Kitty Hawk Rumors

(Political Animal)  KITTY HAWK RUMORS....India currently has one aircraft carrier that's due to be decommissioned in a few years. Its replacement is supposed to be the Admiral Gorshkov from Russia, but the refit work on the Gorshkov has been slow, expenses have risen, and there are reasons to think that the Russian shipyard doing the work isn't up to the task in any case. In the wake of all this, Defense Industry Daily reports that India might soon have an alternative:

As reports begin to suggest that Russia and India are too far apart to agree on the Gorshkov refit, speculation grows that the USA intends to solve India's problem with a stunning offer during Defense Secretary Gates' imminent visit to india. instead of retiring and decommissioning its last conventionally-powered carrier, the 81,800 ton/ 74,200t USS Kitty Hawk [CV-63, commissioned 1961], would be handed over to India when its current tour in Japan ends in 2008. The procedure would resemble the January 2007 "hot transfer" of the amphibious landing ship USS Trenton [LPD-14], which become INS Jalashva. The cost? This time, it would be free. As in, $0.

Free aside from the billions of dollars in maintenance and fighter jet contracts India would sign with us, of course.

As it happens, the Navy has flatly denied the Kitty Hawk rumors. But a denial one day doesn't mean there will be a denial the next, does it? So, since things are a little slow today, I thought I'd pass this along for its gossip value. Today's question, then, is: Would this be a brilliant stroke or utter lunacy? Comments are open.

Originally via Winds of Change.