" The basic idea behind the steam catapult is really simple, but building and operating one is not. I'm not surprised that any nation who hasn't built a steam c

" The basic idea behind the steam catapult is really simple, but building and operating one is not. I'm not surprised that any nation who hasn't built a steam catapult would need to do some research to make their fist working catapult." I'd agree, the point I was hinting at was the limitations of the Russian Carriers impact on the Sino effort. India has a similar problem, cf the second hand Vikramadity [0] (chain supply and re-fit problems) and even the new INS Vikrant shows the inability to build a steam-catapault based design instead opting for a ski ramp. As a result the choice of jet is the MiG29 K instead of the Su33. The complexity and cost of building a carrier with a steam catapult capable of launching aircraft the size used in the USN appears, to be beyond both China and India. [0] https://warisboring.com/this-old-aircraft-carrier-is-a-damned-embarrassment-d18a4bd13fd3 https://warisboring.com/this-old-aircraft-carrier-is-a-damne... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_MiG_29K_aircraft_lands_on_INS_Vikramaditya.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_MiG_29K_aircraft_lands_... https://warisboring.com/this-old-aircraft-carrier-is-a-damned-embarrassment-d18a4bd13fd3 https://warisboring.com/this-old-aircraft-carrier-is-a-damne...