Modern Carrier Battle Group..Strategies and Tactics

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

NikeX said:

A certain game changer in carrier operations will be the X-47B which is scheduled to begin testing off Nimitz class carriers in 2013.

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The X-47B will indeed be a strong remote controlled surveillance and light attack platform. You can read more about it here:


It will set the stage for even more such aircraft to follow, though it will still be quite a long time before those aircraft replace manned aircraft in the fighter, or stike role in contested air space.

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

NikeX said:

A certain game changer in carrier operations will be the X-47B which is scheduled to begin testing off Nimitz class carriers in 2013. Fleets of stealthy drones operating as an extension of the battlegroup will complicate the task of any potential enemy greatly. These UCAVs can penetrate enemy defenses at will and provide the battlegroup with a complete picture of enemy capabilities without the enemy defenses ever knowing they were under survelliance.

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I doubt it UCAV is short range aircraft and relatively slow aircraft. Against layer and integrated Chinese air defense It will be shot to pieces before it even reach mainland

Those glorifies RC plane is only good if you can maintain air superiority which doubtful in any conflict in Asia. Because of the tyranny of distance and the fact that only Anderson AFB is free from Chinese missile .Kadena, Yokota, Misawa will be bombed out

The ASBM launcher will well hidden inland away from the coast If Gen Statement statement is true it has a range of 2700 km assuming it is bases 1000 km inland . Anything 1700 km from Chinese coast is kill zone

Now how much fuel can this little guy carry

China has thousand of Mig 17 that can be used as point defense to hunt this little guy

UAV and UCAV is only good to hunt terrorist armed with AK47

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

Hendrik_2000 said:

I doubt it UCAV is short range aircraft and relatively slow aircraft. Against layer and integrated Chinese air defense It will be shot to pieces before it even reach mainland

China has thousand of Mig 17 that can be used as point defense to hunt this little guy

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you are clearly underestimating X-47B

Mig-17 will certainly not be able to search track or target VLO targets, thousands? piloted or pilotless, if pilotless even more so, there is no data relay architecture to enable such operation scenario, piloted, i doubt China even has pilots for this obsolete aircraft

X-47B will be equipped with refueling probes, and we all know what that means, unlimited range as USN see fit, and no pilot fatigue, just the operation limits of the airframe and engine

the X-47B is no short of groundbreaking if not gamechanging

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

Tell me what is the range of this magic weapon. Now can the big refueling aircraft pass the gauntlet of J10, J11B HQ10, HQ16,KJ2000,KJ 200 MPU 300 with 225 mile range ?

It is power by small turbofan engine. How fast can it fly ? Faster than speeding bullet?

They will find this little guy and yes China has thousand of Mig 17 to hunt this magic weapon

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

i'm not going to exchange arguments with you hendrik, not with that kind of reasoning and reply, i clearly explain why obsolete Mig-17 can not cope with this UCAV or not even early PLAAF Su-27 can, and you come up with that

i can see where this is going, not taking the ride

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

Gentlemen, Peace! We come (here, SDF) for peace!

It was all derailed by the suggestion of use of nuke (to create EMP), let's not venture into M.A.D. domain again.

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

Jeff Head said:

If a nuclear weapon were detonated to produce an EMP against the US, then the US would consider it a nuclear attack and would respond. That response would very likely not be convetional. At the very least it would involve EMP detonations against the enemy conducting said operations. First use of nuclear weapons in the current environment would play to an absolute US strength both qualitatively and quantitatively (in all cases outside of Rusia on the quantitative side) and I do not believe any nation (outside of someone who is truly insane, like Iran or potentially N. Korea) would consider it.

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There is no reason to believe Iran and North Korea are insane, just because they don't kowtow to the US.

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

That response would very likely not be convetional. At the very least it would involve EMP detonations against the enemy conducting said operations.

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It seems you're being deliberately vague here. If not conventional, then what exactly? You've listed nuclear EMPs, what else are you thinking of? The U.S. disavowed and destroyed its stocks of chemical and biological weapons many years ago. The U.S. would not retaliate with nuclear weapons because it has a very good conventional alternative. Nuclear weapons are really a weapon of last resort. Even in 1945, they were used because of the perception that taking Japan by a traditional amphibious invasion would be too costly (though modern historians have greatly unraveled this schoolbook narrative based on contemporary internal American government documents). There would be no point to the U.S. nuking China in response to an EMP attack when a dozen just-as-good conventional retaliation options are available and don't carry the baggage or risks of nuclear weapons.

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

Facts about the X-47B:

General characteristics
Crew: None aboard
Length: 38.2 ft (11.63 m)
Wingspan: 62.1 ft (30.9 ft folded) (18.92 m)
Height: 10.4 ft (3.10 m)
Empty weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 44,567 lb (20,215 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-220U turbofan
Performance
Maximum speed: Subsonic
Cruise speed: 0.45 mach
Range: 2,100+ NM (3,889+ km)
Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
Armament
2 weapon bays, providing for up to 4,500 lb (2,000 kg) of ordnance
Avionics
Provisions for EO/IR/SAR/ISAR/GMTI/MMTI/ESM

The X-47B will be used to demonstrate carrier launches and recoveries, as well as autonomous inflight refueling with a probe and drogue. The X-47B has a maximum unrefueled range of over 2,000 miles (3,200 km), and an endurance of more than six hours. In November 2011, the Navy announced that aerial refuelling equipment and software would be added to one of the prototype aircraft in 2014.

The follow on and larger X-47C will be capable of acting as a electronic warfare aircraft for electronic warfare missions

Re: The End of the Carrier Age?

It should be noted that X-47B has an all composite frame and body which will make it even harder to detect by radar. Note also that the aircraft is designed by Northrop-Grumman, the same company that designed the B2. From certain angles it looks like a little B2