[Blueflag]

Can't argue with the financials, but can the bean counters justify downgrading EVERY CAG in the fleet? What's the justification for that?

Unless of course the Super Hornet can be made truly Super.

[Poohbah]

We get the aircraft we can afford. Or we get no aircraft. Those are your choices. Congress is unwilling to fund anything as expensive as the Super-Duper Tomcat would be.

The Navy needs to build a Common Support Aircraft to replace the C-2, E-2, and S-3. If they do not, then the aircraft carrier is going to become irrelevant--because it will become just another set of TACAIR strike/fighter birds, just like the Air Force, only more expensive. NAVAIR needs to develop unique capabilities that nobody else does--or NAVAIR is going to disappear.