indeed
Believe it when I see it.
Automation will be fine until something goes really wrong, like a big fire or bomb or missle hit.
The thing about war is that you never can plan for all the contingencies. You need people who have the training and intelligence to respond to whatever happens, often something unexpected.
I'd be a bit worried about a carrier where the nearest person might be a couple of decks and a couple of hundred yards away from a sudden emergency. Maybe it could still be handled, but it's a concern.
Also, a certain amount of redundancy is important. What happens if all your key personnel in some area of expertise get killed? Fewer personnel, less redundancy, fewer backups to take the place of the killed and wounded.
ping
Sounds like an excellent idea in peace time, (and we all know the French boat will never see action) but the Brits should know that you can't fight a damaged ship and save it at the same time. You can maybe do one or the other with a crew that small, but not both.
It's taking us years and hundreds of millions just to get robot pickers installed in our grocery warehouse. Good luck with the carriers...
I thought a good part of the crew requirement was determined by damage control teams. A crew of 40 for a supertanker sized vessel (even armed, fully automate the weapons mounts and round handling) may be ok if it does not expect to see any ordnance heading its way - eventually something's gonna hit!
And the Frenchies (Gad! Am I reallly thinking this?) built these suckers, man them and make it through a few hundred or so combat sorties and then solve some combat damamge while surviving to fly more sorties!
And I'll believe it when Canada buys one and does the same...
Boy, those French will do anything to get out of an honest day's work.
I wonder how well the robotic carrier will work after the first missile hits it.
Will there be robo-repairmen, too? Heaven forbid the power goes out...
CV ping.
Kind of reminds me of a line from Star Trek II, when Scotty remarks after his automated piloting system breaks down, "But Captain, it was never designed to go into combat."
Hmmm a Frogohauler.. sounds like a Rube Goldberg Surrender device to me..