Just watch the MOD delete the option of fitting catapaults to save money. They are very good at providing a cheap compromise rather than fund what is actually required.

Its only metal grooves under the forward flight deck and a couple of spaces aft designated for arresting wire equipment AFAIK. Hardly something that would save much money if deleted.

The US hasn’t built any aircraft carriers of 45,000 tons with gas turbines. The closest carriers that it has EVER built to ~45,000 tons was USS Lexington (CV-2) & USS Saratoga (CV-3) in the 1920s. Neither nuclear power nor gas turbines even existed back then.

The Tarawa, Wasp & America classes of amphibious assault ships ARE NOT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.

Strictly speaking any ship that carries aircraft is an “aircraft carrier”. All the US Large Deck Amphibs carry large numbers of aircraft, both fixed wing and rotary wing. They also have a secondary role as a Sea Control Carrier. The America is to be more aviation orientated then the other Amphibs.

They may not a Nimitz class, but one of their primary roles is still to carry aircraft (whether fixed wing or rotary), in my book this makes them Aircraft Carriers.

Moving one or two at a time though with a small fleet of aircraft, you can see the values of a ship!:D

Thats why the Bay’s can transport half a Regt of Tanks. The Points might be able to carry even more then that.

Fairly sure that photo is of a classic hornet rather then a super hornet, so that aircraft was never in the running anyway. 😀

Any radar guided hardware/ordnance?, just to know, from the start i have thought this adaptability issue is just another bashing over the JSF, but would like to know if there is such integration.

Not sure, but the RAAF Hornets have had Helmet Mounted Sights integrated and earlier this year successfully demonstrated an over the shoulder shot with ASRAAM.

No euro F-16 has been adapted with european hardware?, missiles or smart bombs, i would like to know.

Probably LM is afraid that new european hardware could be good enough to steal market for ordenance, but then, i would like to know any example of euro hardware mounted on US designs, and used by european or non-USA forces.

I have not read, for example, any concern from MBDA (the meteor manufacturer?) regarding the source code mess…

I’m still unconvinced that for integration you need the source code

ASRAAM on RAAF F-18’s.

This thread is getting a bit too heavy for my simple brain, however I thought I would lighten it up with some shots of a pair of Typhoons ‘scrambled’ out of Falklands to intercept/escort our flight. These were taken last Tuesday 24th Nov.
I had a chance to walk around the a/c at MPC last week and they do have the Maltese cross plus their tail code markings.
One of the pilots told me that they have to refer to their aircraft as ‘Faith [ZJ944], Hope, Charity and Desparation’ and not Foxtrot, Hotel, Charlie or Delta.

Bootneck

Three of the names were used on Malta during World War 2 for a trio of Gloster Gladiators that were at one point the Islands only fighter aircraft. Desperation was added because it was the tornado flights “spare” aircraft.

Don’t remember if four or five typhoons went south though.