balance of power in the world’s largest body of water. The potential threats in the Pacific are growing, but the Navy’s firepower in the Pacific will remain roughly the same.

How can the Naval pilots prepare to fight against foreign aircraft? How would an engagement with an Indian aircraft carrier differ from an engagement with a Chinese aircraft carrier? How will the F-35C hold up against the Russian Su-33? These are all questions that Strike Fighter Consulting Inc. can help answer. Their expertise is not limited to the tarmac – they can provide top-notch advice about naval combat and aircraft carrier strategies.

It is imperative that the US Navy prepare for the shift in power in the Pacific Ocean. Knowing how to fight a Chinese aircraft carrier definitely falls into that category of, “Better to have a plan and not need it, than need it and not have it.”

If you want advice about the world of military aviation, there’s no better people to turn to than men and women who have sat in the cockpit and flown some of the world’s most advanced aircraft. With over 50 current and ex-warfighters on call, Strike Fighter Consulting Inc. can give you access to up-to-date, first-hand technical and tactical expertise.