Howedar wrote:Sea Skimmer, I've seen you bandy this point about time and again. Yet, I've never seen anything supporting this number. Today's carrier air wings have nine squadrons apiece, generally. Are you telling me that each squadron has a grand total of five aircraft?
I'm talking about
strike aircraft, you know, fasting moving jet things that drop bombs and shoot missiles. Each carrier should have three squadrons of 12 Hornets each and one of 14 Tomcats, 50 aircraft total. But those squadrons are under strength and there a drain to cover the fact that we have twelve carriers and only eleven air wings.
Now meanwhile the designed capacity would allow them to hold an additional pair of squadrons with about 20-24 aircraft for a total of about 75 Strike aircraft. The helicopters, S-3, Prowler and Hawkeye units are all pretty much up to strength and would be the same regardless.
The situation is so bad that carrier S-3 units no longer fly ASW patrol because there needed as tankers and now even as strike birds armed with Mavericks and bombs. And its not going to get better, the USN had hoped that it would keep its carrier groups at about 50 strike aircraft but Congressional cuts to JSF and F/A-18 procurement have forced the navy to plan for its future 2010+ squadrons to have only ten aircraft each with just four per ships and some of those may be USMC aircraft. The increased capability of the planes helps a whole lot, but 10 munitions still can't strike 20 targets.
I really hope this will chance and will see a return to at least 60 aircraft per deck. With the USMC pushing for a future LPH in the 60,000-ton range I'd hope we also will actually be able to put a squadron of JSF's on its deck.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956