Posted on 08/05/2025 8:14:50 AM PDT by whyilovetexas111
The U.S. Navy and the Pentagon are locked in a public struggle over the F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter, a program the DoD moved to defund in favor of the Air Force's F-47. The Navy argues the F/A-XX is essential to overcome the critical range limitations of its current F/A-18 and F-35 air wing, keeping its aircraft carriers viable against long-range Chinese "carrier killer" missiles.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalsecurityjournal.org ...
I stand corrected. We used F4s, but were transitioning to F14 Tomcats. Boy that was a long time ago and the memory has faded.
I was in a transport Squadron flying C118s, a real relic by todays standards.
“missiles just 2 get through and it’s over.”
A converted merchant ship with ten aircraft might be protected from the sides by two converted merchant ships with just defensive weapons.
Consider the possibility of 10 ship triads carrying a total of 100 aircraft. The triads might also be supported by command, radar and electronic warfare ships.
Relay drones could be used for ship-to-ship communication.
“The reason for the large US Navy evolved to be protection of oil flow.”
“if US output is peaking, the right side of the peak will be steep downward because of the nature of legacy shale wells and their rapid decline stats. The Navy’s purpose will return to prominence.”
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Take the bus, Gus!
In Tijuana, there was a bus reserved for women.
The F-4 was replaced by the F-16, but the F-15, which I believe is a better aircraft, was the main fighter on Aircraft Carriers when they replaced the F-4s...
Neither the F-15 or F-16 ever went on an Aircraft carrier.
In reality the Navy has only two types of ships, submarines and targets.
“The greatest risk of course is fighting THE only near-peer enemy out there - China. The rest of the world is the Navy’s oyster.”
Ask around in Yemen.
Or the F-16 either, no tail hooks or reinforced landing gear.
“submarines”
Submarines might be magnetically detected by solar-cell or wave powered buoys.
Submarines contain a lot of steel.
In the interim, it all comes down to mission and what kinds of aircraft to put on each carrier to accomplish that mission. At this point, putting an F/A -XX on a carrier is simply not possible nor productive.
More importantly, we need to focus on fielding a 6th gen capability while building up a credible missile defense system as fast as possible which means we focus on F-47 and B-21 along with their support aircraft and weapons systems to get them in the air ASAP.
The goal is build advanced capability to deter Chinese aggression and force the Chinese to make very hard and very expensive defense decisions that divert assets from existing offensive weapons programs to undermine future Chinese offensive posture.
Navy F/A-XX adds little to the equation for this effort short term. Frankly, at this point, given the the rapidly evolving nature of 6th gen technology, it's not entirely obvious what a 6th gen carrier aircraft would look like and by the time that is all figured out, the Navy will be looking a 6.5 or 7th gen F/A-XX given the rapid state of flux of the technology.
Plus, at this point, it's not even a given that 6th gen systems are going to play nice with the marine environment.
For the foreseeable future 6th gen aircraft are going to be pampered and temperamental F1 race cars not the tough working class Indy and NASCAR race cars the navy depends on.
“The term ‘Panamax’ refers to a type of vessel which is of a size and specification specifically designed to pass through the Panama Canal. The maximum dimensions of Panamax vessels are set to ensure they can pass through the canal’s smallest lock. These are:
Length: 294 metres (965 feet)
Width: 32.3 metres (106 feet)
Draft: 12 metres (39.5 feet)
Capacity: 65,000 to 80,000 dwt”
https://www.clarksons.com/glossary/a-guide-to-bulk-vessel-sizes/
“missiles just 2 get through and it’s over.”
Propellers with charges might spin to protect the ship.
These charges would cause the missile warheads to explode.
*****
Dense parallel trigger cables might send explosive shells into the warhead area of any missile that breaks a trigger cable electrical circuit.
An oil tanker might sail into a trigger cable ‘tube’ protective ship.
The combination could then sail past Houthi missile batteries.
USN Panamax Carrier One might go to sea with USN Panamax Rust Bucket 32 and USN Panamax Rust Bucket 47.
They might shift places under an aluminum foil ‘window’ cloud.
We need a moon base.
I thought X-wing fighters had to launched from a death star ...
:)
No, X-wings are land based. TIE fighters launch from death stars.
Which is why submarines routinely go through a degaussing procedure.
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