re: China launches 4th helicopter carrier

quote:

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quote:
because other countries cannot figure out how to launch a plane



I always assumed it was strictly economic. The cost to build a real carrier are astronomical. Add in the costs to operate it,

Add in the costs to defend it,

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The cost of a carrier escort group is why countries that have access to the f-35 VTOL, (NATO countries, Japan, South Korea, Australia) are just building helicopter carriers, they can built in half the time of a regular aircraft carrier, way less expensive, and just more versatile. If you want to put f-35s on it and have it operate as a small aircraft carrier you can do that, if you want to put helicopters on it and it operate as a heli carrier you can do that, if you want to split it up you can do that, add in that are most heli carriers are amphibious and launch marine operations, most countries will operate these in the future