Cancel 2018. 3
<-- sched 2, MJ sched 1
watermark:
take the lsat, rule the world, and win
take the lsat, rule the world, and win
Yeah, 4 fighter jets and about 2,000 persons isn't a very intimidating force Tom. If they want the islands, they can take them.
I seriously doubt that the UK is going to use nuclear weapons. Pretty much the only acceptable use of nuclear weapons is 1) In reaction to the use of nuclear weapons and 2) By precedent, to end a total war. It's never be established that it's OK to use them to solve a minor territorial squabble that your conventional forces are too weak to solve alone.
I think the UK probably does have enough of a blue water (IE long range) Navy to take out the Argentines. However, it would of course be difficult, because a small airbase and helicopters is not much in the way of air cover. Do their planes have enough range to make missions from the mainland?
I seriously doubt that the UK is going to use nuclear weapons. Pretty much the only acceptable use of nuclear weapons is 1) In reaction to the use of nuclear weapons and 2) By precedent, to end a total war. It's never be established that it's OK to use them to solve a minor territorial squabble that your conventional forces are too weak to solve alone.
I think the UK probably does have enough of a blue water (IE long range) Navy to take out the Argentines. However, it would of course be difficult, because a small airbase and helicopters is not much in the way of air cover. Do their planes have enough range to make missions from the mainland?
The ramp is something that small aircraft carriers use to make up for their size. It's still a STOVL carrier, and can't launch conventional aircraft.
The Queen Elizabeth AC's, though, are pretty sweet, and will put the UK second to the US again when it comes to capital ships. They do lack nuclear propulsion, but they have a range of 10,000 miles anyway (nuclear is basically unlimited, but a nuclear reactor costs much more than several decades of fuel). And they will use CATOBAR, so the UK has actually decided to order the F-35C's instead of the STOVL F-35B's. Hopefully, if the Conservatives (and their lackeys, who will go unnamed) lose in 2015, the UK will even keep the second one.
Carriers aren't everything when it comes to a navy either, and it's not like the Spanish, Italian, or Brazillian navies come close the UK. On wikipedia, it mentions that the UK spent a long time during the cold war specializing as an anti-submarine force against the Soviet Union, so it's likely they just decided to devote resources there instead of the flashy carriers. The United States had enough carriers anyway, and the Soviet Union largely ignored them (they didn't build any until the 80's), so the UK likely simply had different practical strategic concerns. Now tha the Cold War is over, they're turning back to more traditional blue water naval concerns.
Here's what the Queen Elizabeth's will look like:
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Also, the previous picture of the Charles de Gaulle was very flattering, and I posted it mainly to troll. Here's it next to a Nimitz-class carrier:
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On the left is the USS Nimitz. We have about 11 aircraft carriers of this size. On the right is an HMS "Invincible" class carrier. This is the largest ship the UK Navy, and the only ship of its size. It is the only aircraft carrier in the Navy, although as of now they've decommissioned the specialized Harriet II aircraft which were the only fixed wing aircraft capable of launching from such a tiny ship, so it's currently actually operating as a helicopter carrier.
'murricah, fuck yeah!
Yeah, I just checked the Argentinian air force roster and holy fuck does it suck. I mean, 4 Typhoons isn't exactly a big deterant, but it could probably down all the actual fighting capacity of the Argentinian AF.
Not that it would be significant to their navy or ground forces. At best it'd be an annoyance if they were dedicated to talking the Falklands.
Don't forget that there is constant satellite surveillance of Argentina as well. I would also suggest that four Typhoons armed with sea skimming missiles could destroy the whole Argentine navy and still have some spare.
The CVN-68 Nimitz class displaces over 100,000 long tons... The Queen Elizabeth class will displace 64,000 long tons (or 65,000 Metric tons)...
Sweet carriers both of them. But the US still will have the best air force on water...![]()
I think the realistic goal is #2, with the US being way out of reach. Countries such as the UK, France, Russia, and China are looking to be #2, or at least have the second best carriers. In the future, China and Russia will ease into #2 and #3, so it's all kind pointless for the UK and France anyway...