Viet-Kilo...

[Fog]

Flash:
Since all the players are dead & we weren't there, we may never know the truth. Supposedly, the Russians had sold the PRC Golf I's w/ relatively short-range (400nm) liquid-fueled missiles to which the Chinese had added nuclear warheads. The Golf I's had to surface to launch and supposedly the K-129 did surface to attempt the [failed] launch.

Catmando: It still staggers the imagination that the Navy F-4 had such a total lack of useful navigation equipment considering where & how the Navy operated the a/c. The TAS nav computer was worthless and the only remaining thing was VOR/TACAN. Well, we still had a piece of ARN gear (ARN-6?), but it was in the front-seat, not the RIO's. There were no nav satellites in the 1960's & 70's. The naval aviators of today would probably refuse (and rightly so) to launch w/ the gear we relied on then.

 

[MasterBates]

Don't worry Fog, the USN is still building TACAN-ONLY aircraft.

 

[eddie]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519341,00.html

Cool to see these subs still in action... also cool to see someone else sticking it to the Chinese...

My money says we will be calling these guys our very close friends in the not so distant future.

No facts, just a hunch.

 

[Fog]

MB: My God, the horror. Anybody's Cessna or Mooney w/ GPS runs rings around this stuff. I assume you refer to trainers, certainly nothing that would ever operate more than 200nm from a VORTAC station.

OT: My, that lady's tatas get more wonderful every time I see them. IOW: keep posting!

 

[Gatordev]

MB: My God, the horror. Anybody's Cessna or Mooney w/ GPS runs rings around this stuff. I assume you refer to trainers, certainly nothing that would ever operate more than 200nm from a VORTAC station.

No, the trainers are what have all the gear. Amazing how everyone (Hornets, some -60s....I guess that's all that's left) complain about GPS/ILS every year, and every year, it's "not practical."

 

[MasterBates]

The "new" MH-60R is TACAN only.

A good chunk of the E-2C+'s are TACAN only as well (some have GARMIN, some don't)

 

[A4sForever]

....We occasionally flew from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, to Cubi Pt. in the PI. near the hostile islands.

Sometimes we flew on wing with aircraft that had some 'better navigation' than we.....

Same-o, same-o ... in fact, "we" even used to buddy up on a Whale or two -- although we had "better navigation" ... mainly 'cause they had HF radio capability to cover the gap -- and we didn't.

 

[A4sForever]

Back to the original post -- subs are kinda' "high maintenance" to my way of thinking -- at least from the standpoint of keepin' 'em up & running (properly) and being able to employ them (properly -- from an availability, skill data bank, and doctrinal point of view) ... as anyone can buy 'em & tie 'em up at the pier.

I hope the Gomers take better care of their prospective submarine force than they have their airplanes, airports, and radio nets over the past 35 +/- years ...

 

[Uncle Fester]

Back to the original post -- subs are kinda' "high maintenance" to my way of thinking -- at least from the standpoint of keepin' 'em up & running (properly) and being able to employ them (properly -- from an availability, skill data bank, and doctrinal point of view) ... as anyone can buy 'em & tie 'em up at the pier.

Yeah, but the beauty of buying subs is that you don't have to use them well to mess with your adversary's tactics. See how jumpy the Brits were during the Falklands, worried about the Argentine Type 209's - and that was NATO's premier ASW force.