International Naval News & Discussion

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wig
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2 ... 406a402ffd
Why The Catastrophic Fire On A Nuclear Submarine Is Nothing To Gloat About
extracts
As details emerge of the fire aboard the French submarine Perle on Friday 13, it seems unlikely to me that the boat will be returned to service. Whichever way you look at it, the fire is a terrible blow for the French Navy (Marine Nationale). Their submarine fleet is already stretched. But France’s misfortune brings home a basic reality that it could happen to any navy.
fires on submarines can deform the hull rendering it unusable
In general, fires aboard submarines can be harder to put out. This is because of the cramped spaces aboard, and also because there are very few openings into the submarine. And they can be more devastating than a similar fire aboard a surface vessel because the heat can deform the steel hull. On a surface vessel this can be repaired more easily, but with a submarine it can make the hull weaker so that it is no longer safe to dive. This is why I am not optimistic that she will be repairable.
On Friday June 12, 2020 at 10:35 a.m., a fire started at the front of Perle, while in drydock for maintenance and repair at the military port of Toulon. Firefighters battled the fire for 14 hours
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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Fires aboard subs have been experienced by almost all navies including the IN. The hulls may not be so badly affected,but the equipment inside,cabling,ducting,etc. will have gone up in smoke.Having started in the bows,you can be sure that the sonar is kaput,the torpedo room in shambles,and a 14 hr. fire would've even had time to spread affecting the main control room/ command centre destroying it in full. From reports so far recd., the N-plant appears to have been unaffected. Let's see if the cost of repairs aren't unaffordable ,otherwise it would be the full time.
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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Add another German program to the list of systems that will need replacement much ahead of the replacement actually being available. They need something by 2025, but the Franco-German A-320 based MPA is still in "study" phase and won't deliver until 2030 assuming no delays.

Germany Halts P-3 Orion Mission Systems Upgrade as MPA Alternatives Examined

Germany’s Defense Ministry has put a halt to an ongoing midlife upgrade (MLU) of its fleet of Lockheed Martin P‑3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) as it shifts to examining potential replacements. The news emerged via Reuters on June 16 after a confidential ministry document detailing the shift in Defense Ministry approach was leaked.

The document – drafted for review by the parliamentary defense committee – allegedly shows that the Defense Ministry opted to drop the Orion MLU process following an economic feasibility study.

The legacy fleet of eight P-3C Orions were purchased secondhand from the Netherlands in 2005, with the first unit entering German service in April 2006 following upgrades to the fleet’s 20-year-old systems conducted at Manching in Bavaria prior to delivery.

After a government report released in April 2011 noted that the aircraft suffered from operational limitations, Germany sought rectification through an upgrade program via the U.S. Department of Defense’s government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism. A request for sale to Germany of elements allowing for the procurement, integration, and installation of hardware and software required for upgrading the Orions’ mission computer and acoustic systems was approved by the U.S. State Department, with notification then given to Congress by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on April 11, 2014.

A contract was then agreed to between the German government, Lockheed Martin and Airbus Defence and Space on July 22, 2015. The contract called for production of eight midlife upgrade kits (outer wing, center fuselage and horizontal stabilizer) by Lockheed Martin, with Airbus responsible for installation of the kits on the German P-3Cs at its Manching facility.

Additional planned upgrades formed part a broader modernization aimed at retaining the German P-3C Orions in service out to 2035.

But the cost and technical issues cropping up during the upgrade process – along with heavy damage inflicted on one P-3C unit in March 2020 – forced the Defense Ministry to acknowledge that delays in the ongoing modernization effort and consequent lack of fleet-wide operational readiness made termination of the mission equipment upgrades practical. However, according to the Defense Ministry, the rewinging measures being undertaken will continue in order to prevent an immediate capability gap from emerging.


As a short-term solution, the Defense Ministry is examining platforms to bring into service by 2025. These include the C-295 Persuader MPA variant from Airbus, the Rheinland Air Service (RAS) 72 Sea Eagle, and the P-8A Poseidon from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing.

Notably absent from the list of alternatives put out via press release by the German Defense Ministry on June 17 is the Kawasaki Heavy Industries P-1 now in service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) being pitched by Kawasaki globally as a potential MPA solution.

Germany’s longer-term MPA solution will most likely be found via the Maritime Airborne Warfare System development program, set to be undertaken jointly by France and Germany post-2025 with an eye on achieving a new maritime patrol capability by 2030. The two countries signed a letter of intent (LOI) to develop this capability at the ILA exhibition in Berlin in April 2018 and have already have agreed to award manufacturers a two-year common requirements study determining the technical and financial elements involved.

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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) dual-carrier operations in the Philippine Sea -

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The ships and aircraft assigned to both strike groups began coordinated operations in international waters demonstrating the United States’ unique capability to operate multiple carrier strike groups in close proximity.

While at sea, the strike groups will support air defense drills, sea surveillance, replenishments at sea, defensive air combat training, long range strikes, coordinated maneuvers and other exercises. LINK
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liby ... SKBN23P2SJ

NATO to investigate Mediterranean incident between French, Turkish warships

excerpted
French Armed Force Minister Florence Parly said that on June 10 Turkish warships flashed their radar lights three times at the French warship Courbet in the eastern Mediterranean.

She said the Courbet was on a NATO mission to check whether a Turkish vessel, the Cirkin, was smuggling arms to Libya after it turned off its transponder, failed to identify itself and did not give its final destination.
She added that Turkish sailors had also put on bullet-proof vests and stood behind their light weapons during the incident.

“There cannot be any complacency with regard to such behaviour. This particularly serious incident must be dealt with and our allies share our concerns because eight European allies gave me clear support today in NATO,” Parly told French lawmakers after the ministerial meeting.

“This act was extremely aggressive and cannot be one of an ally facing another ally who is doing its work under NATO command,” she said.

A senior Turkish defence ministry official told Reuters on Thursday that France’s “baseless” claim was not backed up by any concrete evidence, and said the French ship was making fast and dangerous manoeuvres that breached NATO principles and navy security rules.
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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House Defense Bill Pushes Hypersonic Weapons for Zumwalt Destroyers
Specifically, the bill calls for the Navy to start integration efforts on the Zumwalt class no later than Jan. 1, 2021.

Commander of Naval Surface Forces Vice Adm. Rich Brown has expressed interest in putting hypersonic weapons on the Zumwalt class, saying that the ship’s larger size, power generation and missile launcher compared to the Arleigh Burke-class DDG made it a great host for the conventional prompt strike weapon.

“I have got to tell you, I am thoroughly impressed with the capabilities that that destroyer will bring into our fleet. As a matter of fact, I would love to have six more of them, because the capabilities are that good. If you look at conventional prompt strike, I can think of no other better platform than to put conventional prompt strike on that platform. And then once that happens, or if that happens, make no mistake, it will put the fear of god into our adversaries once we marry those two platforms together,” he said during a media call.

The report to Congress that the NDAA language mandates would begin to address some thorny issues related to use of force, risk of escalation, command and control and more.

The submarine community has worked out some of these issues, having a Navy platform using a national strategic weapon – nuclear missiles – in its Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) program. Though it would be the Virginia-class SSNs firing off strategic hypersonic CPGS weapons – and those crews would have to manage having both strategic weapons for national tasking as well as their own weapons for self-defense and strike missions within their Navy fleet chain of command – it’s likely that some of the submarine community’s understanding of command and control, underwater communications, and training for national tasking could be put in place on the attack subs.

However, no surface ships today are equipped with these kinds of strategic weapons and have to deal with these kinds of issues.
This would be an interesting development to follow though I suspect, the move, in large part, is motivated by the desire of the democrat led House to wean away the US Navy from conventional prompt strike off of submarines given their previous objection based on unsubstantiated and nonsensical arguments around launch ambiguity.

The USN for its part has quietly hinted at removing one, or both, of the AGS on the Zumwalt class and replacing it with a conventional gun and the Virginia Payload Module (adding the VP tubes right out of the submarine design) so that it can accommodate the large diameter (30+ inches) 4000+ km intermediate range hypersonic glide weapons. Alternatively, they could try squeezing the more advanced high L/D wedge shaped H-BGV that Lockheed and Raytheon are developing for the USAF (AGM-183 A and B ) and DARPA, and have it sit atop a smaller diameter booster. Though I suspect that would not be an intermediate ranged weapon which then calls into question the need for something in the 1000 mile class as apposed to something 2x or 3x of that. The additional range will be a game changer in the Pacific theater and would severely call into question the need for the US Army to field a similar weapon (the Hypersonic CPS capability actually IOC's with the US Army in 2023) given the basing challenges of land based intermediate range systems..That may not sit well with the Army focused top brass at the Pentagon (SecDef and JC).

The three Zumwalt class destroyers, along with the SSN fleet could carry the mission through the 2020's, and into early to mid 2030's (along with USAF bombers, and possibly fighters), while the Large Surface Combatant (Ticonderoga replacement) comes in during the 2030's in larger numbers.

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The crew of carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) has spent 161 days at sea while on station in the Middle East – breaking a record set during the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, according to the Navy.

The carrier and guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56) left Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Jan. 17 for a graduation exercise that shifted into its eventual deployment. They have been at sea ever since.

“Although Naval History and Heritage Command does not specifically track continuous days underway for naval vessels, it has two modern documented days-at-sea records, both of which are now broken,” the Navy said in a statement.

“In Feb. 2002, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) operated for 160 days straight in support of post-9/11 response. And it was again, Ike, who held the record of 152 days consecutively underway during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980.”
https://news.usni.org/2020/06/25/carrie ... erty-ports
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It seems Japan is gunning for a 2025-2030 time-frame to operationalize a 5th gen naval fighter. This will probably allow for a more smoother transition from building/buying F-35A's to building/buying a mix of A's and B's.

Japan begins refitting first of two Izumo-class carriers to support F-35B operations

Tokyo has begun the process of converting the first of two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Izumo-class helicopter carriers into aircraft carriers capable of supporting the operations of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

As confirmed by Janes on 30 June, the Japan Marine United (JMU) Corporation recently started conducting refit work on JS Izumo at the company’s Isogo shipyard in Yokohama City.Janes understands that the modifications will be made in two main stages meant to coincide with the vessel’s periodic refit and overhaul programmes, which take place every five years.

While initial modifications are taking place during the refit and overhaul planned for this fiscal year, the final changes are only expected to be made during the vessel’s next overhaul in FY 2025, after which a series of tests and sea trials are expected to follow.

The 248 m-long, 24,000-tonne Izumo class has been built with weight considerations for the F-35B in various parts, including the stowage, elevators, and flight deck. However, further modifications are needed such as reinforcing the flight deck to support additional weight, placing additional guidance lights, and fitting the ship with heat-resistant deck spots for vertical landings, among other things.

It is still unclear, however, whether a ski-jump will be added.
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Laying the Foundation for EMALS on CVN 79, John F. Kennedy.

MeshaVishwas
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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I would pay to watch a "How do they do it..." Episode on this:

:shock:
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Brings back scary images from the INS Sindhurakshak fire tragedy.
Hope that no life loss occurs.
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They've come a long way after dethroning Lockheed Martin for the next generation SPY radar for AEGIS -

Raytheon Delivers First SPY-6 Radar Array To U.S. Navy’s Newest Destroyer

Raytheon Missiles & Defense delivered the first AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar array for installation on the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the U.S. Navy's first Flight III guided-missile destroyer.

The 14′ x 14′ modular array was transported by truck from the company’s automated 30,000-square-foot Radar Development Facility in Andover, Massachusetts, to Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The SPY-6(V) family of radars delivers significantly greater range, increased accuracy, greater resistance to environmental and man-made electronic clutter, advanced electronic protection, and higher reliability than currently deployed radars.
The video shows all the shipsets for the first in class ship as ready to be shipped. This in addition to the two arrays that they delivered a few years ago for development and integration testing.

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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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Sad news about the Bonhomme Richard. Some reports said that the on- board fire suppression systems weren't on due to repair work going on. World over more warships and subs have been lost or severely damaged not in battle but in port,during repairs/ refits!
The amphib BH is another ringing of whatever equiv. of rhe Lutine Bell exists in the USN.There's so much of inflammable carried material aboard during refits and so many accidents that it beggars the imagination why better fire prevention methods and protocls aren't in place.
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Huge Pacific Exercise Centered On Guam Brings Allies Together Amid Growing China Threat
Australia has joined forces with the U.S and Japan for a huge trilateral exercise that is being held in the Indo-Pacific region over the coming months. The collaboration brings together the Australian Defense Forces, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which are engaged in the regional deployment.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has dispatched an impressive fleet of fighters, tankers, and an airborne early warning aircraft to Andersen Air Force Base, on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam, as part of the Regional Presence Deployment. This particular phase of the activities runs from July 21 to August 2. The series of events are designed to act as a clear example of how the U.S. is partnering with regional allies amid concerns over security in the Indo-Pacific area, including the South China Sea.

More than 150 RAAF personnel deployed to Andersen AFB as part of a series of training events originally unveiled by Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in early July. The RAAF Air Task Unit on Guam includes F/A-18A Hornets from No. 77 Squadron, EA-18G Growlers from No. 6 Squadron, an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft from No. 2 Squadron, and KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTTs) that will collectively conduct advanced air-sea integration drills with maritime forces.

Australian and Japanese naval flotillas joined the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and her associated Carrier Strike Group in the Philippine Sea on July 19. It marked the start of the joint exercises that are taking place throughout Southeast Asia and will later move on to Hawaii. Australia and Japan both share long-standing alliances with the U.S. and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the treaty of mutual cooperation and security between America and Japan.

Complementing the land-based air power, the Royal Australian Navy involvement includes the first-in-class amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra, along with first-in-class destroyer HMAS Hobart, the Anzac class frigate HMAS Arunta, and fleet replenishment ship HMAS Sirius. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) involvement is based around the Akizuki class destroyer JS Teruzuki. “The experience in this exercise will give us tactical and operational advantages and make our friendships stronger, in addition to our regular joint exercises with both like-minded navies,” commented Capt Sakano Yusuke of the JMSDF...
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Japan Shows Yet Another ASM-3 Design


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The appearance of a test airframe for the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) ASM-3 in July shows that the Japanese have worked through at least five configurations for the supersonic anti-ship missile. Instability in the integrated-rocket-ramjet design suggests difficulty in development apart from officially acknowledged inadequacy in range.Two major variations in configurations were envisioned in 2009, just before the program was launched. Two more have been seen in photographs and an official drawing, and now there is one more. Further, the newly revealed configuration may not be that of the production weapon.

Deputy Defense Minister Yamamoto Tomohiro published a photo of the test airframe—possibly, but not necessarily, a complete missile—after a visit to MHI’s Komaki-Minami Plant at Nagoya on July 14. Obviously an air-to-surface weapon using integrated rocket-ramjet propulsion, it was accompanied by an “ASM-3” placard to remove any doubt as to its identity.

Unpainted, it was clearly not a production round.

Originally scheduled to be developed in 2003-10, the ASM-3 program was deferred to 2010-16. Last year, when it had not entered service, then-Defense Minister Iwaya Takeshi said it needed to be modified for more range because of the improved reach of naval air defense systems of “some countries” (one of which was presumably China).

The original version reportedly had a range of less than 200 km (125 mi.); the new one will be able to fly more than 400 km, the Mainichi newspaper says. Its speed, presumably in cruise, is reported as Mach 3.

Designs have varied externally in at least five respects: There have been two body lengths, two inlet shapes, varying positions of the inlets relative to length, differing fin sizes, and the presence or absence of fairings running along the body. The body may also have two different diameters. Different designs also seem to have different sizes of cross-sections for ramjet inlet boxes.

The test airframe that Yamamoto revealed had the short body, aft-swept, 2D inlets in a midlength position and fairings. And if there are two diameters, which is difficult to judge from photographs, the test airframe had the fatter one.

The inlet shape seen on July 14 was foreshadowed in an official 2009 illustration of a missile that (the ministry implied then) would be the operational system, appearing before 2020. But that one had the long body.Two other ASM-3 configurations have previously been seen in photographs; both had only forward-swept inlets of 3D, pen-nib form. One of those missile configurations, apparently the earliest, had the long body and no fairings. Another had the short body with fairings. Yet another design, shown in a 2009 drawing, was similar, but its inlet positions were different.

The purpose of the fairings is unknown. They could carry fuel lines or electrical or signaling wires. Designers will normally try to minimize drag by burying such features inside a missile’s cylindrical body. A long body would hold more fuel, consistent with greater range—yet now, after the government has said more range is needed, it displays a short body design (but perhaps a fat one). There is no guarantee that this is the currently intended production configuration.

Integrated rocket-ramjet propulsion is used for all versions that have been seen. The ASM-3 first accelerates under the power of a solid-propellant rocket in its rear. When that burns out, covers over the inlets come off and the ramjet takes over, burning liquid fuel. Ramjet exhaust goes through the rocket’s nozzle, first passing through the space formerly occupied by the rocket propellant.

The ASM-3 is supposed to arm the MHI F-2 strike fighter, which now carries the subsonic ASM-2 anti-ship missile. When the supersonic missile was judged last year as not ready for service, the F-2 was not ready to accept it anyway: The fighter needed a new mission computer, which was still under development.

The government has not said when the ASM-3 will be ready nor when the F-2 will be ready for it. Meanwhile, Japan is buying the Kongsberg subsonic but stealthy Joint Strike Missile for strikes against surface targets, including ships, by Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightnings.
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First sight of buddy store on MQ-25A unmanned refueller


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First images have emerged of the underwing pod installation on Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray carrier-borne unmanned aerial refuelling system ahead of the start of flight testing.

The MQ-25A is intended to provide US Navy (USN) carrier air wings with a robust organic refueling capability to improve the combat of embarked strike fighters and extend the reach of the carrier air wing on the aircraft carriers.Boeing was in August 2018 awarded a USD805.3 million engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) contract by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for the design, development, fabrication, test, delivery, and support of four MQ-25A unmanned air vehicles, including integration into the carrier air wing for an initial operational capability in August 2024.

Boeing has built a company-owned flight test article, T1 (N234MQ), to support the development programme. T1 began flight test activities in September 2019, accumulating approximately 30 flight hours up to February 2020.

The MQ-25A is expected to deliver up to 15,000 lb of fuel at 500 n miles. Aerial refuelling operations will be undertaken using two standard buddy pods, one under each wing, paying out a refuelling hose and basket. These buddy stores, already in service on USN F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, are built by Cobham.

Images showing T1 fitted with the Cobham buddy store under its port wing were earlier released on 20 July by Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth after she had visited the Boeing facility at MidAmerica regional airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, the previous week. Boeing later released a short video on social media showing the pod installation process being undertaken inside its hangar at MidAmerica airport.
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A great rundown of what efforts the US Navy is putting in place ahead of the first unit deployment for the F-35C cruise.

Navy’s First Operational F-35C Squadron Fires Missiles As It Preps For Inaugural Cruise

The U.S. Navy’s first operational front-line Lockheed Martin F-35C unit, Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) “Argonauts,” has completed two key milestones in preparation for its maiden deployment next year. The squadron will be the first to take the F-35C to sea on a cruise as part of Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in 2021.

The “Argonauts” completed a Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP) in combination with the U.S. Air Force in May and June at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. This was followed by a “5th Generation Advanced Readiness Program” in July at NAS Fallon, Nevada, alongside its fellow CVW-2 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons VFA-2 “Bounty Hunters,” VFA-113 “Stingers,” and VFA-192 “Golden Dragons.”

The “Argonauts” deployed to Eglin alongside other CVW-2 tactical jet squadrons for WSEP, which is a live missile firing event hosted by the 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron from May 27 to June 12. A media release from the resident 53rd Wing said its units “facilitated the firing of 26 air-to-air missiles during this event.” The release added: “CVW-2 participated in the event to prepare them for their real-world deployment next year in support of geographic combatant commander taskings.”

The Eglin event, known as “WSEP East 20.09” included CVW-2, the 53rd Wing, 325th Fighter Wing F-22A Raptors that are based at Eglin due to damage at Tyndall AFB that was inflicted by Hurricane Michael, plus Eglin’s 33rd Fighter Wing, which flies F-35As.


A WSEP can be tailored for air-to-air firings, which is also known as “Combat Archer,” or air-to-ground launches, which is “Combat Hammer.” Both are designed to provide an end-to-end evaluation of the complete weapons system, including the aircraft itself, the building and loading of the missiles, and the actual firing, guidance, and ultimate lethality of the weapons. It has become a somewhat common event for U.S. Navy, USAF, and U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadrons ahead of a major combat deployment.

In addition to being a part of CVW-2’s work-up in preparation for its deployment, the 83rd FWS supported operational test shots to gather data. One of the more significant events included AIM-120D Software Improvement Program missiles. This likely relates to System Improvement Program 3, the newest operational version of the AIM-120D, which itself is a major leap on capability above the previous AIM-120C variant.

Raytheon Missile System received a $38.6 million contract for System Improvement Program 3 Engineering Manufacturing and Development upgrades for the AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) in September 2017. The contract provides for software development to improve the AIM-120D's performance against more advanced enemy threats.

F-35As and F-35Cs fired seven AIM-120Ds and an EA-18G Growler fired one, according to the news release. It added: “These weapon firings provided valuable data and feedback to combat air force and fleet warfighters and informed strategic weapons allocation and movement decisions.”

“Thank you all very much for the herculean effort you and your teams provided CVW-2. With your world-class support, we were able to complete 15/15 OFRP — Readiness required shots over the last two weeks,” said Captain Matthew Thrasher, the commander (CAG) of CVW-2.

“This event improved readiness of CVW-2 in preparation for real-world tasking, support of operational test objectives, and gathered critical F-35A/C weapons employment data,” said Col Nicholas Reed, commander, 53d Weapons Evaluation Group (WEG).

Following WSEP, the elements of CVW-2 moved to NAS Fallon in July for the next round of preparatory training. Traditionally known by the Navy as SFARP, the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program, the F-35 squadron has coined it the “5th Generation Advanced Readiness Program.” This training will have included a pivotal role for VFA-147’s new TOPGUN graduate, who oversees the squadron training program. The squadron’s Facebook page remarked, “We crushed it!!!”

A traditional work-up cycle would next see CVW-2 going into carrier qualifications (CQ) and TSTA, the Tailored Ship's Training Availability. This is designed to support the aircraft carrier’s crew and prepare it to bring the entire air wing aboard. Air Wing Fallon follows, where the CVW comes together for a five-week exercise that brings together all the elements of the CVW, working together in complex exercises on the Fallon Range Training Complex. Finally comes COMPTUEX (Composite Training Unit Exercise), which is basically Air Wing Fallon, but fly from the carrier, and integrates all the Carrier Strike Group’s naval assets with the air wing and each other.

The USS Carl Vinson is expected to arrive in San Diego, California, shortly, following a maintenance period in Bremerton, Washington. The first cruise with the F-35C will also coincide with the first Navy deployment with the new Bell-Boeing CMV-22B Osprey Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) tiltrotor. VRM-30 “Titans” is now in possession of two CMV-22s at its home base at NAS North Island, California, and the squadron will also make its first operational detachment aboard the USS Carl Vinson in 2021.The deployment for CVW-2 in 2021 will mark a major milestone in U.S. naval aviation history. The “Argonauts” will be taking a brand new fighter on a maiden cruise for the first time since the Super Hornet joined the fleet in 2002. Above all else, the F-35C will finally give the Navy's carrier's air wings the stealth capability they were promised 30 years ago.

So, suffice it to say that there is a lot of pressure on the Argonauts and their sister squadrons to get it right!
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Must watch!
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ROK Navy’s LPX-II Will Be An F-35B Light Aircraft Carrier – Not An LHD

The LPX-II program, originally meant to be an amphibious assault ship project, has now been officially revealed as a dedicated light aircraft carrier project. This means LPX-II will not have amphibious support capability (there will be no well deck) and the vessel will be dedicated to air operations, with F-35B and rotary wings.

LPX-II is expected to displace around 30,000 tons (likely over 40,000 tons at full load). Details on the program have been very limited until now due to geopolitical climate and because it is still very early in the program. Originally scheduled to be launched in 2033, LPX-II’s project schedule has been fast-tracked to be launched in late 2020s.

Acquisition of F-35B Lightning II has also been fast-tracked. F-35B will be operated by the Air Force and will be acquired separately from 20 additional F-35A. This means ROKAF will operate total of 80 F-35 (60 F-35A and 20 F-35B).
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US Navy Quietly Starts Development of Next-Generation Carrier Fighter; Plans Call for Manned, Long-Range Aircraft

After nearly a decade of fits and starts, the Navy has quietly initiated work to develop its first new carrier-based fighter in almost 20 years, standing up a new program office and holding early discussions with industry, USNI News has learned.

The multi-billion-dollar effort to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and electronic attack EA-18G Growlers beginning in the 2030s is taking early steps to quickly develop a new manned fighter to extend the reach of the carrier air wing and bring new relevance to the Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Navy acquisition chief James Geurts told reporters last week that the service created a program office for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

“We’re working to outline that program and the acquisition approach and all that as we speak,” Geurts said.

Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) recent establishment of the NGAD program office comes as the Pentagon faces a constrained budget environment while trying to adjust to a new defense strategy focused on combatting Russian and Chinese threats in the Indo-Pacific theater.

The service is likely moving toward the pursuit of a manned fighter aircraft that would include many of the capabilities on the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter, but with updated technology and expanded range, Bryan Clark, a naval analyst and senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, told USNI News this week.

“The idea would be that you would take those same capabilities forward and have them be built into an architecture that’s designed around a 21st-century model. So you’d get more seamless fusion and integration of all these sensor inputs, and better ways of interacting with the pilot, and more incorporation of autonomous operations,” Clark said. “So even more so than with the F-35, you’d end up with an aircraft where the pilot is really operating a computer that is flying the airplane and operating its systems, more so than today.”

The Navy plans to seek a wholly new design, rather than a derivative design of aircraft already on the production line, for the sixth-generation fighter, despite the service receiving suggestions to combine Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and Boeing’s F/A-18 designs with modern technology for the future aircraft, Clark said.

“I think that’s not a great idea because it’s going to be inherently more costly than simply a derivative design in an environment where the Navy’s not going to have the kind of budget flexibility that it’s had in the recent past,” Clark said.

Compared to the F-35’s 700 nautical miles of combat radius, Clark said his “impression” is that the Navy hopes to build a new fighter with a radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles.

While the service’s objective for fielding the new fighter aircraft had been the 2030s, when the Super Hornets would begin to reach the end of their service lives, the Navy will try to speed up that timeline because the Super Hornets are likely to reach their maximum flight hours sooner than previously anticipated, according to Clark.

The combination of desires for program acceleration and a new design could be difficult for the Navy at a time when the Pentagon is preparing for flat or declining budgets.

“The Navy is trying to accelerate the timeline to get to NGAD so that they can begin fielding the new airplane to replace the Super Hornets, which, … when they want a new design that incorporates what’s probably going to have to be a new engine, they’re driving the technology risk higher. And at the same time they’re going to ask for an accelerated schedule that increases the schedule risk in an environment where they don’t have additional money to cover those,” Clark said.
“Normally, if you increase the level of technological sophistication or you want to accelerate the program, you pay more for it, right, so you just throw more money at the problem,” he continued. “They don’t have more money to throw at the problem, so you’re creating challenges in all three dimensions of a new program: cost, schedule and performance.”

Pentagon and Navy officials have repeatedly referenced impending budget constraints when discussing programs and spending over the last year. In addition to those concerns, the Navy in its Fiscal Year 2021 budget submission sought to curtail the Super Hornet program and make FY 2021 the last year the service would buy the aircraft, at the end of the current multi-year contract in place with manufacturer Boeing. At the time, the Navy said it would save $4.5 billion across its five-year budget plan and put the funds toward the NGAD effort.

While the Navy has not pegged any cost assessments to the NGAD initiative, a January 2020 report from the Congressional Budget Office estimated the service could spend approximately $67 billion to replace the F/A-18E/F fleet from 2032 to 2050 and $22 billion to replace the Growlers.

“That estimate does not include the potentially substantial cost to field new jammer pods or upgrade existing ones that might be carried by a future electronic-attack aircraft,” the report reads. “For example, the Navy currently estimates that 128 Next Generation Jammer pods that it plans to buy for the EA-18G will cost about $4 billion.”

After the Navy wrapped up an analysis of alternatives for NGAD in July 2019, the defense secretary’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office issued the AOA’s “sufficiency” in September 2019, Connie Hempel, a spokeswoman for NAVAIR, told USNI News.

To kick off the NGAD initiative, the Navy formally stood up the Next Generation Air Dominance program office, which the service is calling PMA-230, in May and tapped Capt. Al Mousseau to serve as the program manager. Mousseau officially started the job in May, after previously serving as the program manager for the Mission Integration and Special Programs Office, also known as PMA-298.

The Navy has already begun convening industry days for NGAD, according to a source familiar with the ongoing process. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are the three likely competitors for the manned fighter, USNI News understands.

Asked when the Navy plans to issue a request for information, Hempel said the service is working on underlying documents that would inform future steps and timelines for the program.

The Navy has provided few details in recent years as to what the successor for the Super Hornets and Growlers may look like, but the service in 2016 began forecasting plans to seek a family-of-systems approach, now known as NGAD, instead of buying one fighter aircraft, an initiative known as F/A-XX.

The family of systems approach could see the Navy going down a path similar to the Air Force’s NGAD pursuits, according to Clark, in which the Navy buys a manned fighter and uses different unmanned systems to supplement the mission.

“They could say, ‘well maybe we back off on some of the requirements when it comes to weapons payload, and maybe stealth or something, but so we keep the speed. We keep the range. We keep the C4ISR sophistication, but we relieve some of the requirements in terms of how much it carries and maybe how penetrating it can be into any airspace,’” Clark said. “And we offload those to unmanned systems, so there’s this family of systems now that instead of having five F-35s go do some mission, you’d send two of these new airplanes with some unmanned systems to do the same mission.”

Because the new manned combatant would require stealth capabilities, speed, and range, carrying heavy equipment like missiles could fall to the unmanned platforms within the family of systems.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said at a forum in Washington, D.C. late last year that the Navy’s future aviation combatant could include a combination of both manned and unmanned systems, but he conceded he did not yet know what kind of platform would be used to launch the aircraft, leaving open the possibility that they could operate off of something other than today’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Despite the Navy sketching out a plan for its new fighter aircraft, Clark argued the service still needs to contend with an adversary’s ability to use lower-cost long-range missiles to target aircraft carriers.

“The idea of just continuing to build new manned aircraft with longer ranges to try to overcome the ability of a China or an Iran even or a Russia to shoot long-range missiles at the carrier, it’s sort of a losing game because the missiles are cheap,” he said. “The airplanes are expensive. So you’re in a bad cost exchange situation.”

Combining the manned fighter with unmanned systems could help the service confront this issue.

“That may be a way to get around this cost exchange problem, where maybe the airplane doesn’t need to fly as far,” Clark said.
“You know, the airplane could go a thousand miles, and it doesn’t matter if the enemy has a two-thousand-mile anti-ship ballistic missile because your manned airplane is not going to fly that whole distance. He’s going to stop at a thousand miles and then these unmanned systems go the rest of the way.”
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HMS Queen Elizabeth fully loaded with F-35Bs ready for exercise

The Royal Navy’s first-in-class aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, has embarked the largest number of fixed-wing aircraft yet as the vessel prepares to take centre stage in a NATO carrier strike group for exercises.

The F-35Bs, a mix of Royal Air Force (RAF) and US Marine Corps (USMC) jets, joined the aircraft carrier as it sails for exercise Joint Warrior and GroupEx in the North Sea.

Onboard, the carrier’s air wing is made up of 14 Lockheed Martin F-35B short take-off vertical landing jets and eight Merlin helicopters. The deployment marks the largest concentration of fighter jets operating at sea from a Royal Navy carrier since 1983.

Commander UK Carrier Strike Group Commodore Steve Moorhouse said: “The United Kingdom’s maritime renaissance has been unfolding over many years, as we introduced a new generation of ships, submarines and aircraft into service. But this marks the first time we have brought them together in a cohesive, potent, fighting force.

“HMS Queen Elizabeth will be operating with the largest air group of fifth-generation fighters assembled anywhere in the world. Led by the Royal Navy, and backed by our closest allies, this new Carrier Strike Group puts real muscle back into NATO and sends a clear signal that the United Kingdom takes its global role seriously.”

HMS Queen Elizabeth will be joined on the carrier strike group exercise by NATO and UK vessels including Type 23 frigates HMS Kent and HMS Northumberland, Type 45 Destroyers HMS Diamon and HMS Defender, a Royal Navy submarine, HNLMS Evertsen from the Royal Netherlands Navy, US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS The Sullivans and a Royal Navy submarine.

The carrier strike group will be tested during Exercise Joint Warrior off the coast of Scotland.

The US F-35Bs are usually stationed at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona and arrived in the UK this month. The USMC jets worked up with RAF F-35Bs before embarking on the carrier.

The commanding officer of the USMC fighter jet contingent, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Freshour USMC, said: “The Wake Island Avengers are ready in all respects to work with the British sailors and aircrew onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth.

“We are looking forward to deploying alongside our British counterparts over the next few months, and we will work tirelessly as a part of this transatlantic naval force. We are proud to play such an important role in the generation of an allies’ carrier strike capability.”

The RAF jets on board are from the 617 Squadron – also known as the Dambusters.
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So far, that's one more F-35B than what the USMC has done with its own flat top (though the "carrier" aspect is basically not comparable b/w the two vessels).

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VIDEO: USS Carl Vinson Preparing for First F-35C, ‘Advanced Carrier Air Wing’ Deployment


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ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CARL VINSON, OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA – Next year, the most advanced carrier air wing in history will sail to the Pacific aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Last week, the Carrier Air Wing 2 took the first steps in getting its new F-35C Joint Strike Fighters and CMV-22B Ospreys integrated into the air wing and aboard the carrier.

Vinson went to sea with its air wing for the first time in this deployment cycle, following a lengthy maintenance availability to upgrade the ship to support the Navy’s first deployment of its fifth-generation fighter and a new cargo aircraft to support it.

Though there are still some little details to work out – moving the new F-35C Joint Strike Fighter safely around the deck, practicing with new firefighting equipment designed for the large nacelles on the CMV-22B Osprey – ship and air wing officials say they’re ready to spend this workup cycle figuring out how to leverage the F-35C’s stealth and data-sharing capabilities to make this advanced carrier air wing as lethal as possible.

“Fundamentally, not much has changed: the carrier strike group, we’ve fought integrated for years. And specifically in the air wing, what’s changed are the tools: advanced sensors, stealth technology, access to information. All that’s now being provided to the air wing. And those integrated channels we’ve had, now we’re just using those and passing different information,” Capt. Tommy Locke, the deputy air wing commander, told USNI News during a Sept. 17 visit to the carrier at sea.

To make the most of what the F-35C brings, Locke said the air wing has some other plus-ups: an extra E-2D Advanced Hawkeye was added to the “Black Eagles” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, and two additional EA-18G Growlers were added to the “Gauntlets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136.

“You put those aircraft together, couple that with our kinetic capacity of the F-18E/F, it’s a pretty powerful combination, able to distribute fifth-generation information, increase lethality of our legacy platforms, but also (increase) the survivability as well,” Locke sa
id.
“Our air wing configuration, again with the F-35C Lightning II as well as the E-2D, EA-18G Growler and the legacy F-18s, it really provides the strike group commander a very effective and efficient way to project power. So offensive in nature, but we also bring a pretty unique capability of gathering real-time over-the-horizon intelligence, information, passing that throughout the strike group to share in that fifth-generation information, and then also kinetic and non-kinetic fires to support carrier strike group defense.”

In conversations with sailors in the carrier strike group, the main focus of this advanced air wing seemed to be the F-35’s ability to sneak undetected into air space the air wing previously couldn’t safely access, scoop up information of all kinds to share with the rest of the carrier strike group, and perhaps take out a target or two to make way for the firepower of the F/A-18E-F Super Hornets coming in behind it.

Locke said specifically the combination of the F-35C and the Growler would control the air space, deny enemy access and leverage the electromagnetic spectrum in a way the air wing never could before.

The Nav conducted its first integrated carrier air wing operations with the F-35C in August 2018 aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), though those operations were focused on the ship being able to launch and recover a combination of F-35s and Super Hornets seamlessly, without having to give special attention to the new fighter and treat it any differently than the other fixed-wing aircraft.

Locke said work has been ongoing at Naval Air Station Lemoore to get the F-35Cs and the Super Hornets used to flying together, but technically the integrated training phase during the deployment workup period hasn’t started yet.

Asked how well integrated the air wing was ahead of the formal workup cycle, Locke said, “we’re good. We’ve got some ways to go to be great. Our next phase for the air wing is, we’re doing an integrated basic phase” where all the fixed-wing planes will come off the carrier and conduct integrated air-to-air operations with various combinations of Super Hornets, Growlers, F-35Cs and Advanced Hawkeyes against “advanced simulated threats.”

Eventually, the whole air wing will go through its advanced training syllabus at Naval Air Station Fallon before coming back to the aircraft carrier to join up with the destroyers and cruiser for full CSG integrated operations.

Asked how the F-35C would change how the air wing collaborates not only with the carrier but also the combatants, Locke said, “It’s all information. It’s the speed of information, how quickly you get it. E-2D plays a critical role, its nodes are connected really well with the surface fleet. It’s feeding information to the airborne fighters. All the fighters have the information they need; if they don’t they can share with each other; and if they don’t, they can get it from the E-2D. So in some cases we don’t need much, but there are also some cases when you may be fighting and you need a lot of information from the surface (ships).”

A detachment of CMV-22B Ospreys from the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-mission Squadron (VRM) 30 will replace the aging C-2A Greyhound as the carrier onboard delivery (COD) platform, a necessary upgrade because the F-35C has a single large engine that the C-2 cannot carry. Locke said the air wing hasn’t done much work with VRM-30 yet, as the squadron just recently received its first aircraft and is working to quickly get the pilots and maintainers trained up and ready for a deployment likely next year.

“We’re trying to do small events with them to start integrating them into our drumbeat, if you will,” Locke said.

Leaders on Vinson are excited to have the new aircraft onboard and say it’s really not so different from previous air wings, other than the excitement of being the first to deploy with the fifth-generation fighter.

Still, there are some little differences they’re trying to work through now to ensure the jets aren’t damaged and people can operate safely around them.

Vinson Commanding Officer Capt. Matthew Paradise said during the ship tour that new jet blast deflectors with added cooling were installed on the ship during its recent 17-month docking planned incremental availability to address the greater heat coming out of the F-35’s single engine. A new computer system was put in to support the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) logistics system the F-35 uses, lithium-ion battery storage and charging space was created for the jets’ batteries – the first time a jet has required these large batteries that pose potential fire hazards, but likely not the last time, officials said – and ready rooms and maintenance spaces were upgraded to support the F-35C and CMV-22B. For the Ospreys, new fire wands were installed on the flight deck that can reach high enough to put out an engine fire on the tall nacelles, if needed.

Paradise noted that, while this was the first time CVW-2 with the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 had embarked on the ship, it wasn’t the first time VFA-147 and its F-35Cs had operated from Vinson. This carrier was used in late 2018 and early 2019 to conduct carrier qualifications, safe-for-flight certification and operational tests, culminating in a Feb. 28, 2019, declaration of initial operational capability. Paradise said his team used lessons learned from that experience, from Lincoln’s operations and from elsewhere in the Navy and industry to inform its early operations with the F-35C now.

“It’s certainly a team effort. Our role is to be able to taxi the aircraft. We have a role in maintaining them as well, we have a pretty big maintenance function here. And so all that, you’re right, requires training. And so formal schools, a lot of on-the-job training. We have sent our sailors to where the JSF are in Lemoore to get hands-on training, and then we don’t go directly to deployment, we are training right now,” he said.
“We’re kind of the crawl, walk, run mentality, we’re going nice and slow, making sure that everybody’s learning the new jet and just getting the band back together really for the first time in the workup cycle.”

Cmdr. Matthew Koop, Vinson’s miniboss, told USNI News that, from the flight deck perspective, F-35C is “the new toy in the room right now, but we treat them like we do everyone else.”

They mostly are towed, launched and recovered the same as a Super Hornet, though he said the catapult crews took some time early on when the jets first flew on to learn the slightly different catapult hookup on the F-35C compared to the F-18s.

“There’s also some fragile control surfaces near the tie-down chains, so some of the tie-down spots, the chains, if they’re done improperly could damage the surfaces of the JSF,” Koop said while speaking to USNI News in the ship’s Primary Flight Control.
“Their squadron personnel understand that right now and are teaching the flight deck crew how to properly do it without damaging the aircraft, which is a little bit different than some of the other aircraft because usually our blue shirts down there will do all the what we call chocks and chains, chaining them down, but now we’re having the squadron personnel do it for this underway and they’re training our guys on how to properly do it.”

Down in Flight Deck Control, Flight Deck Officer Lt. Caleb McDonald and Aircraft Handling Officer Lt. Cmdr. Gilbert Bishop said the F-35C is also mostly being treated as normal already. McDonald said the F-35C is much larger than the F/A-18A-D Hornet is replaced, so there are some spots on the deck that a Hornet could park where the F-35 won’t fit. Bishop said the team did training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., to understand F-35C parking, movement to the catapults for launch and more, to ensure the safety of personnel and the jets. And both said the “Ouija board” still operates just the same, with the F-35Cs in VFA-147 being shaped slightly differently than their Super Hornet counterparts but still being moved around the board and labeled for maintenance, rearming and refueling just the same as any other aircraft type.

Asked if there was anything he needed from VFA-147 to help the squadron maneuver the flight deck properly, Bishop said the F-35 pilots were already following the hand signals well.

“It’s like we already knew each other, pretty much. A nice smooth integration,” he said.

Cmdr. William Gray, the aircraft intermediate maintenance department officer, showed off the lithium-ion battery charging and storage room – among the coolest spaces shown during the ship tour, with chill water and ventilation rerouted during the DPIA to create a cool room for the batteries to charge safely.

“This is the first airplane, naval airplane that’s flown this battery, and these batteries … you can get a really small battery with a lot of energy. They started using lithium-ion in spacecraft and now we’re down in the aircraft, and the advantage of these batteries are they produce a lot of power when you need it. The F-35 has two of them, and actually one of the batteries can support, if you have a propulsion failure the battery can actually support the flight control system of the aircraft, which is pretty awesome, a pretty nice thing to have in the airplane when things are going wrong,” he said.

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Yasen M class
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Most Russian nuclear submarines including the recent ones use a variant of OK-650 reactor rated at 190MW

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German engineering is very neat. The U-32 boat

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The US Navy Carrier Air Wing in 'transition'. Interesting that they bumped the F-35C squadron from 10 to 16 aircraft each, so a flex/surge capability will have up to 32 F-35C's per deployment with 16 as standard. I expect the ratio of F-35C to F/A-XX to be reverse of the ratio of the F-35C to F/A-18E/F in the future. Growlers will eventually shrink and more unmanned will come in. Very fascinating to see the transition within a very conservative and deliberate service by most domestic or international standards..

Interesting that they still aren't brave enough to print the AIM-260 in the weapon side of the presentation. The secrecy around the weapon is the most mind-boggling thing in quite a while. They intend on even preventing an OML view of the weapon from going public. This totally opposite of the <cold war> AMRAAM OML reveal which was widely modeled and published.

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US Navy Establishes First Squadron To Operate Its Carrier-Based MQ-25 Stingray Tanker Drones


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Effective today, the U.S. Navy has officially established the first squadron that will operate its future MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned tankers from Boeing. The service does not expect to begin test flying more refined MQ-25 prototypes from actual carriers until the end of next year, at the earliest. As such, this unit will be focused in the meantime on training personnel to be as ready as possible to operate and maintain those drones when they begin arriving in the coming years.

The US Navy first began the formal processing of standing up Unmanned Carrier Launched Multi-Role Squadron 10, abbreviated VUQ-10, in August, according to an official internal notice. That document says the official establishment date is Oct. 1, 2020, and that the unit is located at Naval Base Ventura Country in California, which includes Naval Air Station Point Mugu. A detachment of Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), the Navy's first MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drone unit, also calls Point Mugu home.

The notice also says that VUQ-10 is assigned to the Navy's Airborne Command & Control Logistics Wing (ACCLOGWING), which presently oversees the service's E-2 Hawkeye and C-2 Greyhound fleets. The Wing's website already says that it is involved in the Stingray drone program through the MQ-25 Fleet Integration Team (FIT).

From ACCLOGWING, the rest of VUQ-10's chain of command then goes first to Naval Air Forces Pacific and then U.S. Pacific Fleet. This appears to be purely for administrative purposes. The Navy has said in the past that the Nimitz-class carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS George H.W. Bush, both of which are homeported in Norfolk, Virginia on the East Coast of the United States, would be the first to receive the necessary equipment to operate the MQ-25s.
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Philip wrote:What is the latest on the laser weaponry being installed initially on UK/USN warships? They were touted decades ago as the future for ABM defence.A jumbo with a ball laser turret was under development.I think it was shelved,perhaps Brar will know more about the US's laser weaponry progress .
Lasers have already demonstrated ballistic missile target intercept at over 100 km. However, those at the bleeding edge of this work prefer to use SSL's (as opposed to the more mature COIL) which allow for more compact applications and don't need a jumbo jet worth of power and chem/fuel to work. Solid state systems are more challenging and technologically less mature though also a lot more promising because they don't exert such a dramatic demand from the host platform (for space, weight, power and fuel-storage). As such, the focus on SSL's has been in developing (which is now over) and fielding (which is happening now with USN, USAF and US Army) 50-300 kW class systems which are going to be great at defeating unmanned aerial vehicles, missile/munition seeker defeat, and dealing with some cruise missiles. This is important because the exchange ratio of kinetic options for those threats is extremely cost prohibitive. In a potential conflict an Iran or NK, just as an example, can field thousands of cheap drones and stocking up on interceptors to mitigate that is just too cost-prohibitive. So these power levels appeal to the actual operators who are expected to fight these wars, so they are driving the requirements.

Scaling efforts to get to those states, where you could begin covering higher end missiles and ballistic missiles are underway but a half a mega-watt SSL system is probably a decade away. Once you get to that half a MW like systems, scaling to full MW systems should be a lot easier. But high energy lasers perform well against a certain type of threat. These are the low-cost high volume targets. If you have high cost, low volume threats then you have a whole host of kinetic options that come into the picture. A $25,000 - $30,000 hypervelocity projectile launched from a 155 mm gun is a great cruise or ballistic missile defeat capability. If it takes 3-4 munitions per kill you are still at or below $100K per kill which is well below the exchange ratios that you can live with. Where lasers shine (pun intended) is in their ability to deal with drones, and sub-munitions, and weapons that themeslves cost tens of thousands of dollars. There you can affordably field deep magazines with a small logistical footprint ( as opposed to stacking enough physical AD batteries to counter that threat). So a couple of 300 kW HEL trucks can deal with these problems, particularly when you a microwave system alongside. A comparable defense using kinetic interceptors would warrant a huge logistical train of launchers, re-supply vehicles, etc etc. With HEL and HPM, your kinetic options can focus on other targets for which they are more suited/optimized.

On ships, the main bottleneck is having a vessel with surplus power and cooling to actually utilize this system. Besides the DDG-1000 class there really isn't any other ready-to-go vessel out there that can accomodate a 500 kW to 1 MW class DEW. They either tap out on power, or space for cooling and a bank that can help cover limited surplus power.

As far as physically incorporating lasers on ships, the USN is already fielding more ships with these systems and have had operational warships with these systems for many years. USS Ponce had a 30 kW laser installed back in 2014. USS Portland has a more powerful laser on it right now and is already zapping targets with it. A couple of DDG-51 destroyers are being outfitted with these lasers as we speak. The LCS (Freedom class) is also being upgraded to carry a laser weapon system. There are two main differences between what the USS Ponce had and what the current crop of systems have. One is the size and power of the effector itself (3-5 times more power) and the other is that, unlike the Ponce, these systems are going to be fully integrated into the battle-management suite (AEGIS for DDGs and AEGIS lite for LCS for example) and therefore part of the weapon logic. On the Ponce, these were isolated systems operated without integrated input of the broader combat system.

I'm not sure the RN has a definitive plan to upgrade ships beyond some R&D. The USN has in production laser weapon systems and multiple vendors are on production contracts to supply US Navy ships with operational weapons which will be integrated either as per shipbuilding schedules or when existing warships have their scheduled availability. But things will take time because the fleet of DDG's is very large and not all will be getting the system because of a whole host of reasons.

See this from earlier this year -

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/22/video- ... t-sea-test

The USAF too has deployed a counter unmanned High Energy Laser system to Afghanistan to protect forward deployed assets. The US Army is building 2 systems. The first will be fielded in a couple of years and will be a 60 kW mobile system mounted on a Stryker vehicle. The second would be a 300 kW system mounted on a truck and will be for protecting static targets (like base infrastructure and Air-Defense sites). That is about 4-5 years away from showing up operationally.
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Consolidating jamming, processing, IO, communication and even sensing into one family of arrays is about to get real. INTOP is also fully capable of acting as high frequency programmable sensor arrays thereby alleviating the need for additional radars etc for close in weapon systems of the future (like lasers). They also plan to give it the ability to organically stitch together an RF/EW COP with disparately sized sensors operating at different frequency (without relying on the C2 to do it). So if one portion of the spectrum is being contested the system can provide battlefield awarneess using a different set of antennas and thereby degrade gracefully. At first, this will introduce dual-band high bandwidth GaN arrays for jamming and IO/Comms system into SEWIP Blk II and then progressively add software modes for other roles like networking and sensing. More arrays are planned in the future to grow the system to cover other non-traditional roles.

The US Navy Is About To Sail With Its Next Big Leap In Shipboard Electronic Warfare Systems


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brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

Post by brar_w »

^^ A pic with human for scale. Would be interesting to see if they can easily scale these down to fit Frigates and smaller vessels.

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brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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The first 4 radar ship-sets had gone to the HII shipyard to be fitted on the first DDG. The next batch is going into the NJ test site and for the second DDG -

US Navy’s ‘Cruiser in the Cornfield’ Gets Radar Upgrade


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The Navy’s ground-based testing site for the Aegis combat systems on Wednesday took delivery of its new air and missile defense radar array that will go on the next iteration of guided-missile destroyers, the service announced.

The AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar arrived in Moorestown, N.J., for testing at the service’s Combat Systems Engineering Development Site, the Navy said in a news release. CSEDS, also known as the “cruiser in a cornfield,” has been the ground-based testing site for the AEGIS Combat System since 1977.

“A live array will provide critical testing input to ensure software (computer programs) and hardware (radar, weapon elements) function according to specifications,” the Navy said.

“As AEGIS [techincal representative] does with other elements, testing SPY-6 on land in a controlled environment will enable them to identify and correct issues before they are deployed to the fleet,” the service continued.

The new radar will replace Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1D(v), which is outfitted on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.

The Navy will field the new SPY-6 radar, built by Raytheon, on the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. In 2024, the Navy plans to outfit SPY-6 on the first Flight III destroyer, the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

Scott Spence, Raytheon’s director for radars, said this week’s delivery completes the SPY-6 system for the Navy’s testing facility in Moorestown. Raytheon previously delivered back-end elements, including power and cooling components, to the testing facility. While this is the only system that will go to Moorestown, Spence said other arrays would go straight to the fleet.

SPY-6 is built with modular arrays so the radar can be scalable for different Navy platforms. The version for the Flight III destroyers includes 4 arrays, with 37 RMAS per array, according to Raytheon’s website.

“Watching the lift and installation of the SPY-6 radar was really exciting for our team on the ground – it capped off many years of work by the program,” Mike Mills, Raytheon’s program director for SPY-6, said in a statement. “The installation will enable further testing and integration with Aegis Baseline 10 for the Flight III destroyers and add critical capability to defend against current and future threats.”
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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GA-ASI Kicks Off SeaGuardian Validation Flights in Japan

GA-ASI kicked off a series of validation flights on Oct. 15 for Japan Coast Guard (JCG) in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. GA-ASI is working with Asia Air Survey (AAS) in Japan to conduct the flights.

“We appreciate Asia Air Survey’s support in demonstrating how the MQ-9B SeaGuardian® RPAS can provide affordable, long-endurance airborne surveillance of Japan’s maritime domain,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “The system’s ability to correlate multiple sensor feeds and identify vessel anomalies provides effective, persistent maritime situational awareness.”

The SeaGuardian flights will validate the wide-area maritime surveillance capabilities of RPAS for carrying out JCG’s missions, from search and rescue to maritime law enforcement. These flights follow successful “legacy” MQ-9 maritime patrol demonstrations in the Korea Strait in 2018 and the Aegean Sea in 2019. The Hachinohe operation features the MQ-9B configuration, capable of all-weather operations in civil national and international airspace.

The SeaGuardian RPAS features a multi-mode maritime surface search radar with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, a High-Definition – Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras. This sensor suite, augmented by automatic track correlation and anomaly-detection algorithms, enables real-time detection and identification of surface vessels over thousands of square nautical miles.
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brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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From the IN thread:
Philip wrote:If at all CG vessels need to also have an SSM option, we can take a leaf out of the Iranian navy's manual, where tiny bumboats have been fitted with smaller SSMs. Granted in the confined waters of the Persian Gulf these bumboats make sense.
It is a pretty mediocre idea at best. They have little in the way of organic targeting, have little SWaP to survive and overcome EW and have zero defenses. It makes for great propaganda videos though but the reality is that these things will be neutralized rather easily with air-power (fixed and rotary winged) leveraging rather simple weapons that have demonstrated this capability with excellent performance more than a half a decade ago. All this miles from the ship. And if they ever get close, then the ships themselves will defeat them using hard and soft kill measures.

https://www.naval-technology.com/news/n ... me-targets

On the MH-60, between APKWS ( IIR capability is probably not too far off), of which 19 can be carried per rocket launcher, the Hellfire, and the gun as the last resort, there is plenty of capability to basically make the operational case for these boats useless. These little boats aren't going to go anywhere fast in case they are used in wartime. And in war, APKWS isn't going to be available just to shipborne helicopter capability. Fast jets too carry it.

Also note, that relatively affordable (both relative to the cost of the target and the cost to build up inventory) loitering weapons with their accompanying launchers can be used to target these things in quantity, beyond the other, more traditional, approaches like launching missiles.

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brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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I suspect it is going to be larger than the CdG, and at least 1 additional ton more the British QE class, and with EMALS and AAG instead of steam based catapult system.

Official Announcement On France’s New Aircraft Carrier Expected Soon

During Euronaval 2020, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly confirmed that the PANG (Porte Avion Nouvelle Generation or new generation aircraft carrier) program will be launched in order to deliver a successor to the existing Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in 2038.

Regarding the new generation aircraft carrier, I confirm that this program will be launched to give a successor to Charles de Gaulle in 2038. This future aircraft carrier will federate the excellence of our naval industry in the coming decades and, through its strategic dimension, will offer an employment framework perfectly adapted from its conception to the future combat aircraft known as SCAF.



Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly
Right before Euronaval, in a hearing at the French Parliement, Parly made the following statement about the PANG program “In 2021 we plan to commit € 261 million to further studies. Decisions were set to be made in the summer. They have not been made yet. They will be by the end of this year. So we will be able to commit the appropriations as planned, I think, without difficulty” .

As we reported previously in our detailed feature about France’s future aircraft carrier, an official announcement was set to be made around Bastille day (July 14) by President Macron. The announcement however never came.

More recently, on 23 October, during a press conference, DGA General Delegate for Armaments Joël Barre answered a question on the PANG program with the following:

“We have completed the preliminary study of the aircraft carrier in recent weeks. So indeed it will be a little bigger than the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier simply because it will have to carry larger aircraft since the SCAF will be bigger than the Rafale. We have proposed this preliminary study for the decision of our political authorities and we are awaiting the corresponding decision to launch the development of this new generation aircraft carrier […] We must await the decisions of our highest authorities on this topic, I think they will be made soon. “
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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This is a major boost to carrier AEW capability for the French Navy. Earlier this year, France had been approved for 3 E-2D's along with relevant support and an integration lab to be established in France to support the program. This would seal the contract from the French MOD side following the FMS approval.

Via Xavier Vavasseur (Twitter)
@xaviervav
Just in: French MoD approved the procurement of 3 E-2D AdvancedHawkeye via FMS. The DGA will procure them for the MarineNationale
https://twitter.com/xaviervav/status/13 ... 6659623938

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brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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Here's the story with the official confirmation -

France Approves Procurement Of 3 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW&C Aircraft

The French Ministry of Armed Forces announced today that the acquisition of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft was approved on November 4, 2020.
ed by the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), this procurement will be carried out under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with the U.S. government. For the record, the United States’ State Department approved this FMS in July this year.

The three Advanced Hawkeye are set to be delivered by 2030. They will replace the existing E-2C Hawkeye of the French Navy (Marine Nationale).

According to the French Armed Forces statement, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye designed by Northrop-Grumman, represents a generational leap forward compared to the E-2C Hawkeye. Its active electronically scanned array (AESA), cockpit and data links are notably improved, and it can also be refuelled in flight. The three E-2D aircraft ordered for the French Navy will be adapted to French requirements by integrating a specific computer, developed by the French Aerospace Industry Service (SIAé), which will guarantee the system’s autonomous upgrade capability.

Like the E-2C Hawkeye currently in service with the French Navy and implemented by the Flottille 4F squadron, the three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft will be stationed at the Lann-Bihoué (Brittany) naval air base and deployed on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, and eventually on its successor.

The statement added that AEW&C aircraft guarantee the safety of the carrier strike group, to which they provide a unique capability for remote detection and identification of threats, command and control of air assets for air-sea operations, and power projection at sea and to land from the aircraft carrier. “They are a key factor in the interoperability of our armed forces with U.S. and NATO forces”.

The French Navy becomes the second export customer of the Advanced Hawkeye. The first one is the JASDF who operates them from land bases. As it was the case with the E-2C, France will be the only non-US Advanced Hawkeye operator to deploy them aboard aircraft carrier(s).

Built by Northrop Grumman, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the latest variant of the E-2 Airborne early warning aircraft, replacing the E-2C Hawkeye. It brings revolutionary capabilities to the carrier strike group, including the new and powerful AN/APY-9 radar, which is a two-generational leap in technology.

The APY-9 radar is an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) surveillance system that provides both mechanical and electronic scanning capabilities designed to “see” smaller targets – and more of them – at a greater range, particularly in coastal regions and over land.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a multi-year procurement contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. for the purchase of 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft in full rate production for fiscal years 2019-2023. This is the second MYP contract awarded to NGSC. The Navy awarded the first in 2014 for the production of 25 E-2D aircraft. The U.S. congress later increased the number to 26 aircraft bringing the total number of E-2Ds on order for the U.S. Navy to 50 aircraft.

On the export side, Japan has 13 E-2D on order while France is procuring three new Advanced Hawkeyes to replace the in service E-2C Hawkeyes.
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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France’s New Aircraft Carrier Will Be Nuclear Powered
French President Emmanuel Macron today officially green lighted the construction of a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as part of the PANG program. The future flag ship of the Marine Nationale is intended to replace the existing "Charles de Gaulle" around 2038.

The announcement was made during the President Macron visit to French company Framatome, an international leader in nuclear energy which designs and supplies nuclear steam systems and services.

Back in October this year, Framatome announced the launch of Framatome Defense to promote the company’s defense activities and affirms its commitment and strengthens its contribution to this strategic sector. Framatome has supported the French defense sector for decades with a focus on components of the French Navy, notably for submarine programs and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. The company also contributes innovation for major, ongoing programs such as Barracuda SSN and SNLE3G SSBN.

About France’s future aircraft carrier PANG


As we reported previously, the PANG (Porte Avion Nouvelle Generation or new generation aircraft carrier) will be much longer and much heavier than the existing Charles de Gaulle:

It will have a length of 300 meters, a width of 40 meters with a displacement of 75,000 tons.

First steel cut is set for 2025, while sea trials are set to begin in 2036 and commissioning with the French Navy in 2038, which matches with the expected decommissioning of the Charles de Gaulle.

The initial artist impressions released by Naval Group confirm some of the technical details which we have been reporting since July:

Nuclear powered (CVN) with two K22 reactors (2 x 220 MW thermal)
Length between 285 and 295 meters
Full load displacement around 70,000 – 75,000 tonnes
Maximum speed: 26 to 27 knots (similar to Charles de Gaulle)
Propulsive power would be around 80 MW delivered to three or four shaft lines
Total power around 110 MW, including the electrical plant
Future air wing: 32 Next Generation Fighters with 2 to 3 E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes and a yet to be determined number of remote carriers/UCAVs
Two side elevators with 40 tonnes lifting capacity
Three 90-meter electromagnetic catapults (EMALS) by General Atomics
Flight deck: 16,000 m²
Aircraft hangar: 5,000 m²
Crew: 900 and 1080 sailors (not including the air element of 550 to 620 sailors) with higher comfort compared to Charles de Gaulle.
Thales SeaFire radar
PAAMS with MBDA ASTER surface to air missiles for self defense
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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^^^ 70-75K tons? This is their MO to have an efficient carrier at a lighter weight (and cost) with much of the same capabilities as the giant super carriers. Like to see how this ones come out. Especially since the Vishal will be marginally smaller.
brar_w
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Re: International Naval News & Discussion

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chola wrote:^^^ 70-75K tons? This is their MO to have an efficient carrier at a lighter weight (and cost) with much of the same capabilities as the giant super carriers. Like to see how this ones come out. Especially since the Vishal will be marginally smaller.
They've always aimed at having broadly similar capabilities to their US CVN counterparts. Only difference has been the scale. This too will be very similar to the Ford class carrier and variations in size will impact some of the requirements on the extreme edges of the performance envelope. But broadly, it should mirror the Ford class in capability. The Ford is 100K or thereabouts and not 80 or 85K primarily because in its analysis the designers determined that that final 15-20% size leap resulted in better airwing surge capacity and in fact also that using a physically larger carrier even with a medium sized air-wing was more productive. They determined that a large aircraft carrier with a medium sized air-wing was around 40% more effective in sortie generation and targets struck as opposed to a medium sized carrier operating at peak capacity. This was mainly because the larger flight deck allowed for a greater proportion of aircraft to be stationed top side and prepared for launching at higher SGRs.

Same for weapons and fuel which would be geared at supplying a larger wing but would be more efficient at supplying a medium sized air-wing. And since you had larger magazines, fuel storage tanks, and weapons elevators you didn't need as many replenishments for your weapons and fuel. The French won't have that top end requirement of supporting 70-80 A/C for prolonged periods during surges so that probably explains some of the difference between 75K and 90-100K of the Ford. But as cheaper drones like MQ-25 come onboard (and their weaponized counterparts) being able to stuff the flight deck with them without eating into manned fighter and rotary winged platforms is an advantage.

PANG is a very good looking carrier and if the French stick with the current design and configuration, will be a top notch product and a worthy replacement for the CdG which has served them well. It will also be the 6th CVN to having been commissioned with EMALS which will mean that by that time more EMALS will exist in the world than steam based catapults (barring any Chinese steam catapults).
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