Found this on Instapundit....for those of you techies into the hows and whys of building a supercarrier, this article is a good read.
But, I've got an even better idea for a supercarrier...this would be a carrier built from the keel up to launch and recover Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV), and UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The model is the alien spaceship from the movie "Independence Day"--you remember that movie, don't you? It's the one where the aliens disgorge literally thousands of little fighter planes at a time to take on the forces of good (Will Smith et al).
Back in the day when I was plying the world's oceans, our carriers considered it a bang-up day if their embarked air wing could generate 200+ sorties a day--many of which weren't bomb droppers.
Imagine if we designed a carrier that served as an assembly line launch and recovery platform for UCAV/UAV's. Here's the concept--a UCAV returns from its mission and lands on the carrier. It is caught and guided to an assembly line that takes the plane below decks for refueling, re-arming, and re-programming (with the next mission). This same assembly line moves the UCAV to a ready position until the mission needs to be flown, at which point the UCAV is selected and launched. In full automatic, the UCAV's drop their bombs, return, refuel, rearm and reprogram, only to then relaunch and head out to the next target.
The weak point in high performance aircraft is the fact that we have to put a human being in it. If we took the human out, we could basically strap an engine on a bomb, a computer and a wing and send it out to do ridiculous maneuvers over target that would kill a human being (forces of gravity being what they are). These maneuvers would make it much more difficult to shoot down such a vehicle, making it even MORE survivable than a comparably armed manned aircraft. Satellites could provide for in flight re-programming and/or recall.
How many THOUSANDS of combat sorties a day could a carrier such as this one carry out? The possibilities are mind-blowing.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
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4 comments:
They should also strap laser beams on the heads of the porpoises swimming alongside the ship...frikkin' laser beams.
Let's skip all the interim technology... Pigs in space with lasers.
Presently the UAVs are remotely piloted by pilots on the ground. These pilots and soldiers who operate unmanned aerial vehicles now are eligible for award of the Aviation Badge, Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.
Talk about cheapening a decoration.
Some derivation of that is in our future - mark my words. Institutional and cultural resistance to change mixed in with a healthydoes of politics will delay the roll-out of your exact idea. My hunch is that it will roll out in phases, first tankers, than long range ISR platforms and finally fighters. All coming and going off a radically different platform. By then, we'll be in the rocking chairs on the front porch!
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