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To have Kitty Hawke"s armament upgraded and the ship refurbished for a hundred and fifty million would be one of the biggest bargains of all time except for the other part of the package. See how much Australia is paying for her Super Hornets.

There are many billions of dollars of aircraft specified there, if the aircraft are new. However at the end of the purchase, India will have the most potent carrier not owned by the US Navy and it will have it in a couple of years instead of a decade. According to the article, the carrier will be good for ten years by which time India should have other carriers ready. If those aircraft were new purchases, she will still have the aircraft when the carrier has reached the end of her useful life.

Those aircraft are highly likely to be the most capable aircraft in the Indian Navy in ten years time. The only way to get more capable aircraft will be to purchase some from the United States. Once the Indian Navy is operating the US aircraft, they are going to know exactly what sort of capability loss there will be in operating alternatively sourced aircraft.

If India wants a very powerful carrier operational in a couple of years, this is the only deal worth looking at. Of course, once the carrier is used, India will be operating US gear into the future.