USSR 1991

Seeing that the opponent had already stepped into his trap with one foot, Chemezov slightly raised his eyebrows, quietly waiting for the other foot of the prey to step in.To be honest, Chemezov was also depressed at the beginning why the general secretary agreed to sell the Gorshkov at less than half the price of building an aircraft carrier, but a series of trade treaty restrictions later made him understand that they did not intend to build an aircraft carrier. The price of the aircraft carrier itself is pitting India.

The so-called price is just a bait, and the next modification is the highlight. The more India is reluctant to part with the price of the Gorshkov, the aircraft carrier itself is a mix and match between a cruiser and an aircraft carrier The main design idea of ​​​​the ship is to carry short-range vertical take-off and landing fighters such as the Yak-38.Therefore, the Gorshkov aircraft carrier has limited hangars and fighter jets.

Yanayev took advantage of India's desire to greatly improve the performance of second-hand aircraft carriers after acquiring them at a low price, and finally proposed a major modification of the original design, adding a ski-jump deck, increasing the width of the entire flight deck, and It is transformed into a reduced version of the Kuznetsov that can take off and land the MiG-29.And this reckless plan in history was also readily accepted by India.

Of course, Yanayev doesn't care what the Gorshkov aircraft carrier looks like as long as he can get money.Because a modern ship is a sophisticated and complex system that is interlocking, any large-scale modification may cause an imbalance in the entire system, greatly increasing the chance of causing unpredictable risks.Even for the development of improved models and new models, it is necessary to gradually advance from the top-level design on the basis of accumulated experience.The forced violent modification of the Gorshkov will inevitably lead to a series of follow-up problems in the mix-and-match ship between the aircraft carrier and the cruiser. At that time, there will be opportunities for India to cry.

So India is stupid and history repeats itself.

"There are still a series of conditions for the sale of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier, Minister Kapoor." Seeing that the time was almost ripe, Chemezov finally took out another plan hidden under his briefcase to fool the Indian Navy.

"That is, the Gorshkov aircraft carrier must be modernized by the Soviet Union before it can be delivered to the Indian military. We will add a ski-jump deck and increase the width of the deck for you. After all, the Gorshkov is only The Soviet Union’s second-generation aircraft carrier, so we will refit it into a transitional model between the second and third generations, so that it can better serve the Indian Navy.”

"Are you refitting a Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier?" Chemezov made a suggestion, and the Indian Defense Minister's eyes lit up, as if the Soviets standing in front of him had become The savior of the Indian Navy.Just imagine building an aircraft carrier fleet second only to the Soviet Union and the United States in strength. This is the dream of many Indians.Although India claimed to be the world's third military power before, it was severely slapped in the face by a country that specializes in killing the third.But this is the navy. Except for the countries in Europe and North America who dare to spend money like this, which other country dares to spend as much money as India?

Although in the eyes of the Soviets, India's magnanimity means that people are stupid and have a lot of money. What's more, there is a major hidden danger hidden in the so-called unrealistic modernization plan, that is, even the Soviet Union does not know what kind of consequences such unrealistic modifications will cause.But who cares, as long as the sale of the Gorshkov aircraft carrier can pay back the cost, then the Soviet Navy does not recommend cheating the Indians once.

"In short, it is a reduced version of the Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier. Because the Kiev-class design ideas can no longer follow the footsteps of the times. So we will not sell you a backward aircraft carrier, which is Immoral behavior." Chemezov said pretending to be concerned, the more he said that he tried his best to think of India, the more moved India was, and the greater the chance of being cheated.

"In this case, can you provide a plan, and then we can modify it ourselves?" Kapoor asked.

"Yes, as long as you can carry out difficult construction projects such as deck expansion, we don't care at all about providing the Gorshkov to you to do it yourself, but can India currently carry out such complicated surgical operations? What if you don’t fix it, but spend a lot of money to tow a hulk back.” Chemezov asked unceremoniously.

Kapoor hesitated for a moment, but obediently accepted Chemezov's suggestion. After this conversation, the two also reached a temporary transaction agreement. Everything else will have to wait until the Indian delegation sees the actual aircraft carrier. talking.

Chapter 192 Gorshkov modification plan

The Indian delegation composed of officials from the Ministry of National Defense flew thousands of miles from New Delhi to visit the Kiev-class aircraft carrier at the shipyard in Ukraine. plan.

The Gorshkov has only been in service for less than five years, so it looks much brand new than the second-hand aircraft carrier that Indian officials have seen, and after simple renovation and maintenance work at the Black Sea Shipyard, let Gorshko The Husband is like a beautiful ship for sale, waiting to be visited by Indian officials.

Standing on the deck of the Gorshkov, the Indian delegation seems to be able to feel the powerful impact brought by the steel monster created by the Soviet Union. The completely different design concept from the Virat makes this aircraft carrier look more Like a steel giant, it is simple, rough and practical, and the anti-ship weapons and turrets on it give people the illusion that this aircraft carrier is not a platform for parking fighter jets and forming combat power for the aircraft carrier fleet, but a purely Offensive weapons at sea.

Just like Marshal Gorshkov of the Soviet Union named after this aircraft carrier, the Kiev-class aircraft carrier fully utilized the Soviet Navy's saturated offensive combat thinking.

"The Gorshkov has 2200 people on board, a displacement of 33440 tons, and a full load of 44490 tons. The draft is about 10 meters. The aircraft carrier is 273.1 meters long and 51.9 meters wide. The power plant is 8 boilers, 4 sets Steam turbine. The power is 4 sets of gear-driven turbines, four shafts. The power is 200000 shaft horsepower, and its maximum speed can reach 30 knots."

The Soviet side meticulously introduced the detailed data of the Gorshkov to the Indian delegation. In order to let the Indian delegation better experience the real side of the Gorshkov, the carrier-based aircraft on it were all intact. Dock in place.

“戈尔什科夫号原本设计可以搭载14架雅克-141战斗机，6架雅克-38M战斗机，12架Ka-27直升机和4架Ka-31直升机。装备有六座双联装SS-N-12反舰飞弹发射器12枚，24座8门SA-15防空飞弹发射器192枚，两门的单联装100公厘/70倍径炮八台，AK-630 30mm近程炮十座，鱼雷发射管，两座RBU-6000反潜火箭发射器。”

"But we don't need so many anti-ship weapons. What we need is an aircraft carrier that can carry more aircraft." The Indian delegation was not satisfied with the design of the Gorshkov, pointing fingers at those carrier-based aircraft. .

"Of course, this aircraft carrier was originally designed to cooperate with surface ships, submarines, and combat aircraft to carry anti-ship missiles, and to adopt a high-density, continuous attack penetration method. launch missiles beyond their anti-strike capabilities at the same target at different levels, so that the anti-missile anti-missile capabilities of the maritime air defense system of the enemy aircraft carrier formation can be saturated in a short period of time, so as to increase the penetration probability of anti-ship missiles And the purpose of destroying the target. The main mode of operation of the Gorshkov is offensive, not as a fleet docking platform."

The Soviet accompanying official replied unhurriedly, "That's why the Gorshkov proposed the modification plan. After all, it is the second-generation Kiev-class aircraft carrier of our Soviet Union, and its thinking is still in the era of Brezhnev. , focusing on aircraft carrier anti-ship and anti-air. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come up with a transformation plan, would we?”

The words of the Soviet official caught the Indian delegation's heart. He nodded with satisfaction, "Yes, things from the old era can continue to serve the new era through transformation. Although it is just a twisted product of your saturation attack, it is also a ship. It is a good medium-sized aircraft carrier, and if it is transformed, its potential will not lag behind that of other countries' aircraft carriers."

After disembarking from the Gorshkov aircraft carrier, the Soviet officials in charge of the negotiations provided the Indian officials with a modification plan for the aircraft carrier in the design bureau.He handed the revision plan to each representative, and then began to fool these laymen.

"The modification work of the Gorshkov mainly includes the following aspects. The vertical and short-distance take-off and landing are converted into a ski-jump take-off and landing blocking method. A new combat system is installed. The details are as follows. The naval gun on the bow deck is removed. Anti-ship weapons and anti-aircraft missile launchers are replaced by a complete airstrip and a 14.3° upturned ski jump deck, the bow flight deck is lengthened and widened, and the rear aircraft elevator is enlarged and reinforced."

"Install blocking devices, set up three blocking cables, install air search radar, navigation equipment and aircraft landing assistance equipment. Install fire control and electronic warfare systems, install new air conditioning and power systems, upgrade air defense capabilities, and install cards. The Shitan system also has the Barak surface-to-air missile vertical launch system."

"After refitting, the combat performance of the aircraft carrier will be greatly improved. The previous Kiev class paid special attention to the power of missile attacks, so they equipped the aircraft carrier with a large number of anti-ship missiles and anti-aircraft missiles, which took up the precious flight deck space of the aircraft carrier and limited the capability of the aircraft carrier. The number of carrier-based aircraft. For an aircraft carrier, the main task is to carry carrier-based aircraft and use the carrier-based aircraft company to control the air and sea. The rest can be handed over to the formation ships. Performance drops."

"And you see, the modified Gorshkov can actually carry 24 MiG-29K fixed-wing aircraft and several helicopters, which can just meet your domestic fighter needs. The MiG-29K is carrying an auxiliary fuel tank, The combat radius of two K73 and two K2 missiles can reach 27 kilometers, while the combat radius of the Rafale fighter of the French Charles de Gaulle is only 1050 kilometers, and its aviation combat radius will be comparable to that of the Charles de Gaulle after the modification.”

Soviet officials deliberately compared the Charles de Gaulle and the Gorshkov, but he also deliberately ignored one thing. The Gorshkov has a carrying capacity of only 24, but the Charles de Gaulle can carry up to 40 Rafales. Although The combat capability is evenly matched, but the number is far less than that of the Charles de Gaulle.Moreover, the Charles de Gaulle is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which is far superior to the Gorshkov in terms of endurance. The Gorshkov can only carry early warning helicopters, while the Charles de Gaulle has a ceiling, detection capability and load capacity. All are far superior to the fixed-wing early warning aircraft of early warning helicopter.

It can be said that although the refitted Gorshkov is much better than a light aircraft carrier, there is still a long gap compared to the Charles de Gaulle.

But when they heard that the Gorshkov was comparable to the Charles de Gaulle, the Indian delegation immediately whispered in private. In their opinion, this felt like buying a ship at a price that might not even be available for a light aircraft carrier. A nuclear powered heavy aircraft carrier.

"Can this aircraft carrier renovation plan satisfy everyone?" Seeing the uncontrollable excitement on the face of the Indian delegation, the Soviet officials who were watching the situation hurriedly took advantage of the heat to make this deal happen.

"Of course I'm satisfied." The Indian delegation nodded, "We will fully convey this plan to the Indian Ministry of Defense when we go back, so that they can also understand the superior performance of this aircraft carrier. Presumably, the Ministry of Defense will generously allocate funds to us. Navy."

So far, the Soviet Union has not disclosed the price of the aircraft carrier. They just want to create an aircraft carrier for the Indians. This is an aircraft carrier that you will regret if you don’t buy it, and then ask the Indians for a high price. The modification cost, and the blackmail was carried out several times.After all, the extra money for such a drastic modification of an aircraft carrier is enough to buy three destroyers.

Seeing that the time was ripe, the Soviet officials tactfully pushed a few cards to the Indian delegation, and sent a favor along the way, "This is some gift prepared by our Soviet military for the Indian delegation, and I hope you can accept it with a smile." .”

"What is this?" a member of the Indian delegation asked, holding up the card.

"An unregistered bank account, the money in it can also be used to contribute to India's national defense. It is probably no problem to buy private jets for civilian use." Corrupt country, there is nothing that can't be done with dollars.And this gift is just a catalyst, insurance for the final decision of this huge deal.Presumably when they go back, the Indian Navy will set off a unified slogan to buy the Gorshkov.

Both sides smiled heartily, and the Indian delegation also generously accepted the card delivered by the Soviet officials, stood up and shook hands with the Soviet officials, and said with a smile, "I hope that India and the Soviet Union can cooperate happily."

"Again, we're happy to work together."

The Soviet side also said with a smile.

Chapter 193 Our price is very conscientious

Sure enough, the delegation of the Ministry of National Defense, which received the benefits, immediately became a loyal "communist spy" of the Soviet Union, and stated to Indian Defense Minister Kapoor the importance of purchasing the Gorshkov with a posture of an enemy in the Ministry of Defense. Such as "The Indian Navy is not strong, we must have the Kiev class", "The price of aircraft carriers in the world is increasing, we have the Kiev class, and we can save a lot of cost!" "There is nothing that a Kiev class aircraft carrier cannot handle. If there are, then two." Slogans like that.And put on a picture that as long as there is an improved version of the Gorshkov, no one will dare to speak when the Indian Navy walks sideways in the Indian Ocean.

After referring to the plan provided by the Soviet Union, Minister of Defense Kapoor also believed that it was a good deal to buy a function-upgraded version of the near-Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier for less than the price of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier. Purchasing the Gorshkov seems a bit redundant, but for the Indian Navy without a backup aircraft carrier, it seems a bit dangerous.Without an aircraft carrier, can it still be called the overlord of the Indian Ocean?Can you still realize your big country dream?Go dream you.

After being said to be tempted, Kapoor also dispatched Prakash as a negotiator for the defense sector as last time, but this time he sat behind the scenes and did not go to Moscow.Maybe it was the previous hangover that made him linger, so this time he just pushed Prakash down the fire pit.

This time, the Soviet navy did not dare to neglect. They did not prepare vodka to torture these poor Hindus, because compared with vodka worth hundreds of dollars, the contract of more than one billion is the most important thing.

The representative sent by the navy is General Sergeyev. As the father of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier that has witnessed the growth of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier in his own hands and dominated the four oceans, no one knows the Kiev-class aircraft carrier better than him, and he is also eloquent a general.In his opinion, the verbal war of Indians is like the unreasonable noise of a three-year-old child.

So when the admiral, whose military uniform was covered with medals, sat down at the negotiating table, his majestic aura instantly overwhelmed the representatives of the Indian Ministry of Defense who were talking and laughing.

"This is the modification plan for the Kiev-class aircraft carrier we provided. Everyone here must have read it." General Sergeyev looked around at the silent Indian delegation across the negotiating table, and said calmly, "We The price of selling the aircraft carrier and the cost of modernization are also in the back, please browse it yourself, if there is no problem, we can skip the chapter of negotiation and go directly to signing the contract.”

The Indian took a deep breath, while the Russians spoke directly, omitting even bargaining, and just said on their own that the negotiation was over.

Then the Indian delegation turned the dense plan to the last page. When their eyes saw that the Kiev-class aircraft carrier Gorshkov was sold for 5 million US dollars, it was like picking up a big deal. They were secretly pleasantly surprised, but when they looked down one more line and saw the quotation for the modern modification, their hearts were instantly chilled.

15.6 billion dollars!

They rubbed their eyes to make sure they read it correctly, then lowered their heads and read it again. It was indeed 15.6 billion US dollars, not rubles, but the real 15.6 billion US dollars.Prakash raised his head and asked with a pale face, "Are we wrong? General Sergeyev, the modification of this Kiev-class aircraft carrier costs 15.6 billion US dollars? This...why is this so expensive? It's just a modification That's all?"

Prakash’s words completely revealed that he was a layman on aircraft carriers. When the translator translated the words of the Indian delegation to Sergeyev, he just smiled and asked, “ With all due respect, Staff Prakash, do you know what a gigantic project it is to expand the deck of a Kiev class and add a ski jump deck?"

"This is not as simple as laying a railway in India. The transformation almost requires modifying the structure of the entire aircraft carrier. The deck is the soul of the aircraft carrier. This is to change all the projects. So 15.6 billion US dollars is already our conscience price, If you think it is expensive, I suggest you go to the United States or the United Kingdom to buy their decommissioned aircraft carrier. Of course, I believe that you will never be able to buy it without more than 20 billion US dollars. So you think it will cost 20.6 billion US dollars to buy a near Kuznetzo A husband-class aircraft carrier, is it still an expensive thing?"

Indeed, the cost of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier alone is close to 20 billion U.S. dollars. Counting other expenses, it is no exaggeration to be called a gold-swallowing monster.

Only when there is a contrast will there be a gap. Prakash thinks about it carefully, it is really true.Moreover, even if India goes to buy their modern-class aircraft carrier from the United States or the United Kingdom, it may not be willing to sell it. When the Indian aircraft carrier is facing retirement and the navy's combat effectiveness is insufficient, this near-Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier is particularly important.

"But the price is still too expensive, and we can't afford it." Prakash complained to Sergeyev. The Ministry of Defense did not expect that it would take 20.6 billion US dollars to get everything done. They thought it would only take ten [-] million will be able to get all the projects, and bring this aircraft carrier home.

"Perhaps you can save the funds for leasing Soviet nuclear submarines and vigorously develop aircraft carriers. Wouldn't you have money?" Sergeyev said lightly, "But we can't guarantee whether we will lease nuclear submarines again in the future. Here it is, so you can watch this business."