And they're only building 3 of them. The short-ranged Barak 8 is not even ready, and even when it is, the Kolkata will have as many air defense missiles to play with as a Type 054A does. The vaunted supersonic BrahMos is easily dealt with by any modern air defense system, especially in the trifling numbers that the Indian Navy could launch together as part of a saturation attack.Meanwhile, the PLAN already has 6 Type 052C's and is building 12+ 052D's and 6+ 055's. They are packing 150+ km range HHQ-9A's, supersonic YJ-18's, land attack CJ-10's, and VLA-type ASW missiles like the CY-5 (and dare I say even some DK-10's???), all in mix-and-match universal VLS launchers, resulting in a tactical flexibility that the Kolkata class couldn't even dream of in its wildest fantasies. The pride of the IN is already behind the times even as it puts to sea.
