drunkmunky
Junior Member
Can the Chinese generators create sufficient energy to power the em cat without compromising on space? ie: need more generators on the ship than when compared to nuclear and therefore lose space for birds & munitions?
CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
I expect something similar to USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), but with electro-magnetic catapults.
TBH I think it's just as likely that the final iteration of PLAN carrier design will be a ~80kt conventional EM-cat CATOBAR design as it is that it ends up with a 100kt nuclear carrier design. It would have range and total air wing sortie penalties compared to a Nimitz/Ford, but over the course of a single naval encounter it could easily go toe to toe with one, especially with the right mix of escorts.
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When you say "final iteration" are you referring to the overall "end point" of long term PLAN carrier design/configuration?
If that is what you mean, I think there are valid arguments for and against nuclear power Vs conventional, and having a larger Vs smaller carrier in terms of overall fleet structure.
But the long term rumours of PLAN carrier ambitions seem to consistently be that they desire USN style nuclear supercarriers, and the most recent rumours still point in that direction of interest.
I imagine by the early to mid 2020s we will begin to see some clearer rumours as to how the PLANs nuclear supercarrier timetable pans out.
IMO the longer term the rumors are, the more tenuous they are. I will personally withhold judgment until some years from now.
Hmm, based on my observations, I think for PLA watching the longer term the rumours are the more likely they are to be real IMO.
Certain details might change, such as exact figures, or even the name of certain projects, but the existence of projects with long term consistent rumours usually tend to bear fruit.
Of course, for the nuclear carrier project we will know in a number of years just what the gameplan will be, but the current "rumour stage" for it is about appropriate and consistent for similar past big ticket projects that have ended up producing the goods.
Then we will just have to agree to disagree on the likelihood of long term rumors.
Sure; that said I'm genuinely curious about which past examples of other long term rumours in your opinion causes long term rumours to be deemed as more tenuous than short term rumours.
I'm not going to contest them as I don't want to sidetrack the thread too much, but I'm definitely interested in any past/current examples that inform your view towards long term rumours, for my own curiosity.
Can't think of any off hand, but I think it's reasonable to assume the general principle that the more distant the timeline, the less certain the facts.