A combination of high subsonic cruise missiles like the Kongsberg NSM and dual role (air2air/air2surface) versions of Meteor type missiles could be a good anti-ship weapon fit.
LOCAAS still appears on the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control website http://www.missilesandfirecontrol.com/our_products/strikeweapons/LOCAAS/product-locaas.html
SMACM http://www.missilesandfirecontrol.com/our_products/strikeweapons/SMACM/product-SMACM.html
Boeing Dominator/Persistent Munition Technology Demonstrator http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q3/060718d_nr.html
Info on LOCAAS and Dominator here http://www.vectorsite.net/twbombb.html
The technology to operate manned aircraft as unmanned aircraft already exists in the form of the Boeing Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator Helicopter http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q3/060712c_nr.html which I mentioned in the Military Aviation Tech Developments thread http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=60278
I think it’s a good idea to have the option of using your existing manned aircraft as unmanned aircraft in high risk missions. It saves the life of a pilot and avoids the need to spend money on UCAVs.
Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/moab.htm and http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Jun04/MN0310.html
Does anyone have better pics of it being released?
Wow! great pics everyone. Special thanks to A13x for that fascinating chart. Show me more! 😀
I love mini/small carriers they can be cheap, easy to man, operate and maintain and carry a very useful airgroup for all kinds of tasks.
Unfortunately no one seems to be interested in making cheap, easy to man, operate and maintain V/STOL combat aircraft 😡
I’m sure the F-35B will have impressive performance and capabilities but in my opinion it’s killed off the idea of affordable naval airpower 🙁
How many of these could the Typhoon theoretically carry?
If you replace the six 1000lb LGBs and the 1000L drop tank in this pic with seven SDB racks it could carry 28 (7×4=28).
😀 and 😮
These are from a previous thread and I can’t remember who posted them 😮 but they are a great way of comparing size.
I wish someone had the skill, time and patience to do a aircraft size comparison website like Jeff Russell’s STARSHIP DIMENSIONS site 🙂 http://www.merzo.net/
Tristar, VC-10, Sea Harrier, Tornado and Buccaneer compared.
EA-6B Prowler compared to Tristar, VC-10 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet tankers.
Prowler/Super Hornet Hi-Res pics http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060417-N-9079D-118.jpg and http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060701-N-4776G-028.jpg
Some nice pics so far guys 🙂
I’m realizing it’s quite difficult to get the right perspective for size comparison in a lot of pictures. I think the best pics are going to be look down or up formations, air-to-air refueling shots, carrier flight decks and parked aircraft pics.
RAF Tornado, Harrier, Jaguar, Hercules and Romanian MiG-21 compared.
Interesting collection of SDB pics here http://www.eglin.af.mil/agmsw/mm/1.html
I just noticed the asymmetric positions of the Zuni tubes on the F-8 pic http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=136357 I guess the upper tubes have to make way for the refueling probe but why are the lower tubes different?
I have created a monster (thread) :diablo: (tbzz is my Igor 😀 )
Thanks again to all the posters for the great pics.