That's half their remaining SHAR force on deck in the piccy, which are allegedly getting Derby from the Red Sea Pedestrians which makes them BVR capable. They have the Helix variant with an AEW radar and they can run some mid-80's vintage SeaKings and Helix in the ASW role.
Which means they can at least have a go at keeping MPA a reasonable way off and is more than we can do right now at any sort of distance from land.
However, availability is apparently a bit of a mare for both cabs and ship. The pic may show her at sea with a deckful, question is how long she could stay there.
It is also likely that the stability standards of Viraat have been eroded over the years. It doesn't mean she's about to roll over, but it does mean that the amount of damage sustained before she would be lost is probably a bit less than it was in RN service and a lot less than what QEC (irrespective of relative size) is designed to survive.
She'll be carrying a bit more stress in her structure as well, which won't help reduce incidences of fatigue cracking, which can hit availability as well.
Last edited by Not_a_boffin; 12th Mar 2013 at 13:42.