Little off topic, but do the Russians have a helo missile comparable to Sea Skua? I’v allways considered that to be the best helo missile in the world…….much better than Penguin………Do Italian choppers have a missile system?

I think the French operated bout 40 a/c from her……10 F-8s, 24 SuEs, 4 Alize, and couple choppers……….Brazillians only have bout 15 Skyhawks operational at any one time, and I’m wondering if Argentina will deploy operationaly off Sao Paulo regularly…….So its a pretty small air wing for the size of the ship, still she’s a BIG improvement on MG……..

Wasn’t one of our Spruances supposed to be to an “air capable” design, but it would have cost too much so it was built to regular DD design?

I allways did like the Italian Navy……..they have a very well rounded fleet, not just geared to ASW, but with a very good ASuW capability as well. And they have allways made their ships FAST. Most other European navies have settled for bout 28 knt top speed, but the Italians are at 30+ and staying.

Didn’t the Italians have 2 earlier cruisers that had a couple of helos and led up to VV? They always have made very handsom ships….

USS Macon could carry 5 fighters in her hanger. She and her sister Akron used skyhooks and were given a recce role………

Would a Kirov’s systems even work? How is their maint going?

Any chance of Braz upgrading SP with C-13s?