New Chinese Carrier, any thoughts?

[Western Borderlands]

Obviously this spells doom for the West. We should surrender now, and hope that our Oriental Overlords will have mercy.

I applaud the sarcasm

[Laerod]

Obviously this spells doom for the West. We should surrender now, and hope that our Oriental Overlords will have mercy.

I applaud the sarcasm :D

Oh, Iffy's being entirely serious. He's tired of his German overlady dictating the Irish budget and wishes to try out something new.

[Ifreann]

I applaud the sarcasm

Oh, Iffy's being entirely serious. He's tired of his German overlady dictating the Irish budget and wishes to try out something new.

They say a change is as good as a rest.

[Ecans]

I think that "more than its worth" says something about why they bought it... they're interested in having one. Consider this the national equivalent of buying an iPad or any other (tangible) Apple product.

Nonsense.

They bought it because they need a base model from which to

• Develop doctrines via practical experience
• Learn how to run one in the first place
• Run it for a few years, make huge lists of problems that need to be solved, and solve them with their first generation of indigenous carriers

Instead of throwing billions into building a wholly indigenous carrier from scratch, which'll inevitably have a million issues simply on account of lacking experience, they're buying an old one for cheap, have their first learning experiences with that one, and can thus make their first domestically produced carrier be actually useful, rather than experimental. It's the cheap, quick, and all-around efficient way to do it.

In short, China is doing it right.

Absolutely correct. It has no value except as a training tool. They will keep it close to shore and build experience so that they may assess their future needs. What should be of concern, if anything, is their stated intent to build a "bluewater" navy. China's armed forces have traditionally been defensive in nature. This move breaks the mold.

There is only one peacetime use for such a tool and that is power projection and intimidation. If the US wishes to stay ahead of the game they will be peering far into the future of naval fleets. Is the supercarrier too vulnerable? Is there a future for submersable carriers? How about a large fleet of small carriers? Does the possibility of swarms of unmanned attack aircraft carrying fast sea-skimming missles (or nukes if the whole thing went to hell) really render carriers obsolete? So many questions. Drag out and dust off the crystal ball, fellas. No point in falling into the time-honoured strategy of fighting the last war!

[Nidaria]

Carriers, big floating targets for missiles. Or, more probably railguns.

Wanna know the Russian plan for attacking an American carrier group? Bombard it with 8 200 kiloton nuclear missiles just to disable the carrier groups electronic warfare capabilities enough for a kill shot with conventional missiles. That was during the Cold War. Technology has come a long way since the 1980s, carries aren't as easy to kill as you think.

Today they have missiles which travel only about twenty or thirty feet above the waves and hit the carrier in the side, where it is most vulnerable and can be taken out with a single missile.

[L Ron Cupboard]

Pigeons eh.

[Ethel mermania]

Obviously this spells doom for the West. We should surrender now, and hope that our Oriental Overlords will have mercy.

On the bright side, your food will get better.

[Samuraikoku]

"Oi boss, dese humies are blowin' da grot dung outta this whole place!" *nods*

[Dyakovo]

Wanna know the Russian plan for attacking an American carrier group? Bombard it with 8 200 kiloton nuclear missiles just to disable the carrier groups electronic warfare capabilities enough for a kill shot with conventional missiles. That was during the Cold War. Technology has come a long way since the 1980s, carries aren't as easy to kill as you think.

Today they have missiles which travel only about twenty or thirty feet above the waves and hit the carrier in the side, where it is most vulnerable and can be taken out with a single missile.

Carriers, and their carrier group, have defenses against those missles.

[Nidaria]

Today they have missiles which travel only about twenty or thirty feet above the waves and hit the carrier in the side, where it is most vulnerable and can be taken out with a single missile.

Carriers, and their carrier group, have defenses against those missles.

Care describing these defenses?

[Dyakovo]

Carriers, and their carrier group, have defenses against those missles.

Care describing these defenses?

Phalanx CIWS

[The Corparation]

Care describing these defenses?

Phalanx CIWS

Actually the latest generation of missiles are traveling fast enough that the Phalanx may not be able to get them in time. The missiles fly low enough that its hard to detect them until they're nearby and after that its really difficult to hit them. Of course with China that's the last thing you want to worry about. Main concern is their Antiship Ballistic missiles. Those thing could be a bitch to intercept.

[Nidaria]

Care describing these defenses?

Phalanx CIWS

Armor plating on missiles can stop gatling gun bullets.

[Dyakovo]

Phalanx CIWS

Armor plating on missiles can stop gatling gun bullets.

I suggest you read up on how the Phalanx CIWS (and anti-ship missiles) work... The Phalanx has its failings, that however, is not one of them.

[Minnysota]

Nope, the United States must not expect an invasion from China. Especially since the 2 country's entire economies rely on one another, not even mentioning the United States owes $15 trillion to China!

Do us all a favor and try to comprehend what the debt actually is and what it means. We certainly do not owe that much to China.

[Priory Academy USSR]

Carriers, and their carrier group, have defenses against those missles.

Care describing these defenses?

I presume the Americans have an equivalent to this

[Lockion]

Not only is their carrier an antique soviet castoff, they don't have any fighters that can operate on a carrier. Meanwhile, we have 11 carriers, most of them Nimitz class super carriers, with a complement of 90 planes. Plus the US Navy is the world master in carrier warfare, it will take another world war to make a country that could rival us.

[Grand Britannia]

That fishing boat with a runway?

[Ethel mermania]

That fishing boat with a runway?

That is what they said about japanese carrier avation in the 1920's. Some things never change.

[Dyakovo]

Care describing these defenses?

I presume the Americans have an equivalent to this

Yes, we have guided missile destroyers, and Aegis Cruisers...
Carrier Battle Groups are quite well protected against anti-ship missiles... That is not to say they're impervious to them, just that they're not some unimagined threat that cannot be defended.

[Grand Britannia]

That fishing boat with a runway?

That is what they said about japanese carrier avation in the 1920's. Some things never change.

I'll change my mind about the Chinese Navy when they come up with something better.

[Dyakovo]

That fishing boat with a runway?

That is what they said about japanese carrier avation in the 1920's. Some things never change.

When they've built one of their own (and have aircraft capable of being launched from it) there might be a reason for concern. Until then, not so much.

A single obsolete carrier with no aircraft and no support group is not a threat.

[Forsakia]

All wishful thinking on your part. Engineers are the ones who will develop many of the new military items of the future. Read the following. Study by Duke University.

The quantity of scientists =/= quality of advances. Israel, with a population of just under 8 million, has created some of the worlds most advanced technology. Microprocessors, the Google search algorithm, USB drives, the Green Pine radar system, the discovery of quarks and anti-quarks, and numerous other achievements in technology and science.

I'm sure Israel has produced advances, but a quick wikiing your list finds it either wrong (eg. microprocessors), or disputed (usb drives).

[Stormaen]

That is one ugly ship! China won't be a naval power. They may have waves and waves of soldiers they can afford to lose but it's a bit harder having that attitude on the seas.

[Gauntleted Fist]

That fishing boat with a runway?

That is what they said about japanese carrier avation in the 1920's. Some things never change.

When China becomes a rabidly expansionist military state with fanatical devotion to their lords and masters in all things please let me know.

Also let me know when they gain the ability to build their own carriers along with the above stated situation, tia.