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Posted on 04/11/2003 9:02:29 AM PDT by LSUfan
Edited on 07/02/2004 5:48:13 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION -(KRT) - Sleek and projecting power even though still, the USS Constellation's F-14 Tomcats dominate the carrier's flight deck. Originally designed to foil Soviet fighters during the Cold War, these exponents of Navy air power are probably seeing their last service in this one.
Instead of the dog-fighting missions for which they were created, the Tomcats have been retooled into part bomber, part forward air observer and part airborne traffic controller for other planes attacking ground targets.
In coming years, the Navy plans to phase out the Tomcat in favor of the newer, easier to maintain F/A-18 Super Hornet. But for the time being, the F-14 remains a workhorse in the complex air missions supporting coalition ground troops in Iraq.
"I would characterize the Tomcat as a late-1960s muscle car," said Capt. Mark Fox, a Tomcat pilot who shot down the first Iraqi MiG during the first gulf war in 1991.
The Tomcat is faster and goes further, which it means it can carry a larger practical weapons load.
We haven't faced real air opposition in a long time and perhaps we never will, but what if we have to face fairly well-trained Red Chinese pilots flying Su-27s or Su-30s down the road? My guess is we'll be missing the F-14 then, because the Super Hornet is not a great dogfighter and can't loiter as long as a Tomcat.
And we also managed to let the Phoenix missile capability fade away by never updating it and then making the F-14 an A-6E replacement. We may wish we had a modern Tomcat and up-to date AIM-54 if and when we have to face the Iranians or the Chicoms. They both are armed with the M2.5+ SS-N-25 Sunburn anti-ship missile.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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And maintainability, and readiness rates.
A fabulously capable airplane does you no good if it's stuck in the hangar bay awaiting parts.
The Tomcat is faster
This ain't a race.
and goes further, which it means it can carry a larger practical weapons load.
The Navy's out of the deep strike business because they bet on the wrong horse in 1984. Go read The $5 Billion Misunderstanding.
We haven't faced real air opposition in a long time and perhaps we never will, but what if we have to face fairly well-trained Red Chinese pilots flying Su-27s or Su-30s down the road?
Let me know when Chinese pilots actually get to the level of "well-trained."
Wong Wei was NOT unexceptional.
My guess is we'll be missing the F-14 then, because the Super Hornet is not a great dogfighter and can't loiter as long as a Tomcat.
In what way is the Super Hornet not a great dogfighter?
The Tomcat has some serious dogfighting issues. At anything above a modest AOA, the pilot isn't so much flying the airplane as he's flying the engines in order to avoid compressor stalls.
And we also managed to let the Phoenix missile capability fade away by never updating it and then making the F-14 an A-6E replacement.
Get over it--the world changed.
We may wish we had a modern Tomcat and up-to date AIM-54 if and when we have to face the Iranians or the Chicoms. They both are armed with the M2.5+ SS-N-25 Sunburn anti-ship missile.
Which the Phoenix would be absolutely worthless against. It was designed to shoot the archers, not the arrows.
I'm sure, but we're talking carrier-based aircraft, which the F-22 ain't.
That concern pretty much eliminated when going from the P&W TF30's (A model) to the GE F110's (B/D models).
If you look at single-dimensional ops, yeah, you need it.
If you look at joint ops...the "Outer Air Battle" consists of some boys from Whiteman cratering the runways and bombing their HASs, and Navy TLAMs smashing their fuel depots, barracks, and maintenance facilities.
How you win the air battle: you kill enemy planes by the dozen on the ground, not one at a time at 30,000 feet.
From certain angles, the JSF looks quite nice:
However, the military is pushing the thing as a replacement for everything from the F-14 to the A-10. They may as well announce that it is capable of standard takeoff-to-orbit, as well. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Only if the enemy accomodates us, of course. We still need fast Navy aircraft carrying powerful long-range missiles, in the event that we don't catch those aircraft on the ground.
Do we have anything else that can carry the Phoenix, or any other missile that matches the Phoenix for range?
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