When the J-35 fighter jets on the deck were catapulted into the sky by the electromagnetic catapult, the latest military breakthrough of the Fujian aircraft carrier has attracted global attention. Especially India, just across the sea, has reacted with a sour tone. Some media have been fixated on finding minor deviations in the catapult trajectory, while others have repeatedly compared the tonnage data of China and India's aircraft carriers, trying to regain their dignity.

However, behind the clamor of doubts, some Indians have清醒ly realized the gap between China and India. General Girish Luthra, a retired Indian major general, is one of them. He felt a sense of imminent urgency.

【The footage of Fujian aircraft carrier launching carrier aircraft is exposed】

General Girish Luthra gave Modi's government a warning that China has even bigger cards up its sleeve — the 004 aircraft carrier. India must accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies for aircraft carriers to achieve breakthroughs as soon as possible.

India has two aircraft carriers, which look considerable at first glance, but upon closer analysis, they are merely medium-sized carriers of about 40,000 tons, without even a proper catapult. The number of carrier-based aircraft is only 20, which is less than that of the Liaoning or Shandong, let alone the Fujian. It can be said that the gap in hard power between China and India's aircraft carriers is evident and cannot be ignored.

If China really has the 004 aircraft carrier, the gap between China and India will widen further. Previously, from images captured by Western commercial satellites, military analysts found intriguing details. In a certain shipyard in China, two huge segments with a width exceeding 42 meters were being joined, and their structural characteristics clearly differed from the underwater design of conventional-powered aircraft carriers. These clues suggest that the 004 type may likely use nuclear power.

【Retired Indian Major General guesses that the construction of China's 004 aircraft carrier is nearing completion】

If these are indeed used to build the 004 aircraft carrier, it means that China's next-generation aircraft carrier aims to match or even surpass the U.S. equivalent. The Liaoning solved the "have or not" problem, the Shandong achieved self-built production, the Fujian broke through the electromagnetic catapult, and the 004 type will complete the ultimate leap to nuclear power.

If the 004 aircraft carrier becomes operational, the Chinese Navy will have the capability to conduct prolonged confrontation with the world's strongest navy, the U.S. Navy, in the open ocean. Nuclear power means the potential for long-term continuous operations, capable of high-speed navigation across global seas without frequent resupply, which is an advantage that traditional-powered aircraft carriers cannot match. Moreover, this also means that the Chinese aircraft carrier group will have higher strategic flexibility, enabling it to carry out various tasks over a broader oceanic area.

Watching China's aircraft carriers continuously breaking through, why is India regretting that it wasted 10 years? What exactly happened?

Initially, the Modi government proposed to develop the "Vikram" aircraft carrier — a 65,000-ton nuclear-powered carrier, equipped with electromagnetic catapults, and to deploy American F/A-18 fighters.

【Imaginary picture of India's "Vikram" nuclear-powered aircraft carrier】

However, talking about it on paper is easy, but implementing it is difficult. Although India hoped to gain advanced technology through cooperation with the United States, reality often does not go as planned. Technical cooperation between the U.S. and India has not been smooth, especially when it comes to sharing key technologies, where the U.S. has always been cautious. This technical barrier has made the progress of the "Vikram" increasingly unattainable, remaining stuck in the planning stage without taking substantial steps forward.

The underlying issue behind this technological dependence is India's lack of independent R&D capabilities. Relying solely on external forces will never lead to true autonomy and strength. Especially in highly strategic areas such as aircraft carrier technology, core technologies are difficult to obtain from other countries.

The most ironic part is that the Indian Navy is still debating "whether to use American catapults or French fighter jets," choosing to place the development of the next generation of aircraft carriers on foreign assistance.

【India's aircraft carrier construction relies too much on Western countries】

By contrast, China, facing the same international environment, has chosen a completely different development path. By increasing R&D investment, cultivating technical talents, and adhering to independent innovation, China has not only established a complete system from design to production in the aircraft carrier field, but has also continuously introduced new ships that have amazed the world. In other words, China's ability to rapidly launch three epoch-making aircraft carriers is not accidental, but the inevitable result of long-term autonomous accumulation.

More terrifying than technological bottlenecks is the limitation of thinking. Until now, Indian military officials still believe that as long as enough dollars are given, defense modernization can be bought. However, they haven't realized that China was able to build the Fujian aircraft carrier not because of a large amount of foreign exchange reserves, but because of a large number of engineers who worked for thousands of nights. When the Indian Navy is still arguing about the "Vikram" aircraft carrier, the gap with China will only continue to widen.

【Imaginary picture of 004 aircraft carrier】

India hopes to catch up with China, but if it continues to place its hopes on the help of other countries, it may find that by the time the 004 aircraft carrier is launched, India's aircraft carrier project is still not making progress.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7555068005495882276/

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