Russia did not “accomplish peace”. They fought a brutal war against a minority group seeking independence. They killed thousands of civilians to crush the Chechen people and then installed a pet leader (Ramzan Kadyrov) who has a nasty human rights record (most Muslims don’t even like the guy).

SoYouThinkYouCanDrive seems to address your issues below. They have 3 gas turbine generators on board for auxiliary power.

I’m assuming diesel generators. The later Wasp class helicopter carriers have a similar system and in their case the diesel generator that normally produces auxiliary power is used. The turbines on those actually use the helicopter fuel for simplicity.

Like how Russia approaches Chechen independence?

Secession referendums are illegal unless sanctioned by the national government. Even more so when foreign troops are occupying the area.

Black ties are for funerals. There’s no reason not to have more ties. You can find them really cheap at most department stores and there’s no shortage of varieties to fit your style.

I’m no Obama fanboy, I voted for the other guy both times. But Putin is not a “strong” leader. He’s a deceptive and coercive leader. He is probably one of the wealthiest people on the planet, all by illicit means. He has robbed the Russian people and bolstered organized crime. He’s obviously very intelligent, but he’s…

Words can’t solve every problem, but words can be powerful.

Saw several photos of this toast/meeting. In every single one of them Obama looks like he’s doing his best to not punch Putin right in his shit-eating grin. I think this was after Obama’s address to the General Assembly which was pretty damn blunt.

BUT JET FUEL CAN’T MELT STEEL BEAMS...

And without an appropriate foreign policy, there is no domestic policy.

The F-35B (Marine VTOL version) needs to stay. Otherwise go for it.

Rule number one of foreign policy: Don’t ever assume you can predict future events. Even if we can see a threat coming 2-3 years out, that’s not enough time to get things rolling again. It’s always better to be prepared. Many times simply being prepared for a fight you don’t expect is enough to deter others from…

That, and when you want to hide its stealth profile. Notice in all the pictures of F-22s intercepting Russian bombers, they always have a drop tank.

No the aluminum alloys used in shipbuilding are not combustible. They do have a lower melting point than steel, but they conduct heat far better. As xXTomcatXx has pointed out, there were several incidents during the Falklands War that showed aluminum ships were not any more susceptible than steel ships. And here is a…

That seriously makes me cringe.

Yeah advanced armor techniques developed for tanks could probably be adapted to naval use if necessary. Part of me is nostalgic about the rolled steel armor of the Iowas, that theoretically would be undamaged by AShM’s (they specifically studied the Exocet).

Realistic rail gun ranges typically exceed 200 nm. The Harpoon’s range is ~70 nm, and its in-development replacement has a range of ~250 nm. And rail gun projectiles will probably be GPS guided.

I was referring more to ship designs that could survive a rail gun hit. Traditionally, a warship should be able to withstand getting hit at least once by its own gun. As rail guns become more common, we may need to return to a truly armored platform.

It’s definitely larger. Horsepower is probably not the best measurement. I found a figure of 150 GW total for the 5 F1 engines of the first stage. A Nimitz Class sends 194 MW to the shaft according to Wikipedia.