AirRaid wrote:
for cripes sake, the F/A-18E Super Hornet is not good enough to be the
navy's only fighter, and neither is the future JSF / F-35.

By definition, if both of those planes exist, then neither one is the
Navy's only fighter.

the Pentagon, Navy and NorthropeGrumman should resurrect plans for the

Super Tomcat 21
Attack Super Tomcat 21
and ASF-14 (Advanced Strike Fighter-14)

along with the 100-200 mile range Advanced Air To Air Missile

as well as the A-12 Avenger II 'Flying Dorito' aka mini stealth bomber

Yeah, I thought those were cool when I was a kid too.

the Super Hornet should've been something of mach 2.5 class that went
into service in the late 80s, with even more powerful engines,
canards, and 3D-thrust vectoring to make it a super-maneuverable
fighter that could counter the Su-37 Terminator (and its brothers), but
with exellent attack capability.

Here's something I don't get. This "Terminator" name...it's just a
made-up name slapped on by...who, exactly? It's not a NATO reporting
name and I'm pretty sure it's not Sukhoi's name, but yet it gets passed
around as if it's not only a name but a description.

the A-12 becomes the primary bomber/strike plane with the ability to
defend itself from other fighters.

the Super Tomcat 21 or the even more advanced ASF-14 would've been an
exellent alternative to the NATF / F-22N, a 1990s and 21st Century
FLEET DEFENDER with decent maneuverability, much easier to mantain,
crew of 1, 8, AAAMs plus 2 medium range AAMs plus 2 short range
AAMs, plus 30mm cannon and perhaps even a chemical laser for knife
fights. (smaller version of the Airborne Laser on the modified 747s.

And a partridge in a pear tree...who's funding this, again?

plus the Attack Super Tomcat 21 (faster than the A-12 Avenger II) for
F-15 Strike Eagle-like capability.

That's what the F-35 is for, plus the F-35 is designed from the start
to be stealthy.

plus a new class of supercarrier 2x the size of Nimitz-class, that's a
half a mile long. with an airwing of 150+ aircraft, to carry lots of
these new aircraft with their increased payload and needs.

plus a new small 'fast carrier', smaller than the Nimitz class, with
60-70 aircraft that can get across the world in 1/2 to 2/3 the time it
takes a supercarrier

Or even better, more Nimitz-sized decks with improved catapults,
propulsion, radar, and combat systems. *waits...*

oh yeah im dreaming now.


this is gonna be a big thread, i can feel in my bones.

hey, at least the videogame company SEGA has the right spirit by making
a new, modern AFTERBURNER arcade game, (AfterBurner Climax) with the
classic F-14D.
it brings back memories of the late 80s when the Navy was SUPREME.
not that the Navy isnt great, but clearly the Navy isnt getting what it
should have.

ok and this ends my rant.

Hey, I loved the Tomcat too, but maintenance costs were killing the
squadrons and the airframes weren't going to get any younger (and RCS
any smaller).