You brought up a very good point. The F-35 is a fantastic direct replacement for the F-4.

but for how long?

To not use it, is the point.

The nature of war is that he who acts fastest has the advantage, yet he who acts first is the villain.

It’s lunch time, so I can respond fairly quickly today.

The best quote I can think of on this situation has already been expressed.

Ok, you’re thinking you’re fighting someone who has a nostalgic hardline for battleships, I’m sorry for the confusion. Also, since both of us seem interested in a spirited debate on this, let me clarify my point.

I met the captain of that ship. He said he enjoyed the filming and the crew were really gracious. He said he and his crew are ready to fight any force on Earth, however if aliens invade, they are steaming away at full speed. They’ve already been blown up once, they’re not doing it again.

Look up the History of the USS Enterprise CV-6, All of the Essex class Carriers, HMS Warspite, USS North Carolina, USS South Dakota just to name a few. All those took major damage and stayed in service. Also look up the stupid number of bomb hits and torpedoes required to sink the SMS Admiral Sheer, Yamato and…

At most, you might inconvenience them for a spell. Carriers are horendously redundant and have enough manual valves and handles (think Battlestar Galactica) and over-manning (compared to commercial standards)that a hack wouldn’t effect much for long. More likely, they would just think NMCI is on the fritz yet again.

Actually no. Look at the amount of energy a 16 in supersonic shell imparts on landing, or look at the chemical/explosive energy potential of a Japanese “Long Lance” Torpedo. Now compare that to most anti-ship weapons currently in existence. WWII weapons had on par or more energy on target than their modern…

I like to challenge some folks to a thought experiment. Take an Iowa, update and reinstall all it’s secondaries, park it next to Iran, and paint Molan Labe on it. It’s citadel is practically immune to anything the Iranian small boats can throw at it. It’s kind of fun to get SWO’s fired up.

I don’t mean to alarm you, but there’s a nuclear powered attack carrier looking over your shoulder.

More often then not, I get the distinct impression that modern politics is the subtle art of “I meant to do that”

To be honest, they took a relatively slow (35+ knots) and very scarce resource (less than 10 operational super-carriers in the world at any given time) and suddenly made it appear thousands of miles away and used to to rattle a teacup despot.

What if no one knows where it is? What if... it’s been ...

“So it’s no secret that smuggles have no respect for borders.”

They did, and although the F-22 would be the star of the dance floor, when it comes to the MIG air combat tango, there’s no other real Western contenders.

I was thinking more the USS Washington and USS Enterprise combo or the HMS Ark Royal and HMS Rodney 1-2 punch of later years. Every tool has it’s use.

Dang it, and cheers!