Road to 350: What Does the US Navy Do Anyway?

[hscs]

Jokes about the glass dome aside, we’re kinda already making it a very serious missile defense fortress…will leave it at that.

But that’s Guam. EABO is different.

and Guam May tip over.

And EABO ain’t cheap either. Very difficult and costly to set up, and not too hard to target.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Interesting article.

China's Aircraft Carrier Capability Just Made A Stunning Leap Forward

China has simultaneously debuted its J-35 stealth fighter, J-15T fighter and KJ-600 radar plane operating from its first catapult-equipped carrier. The J-35 and J-15T naval fighters and KJ-600 radar plane are all now conducting operations aboard the carrier Fujian, as it prepares for service.

www.twz.com

 

[sevenhelmet]

Interesting article.

China's Aircraft Carrier Capability Just Made A Stunning Leap Forward

China has simultaneously debuted its J-35 stealth fighter, J-15T fighter and KJ-600 radar plane operating from its first catapult-equipped carrier. The J-35 and J-15T naval fighters and KJ-600 radar plane are all now conducting operations aboard the carrier Fujian, as it prepares for service.

www.twz.com

Copycat dorks.

Hopefully they have a copy of CV NATOPS. Otherwise, one of their people might have an original thought that wasn’t appropriated from us, and the entire communist party would get absorbed into a quantum singularity.

 

[Hotdogs]

BOS ain’t exactly cheap and subject to HN desires and then locked into a specific location.

Bet we spent more than $15B / year in Guam in costs that cover housing, hangars, I level support, defense, self-repair, IT, and MWR for 5k people. Probably the same for what we are required to pay for CLDJ for the Navy. And you can’t move either between theaters.

Not sure where you'll find the land to build those airfields, much less keep them open in a conflict against China in the Pacific.

I think we have very different perceptions of the design and purpose of these airfields and airstrips. Not to mention the scale, time, and space they operate or don’t operate. It’s not a ship - You don’t need to gold plate everything. It’s not a veneer of the “expeditionary” phrasing that people love to throw around but don’t fully understand what it entails. The revealing part is that it’s not unprecedented, and we’ve done similar things in the past. Not surprisingly, we’re actively restoring some of those same airfields.

I'm not making that argument. I'm assessing your credibility. Mission complete.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Fortunately, I’m not the only one that holds these views.

 

[BigRed389]

I think we have very different perceptions of the design and purpose of these airfields and airstrips. Not to mention the scale, time, and space they operate or don’t operate. It’s not a ship - You don’t need to gold plate everything. It’s not a veneer of the “expeditionary” phrasing that people love to throw around but don’t fully understand what it entails. The revealing part is that it’s not unprecedented, and we’ve done similar things in the past. Not surprisingly, we’re actively restoring some of those same airfields.

If you’re referring to the airfields of WW2 fame…sure, don’t gold plate it.

But the ability of the adversary to conduct targeting and engage with PGMs has gotten way better as well. If you think a CVN (even under EMCON) is a missile magnet, an EABO airfield, and the sustainment tail to keep it fed, is also probably pretty easy to target. Probably even easier in some ways.

Personally I think everybody is struggling a bit with this being a truly joint fight where we really do need everybody to contribute, and most platforms simply can’t even play without others doing their jobs.