"Emmanuel.Gustin" wrote in message
...
Kevin Brooks wrote:

snip

But AIM-54 is now a relatively old weapon (although upgraded
several times) and it was designed primarily to defend the
fleet against Soviet bombers attacking at high and medium
altitude, launching the very big Soviet cruise missiles of
the period. The threat has changed, the attack profile of
an enemy force would now probably bring them in just a few
feet above the waves, only poppping up to fire their missiles.

Emanuel,
already the Tu-22Ms could attack approaching at low levels: also, the Kh-22M
had a low-level trajectory selectable.

In the 1990s the threat has changed only in so far that it became more
dangerous: the stuff that could now be eventually attacking USN carriers are
such things like supersonic cruise missiles, and Su-30s that can fire back
(which the Tu-22M-3s couldn't).

It is likely that AIM-120 has better performance against
low-flying targets, although AIM-54's range against
high-flying targets is still unrivalled. The F-18E/AIM-120
combination may actually provide a better fleet defense
than F-14/AIM-54.

I strongly doubt this: no version of the F/A-18 matches the speed and/or
endurance of the F-14 - especially not the combination of these two
characteristics.

As you certainly know, Emanuel, it makes a huge difference if one is
intercepting an incoming threat some 100km away from the carrier, or 250km
away.

As next, given the lack of speed and endurance, there is also the lack of
range: the AIM-120 can't - and will for the next ten years or so also not be
able to - intercept enemy at such ranges like the AIM-54 can. The result of
this is that the slower, and shorter-ranged F/A-18s, armed only with
AIM-120s, are in a danger of literaly being overrun by faster,
longer-ranged, and fighters - such like Su-30s - that carry weapons with a
similar (or potentially better) range to that of the AIM-120.

Given the fact that the pk of the AIM-54 in combat against threats of its
time was higher than the pk of the AIM-120 in combat against the threats of
its time, it is doubtfull any F/A-18 would have a serious chance of
intercepting and stopping - just for example - a formation of four such
opponents like Su-30s (regardless how far out from the carrier), without
either coming too late on the station, or being outranged by enemy weapons
and shot down in return, or outrun, or outmaneuvered.... or all of this
combined.

Given that also the new cruise-missiles became much more sophisticated,
faster and longer-ranged than such earlier stuff like Kh-22/AS-4 Kitchens
(which were nifty and malfunctioning weapons any way), this threat did
actually not diminish but is increasing, while the AIM-120-armed F/A-18 has
much less chance of intercepting such threats (especially because of the
lack of speed and the weapons-range) than even the 20-years older
AIM-54-armed F-14...

Tom Cooper
Co-Author:
Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988:
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php
and,
Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat:
http://www.osprey-publishing.co.uk/t...hp/title=S6585