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Subject: Carrier class conflict.
kirby1    2/22/2007 11:04:44 PM
Theres no denying the awesome firepower of CVNs. The American CVNs are the crown jewels of the US navy, and the French De Gualle is a not a threat to be taken lightly, But of course, save us and the French, (And maybe soon the Brits) A conventional decked aircraft carrier is far out of budgetary reach, so my question is simple. If you were a second world power, and you to acquire a class of two to four largely identical ships, would you rather invest in STOVL carriers (like the Invincible class,) or STOBAR carriers (Such as the Kuzetsov class)
 
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BadNews       2/22/2007 11:14:54 PM
First off, 4 carriers woiuld not do the job, at least 6 would be necessary as well as a whole slew of other combatants. Our Cruiser/Detroyer capabities are seldom mentioned but extremely potent especially in the Air Defence Mode.
 
But to answer your question, just look back to the Falklands War. Had the Brits full sized Carriers, they would have had half the fight. The power of the large Carrier is that you can simultaneously run CAP and Assualt Aircraft in great numbers, In the Falklands, Fleet defense lkimited the ability of the brits to use their full potential  for CAS, and it cost them many lives in theior victory
 
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smitty237       2/23/2007 10:30:44 PM
Large carriers also serve as a powerful deterrent.  Using the Falklands example once again, would the Argentinians have taken on the British military if the Brits had a couple of Midway class aircraft carriers capable of launching long range attack aircraft and fighters?  Another critical factor is the ability to protect your aircraft carriers.  The Argentinians actually had a carrier capable of lauching jets like the A-4 Skyhawk and Super Etendard, the Vientecinco de Mayo, but its catapult was in Scotland during the campaign, and the Argentinians were probably rightly concerned that had it left port the Brits would have sank it. 
 
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USN-MID       2/23/2007 10:40:34 PM
So you're simply asking if you'd want a STOVL vs a STOBAR?

If you're simply concerned about performance, why wouldn't you take a STOBAR? It offers more potential as a concept than the STOVL.
 
 
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