Perpetual Defense Thread (Defense & non-commercial Space Nerds ITT)

[hypervigilance]

IIRC, the Tomcat had significant maintenance needs. To add, the US Navy retired them about 20 years ago, so probably plenty of upgrades would be needed. Regarding the range—doesn’t aerial refueling mitigate a great deal of this issue.

I remember first seeing a Tomcat up close and personal after I was flown aboard CV-66. It was in the hangar and there were drip pans all around it with hydraulic fluid leaking all over. The plane captain said something like, 'go ahead and taker her up, she's ready to fly' and I was appalled lol. I said,
'you are going to fly this thing like this?!?'. They explained to me that the hydraulic leaks were perfectly normal and they sealed once the lines were pressurized .

To add - that tired old b.s. about dogfighting.... ugh. Hasn't existed in many decades. I think it's just 'ego stuff'.

 

[hypervigilance]

But since this is a defence thread and not a film critique thread, what was it again that makes F‑14 so legendary again?

Movie propaganda.

 

[hypervigilance]

Looks like Tom Cruise won't have to use CGI F-14s for Top Gun 3.

https://www.twz.com/air/my-god-the-f-14-tomcat-may-actually-fly-again-over-the-united-states

Top Gun is propaganda and nothing more. Haven't seen the sequel, won't bother with the 3rd either. Back in the 80's of course, I loved that movie. It was a blockbuster after all.

And then I became a real-life carrier veteran.

 

[hypervigilance]

I'd say that happened about twenty years ago.

The USN is pathetic now compared to during my service. Wait six months for a vendor to send a tech out to repair ovens because it's contractually obligated? We would have ripped the ovens out, tossed them to the bottom of the ocean, and built our own. Too bad, so sad vendor, to hell with you and your contract. But they are soft and fat and weak now.

 

[hypervigilance]

No way any captain I ever sailed with would have tolerated that kind of shit.

Bet your ass Captain Ewing wouldn't. He would have smiled with pride as he watched us tear the ovens out!

 

[hypervigilance]

1 Trump class battleship is enough to buy 6 proper 7000 tons Arleigh Burke lite frigate with 64 VLS cells.

I'm fond of the Arleigh Burke, I attended her commissioning. Also we hosted the commissioning of Lincoln.

 

[hypervigilance]

With some of the salty old chiefs I'd be shocked if it made it to the skipper's attention in the first place, the goat locker would have dealt with it long since.

Quite right!

 

[hypervigilance]

Makes me wonder how much of that is actually going on... and how many Captains are pretending to not know about it.

Apparently not enough -
US Navy Backs Right To Repair After $13 Billion Carrier Crew Left Half-Fed By Contractor-Locked Ovens

 

[hypervigilance]

That's what USD 160 million out?

That has never mattered. On CV-66 we had a Tomcat catch the wire wrongly, it was not quite teetering on the side of the flight deck. Haul it on deck with the crash crane? Hell no, it was pushed over the side to the bottom of the ocean. Years ago I was hanging out with an elderly Korean War veteran. He was Army. He told me the story of when they were going to ship all their jeeps back on the flightdeck of a carrier. They loaded the fleet of jeeps, went out to sea, filled all the gas tanks on the jeeps and then pushed them all over the side.

 

[hypervigilance]

The Tomcat I can understand since it interferes with flight operation. The Army Jeep though? It's just pure spite to the high command.

Nah. It's all for profit to the MIC. The 'tackling fraud, waste, and abuse' claptrap has always been a lie. You can know this because the fraud, waste, and abuse is always omnipresent.