News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of the Problems. Parent comment

Re:Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of t... by kurthr on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @12:39AM (#17906693)
We (and Russia) each have between 1500 and 8000 strategic nuclear warheads deployed or deployable. That's not a Maginot line, it's just air superiority anywhere it matters.

Personally, having F14-like drones would probably be much better at keeping opponents airpower down/out than JSF or F18s, but that's my silly civilian opinion.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of t... by et2o on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @08:27AM (#17908519)
Being pedantic, that's not the definition of air superiority or supremacy. You can't shoot down a fighter plane with a nuclear warhead.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of t... by kurthr on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @11:39AM (#17909777)
Right, aircraft carriers are about air superiority. If an opponent is sinking them with supersonic (nuclear?) cruise missiles or drones, that's a different strategic issue (with China, Russia)... at least for the next decade or several.

The _that's_ I was referring to was in the the preceding comment, which referred to aircraft carriers as a Maginot line floating at sea.

[ Parent | on HN ]